Setting up Authorize.net as your Checkfront payment provider

Learn more about Authorize.net, including checking the service status, understanding what features are supported, setting up your account in Authorize.net, adding a webhook in Authorize.net, setting up Authorize.net in Checkfront, configuring address verification, testing with sandbox mode, configuring receipts, and understanding settlements & refunds.

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

• Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment
   

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions are required to manage Payment Providers.
• The following system Booking Form fields are required: Address, City, State/Province or equivalent, Postal Code/Zip or equivalent, and Country.

Authorize.net is a Payment Provider that allows merchants in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia to accept credit card payments through their website. 

Ending support for 3D Secure version 1.0.2 Visa and Mastercard have announced they are ending support for 3D Secure version 1.0.2 and will require 3D Secure version 2 to accept 3D Secure-protected payments. This change takes effect on October 14, 2022. As a result, your current payment provider, Authorize.net, has announced that it will not be updating its 3DS to 3DS version 2 and will end support for 3DS version 1.  What is 3DS? 3DS is a security protocol that helps prevent fraudulent card-not-present (generally e-commerce) transactions. Major credit card brands primarily use 3DS in the United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU), South Africa, and India.   What does this mean for my business? Transactions without 3DS may fail for those Operators with banks in the UK/EU, where 3DS is required to meet Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) as part of the Payment Service Directive (PSD2) regulations. Transactions should continue uninterrupted for those not utilizing 3DS and not required by regulation to do so (e.g., North American Operators).   What do I have to do? Those who wish to use 3DS must find an alternative payment provider that supports 3DS version 2, such as Stripe.  You can also see alternative providers here.   If you wish to utilize Authorize.net without 3DS, turn off the 3DS setting in your Merchant account before October 14, 2022. Review the support article here for instructions on how to change the 3DS setting in the Merchant Interface. If you do not change this setting, you may see unnecessary transaction declines or fee downgrades starting in October 2022.   No action is required for merchants not currently utilizing 3DS who are not regulated to utilize 3DS, e.g., North American Operators.   When do I have to make the change? By October 14, 2022, you must turn off the 3DS function in your Authorize.Net account or find a new payment provider that supports 3DS2.   What if I don't want to select another provider? To utilize Authorize.net without 3DS, review the support article here for instructions on changing the 3DS setting in the Merchant Interface. Please note that if your region requires 3DS, you cannot continue using Authorize.net as a payment provider. Alternatively, you can set up your account to allow online bookings that accept payment at a later date. If you are interested in this type of "Book Now, Pay Later" configuration, you watch the video on the subject.    Is this change going to impact refunding payments? We don't anticipate any issues with processing refunds without 3DS. Still, we recommend that you contact Authorize.net through your merchant dashboard if you experience any issues with processing refunds once 3DS is disabled.   What if I can't refund payments through Authorize.net? If you cannot refund through Authorize.net, you should be able to issue manual refunds through a new payment provider, which would refund the money from the connected bank account. Then you must align your reporting within Checkfront by refunding using a POS method.   We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Check the status of Authorize.net services at any time here: https://status.authorize.net/#/dashboard

The following is a list of standard Payment Provider features. Those available with the Authorize.net and Checkfront integration are marked as supported (✓).

To get started, you need your API Login ID and Transaction Key from your Authorize.net account.

To obtain these, log in to your Authorize.net account, select the Account tab, and navigate to API Login ID and Transaction Key under Security Settings.

Copy your API Login ID. To retrieve the API Key, select New Transaction Key and click Submit.

The system prompts you to send a secure PIN to your email address. Select Request PIN. Check your email for the secure PIN, enter it into the pop-up, and then select 'Verify PIN'. The system takes you to your new Transaction Key. 

Once you have the API Login ID and API Key, head back over to Checkfront.

To prevent an issue where the Payment Provider might hang during transaction processing, causing a Customer to submit again and create a double booking, it's possible to add a webhook in Authorize.net, which will notify Checkfront of completed payments.

In your Authorize.net Account menu, click on Webhooks under the Business Settings section.

From there, click on the Add Endpoint button and input the following URL:

https://[checkfront url]/notify/AuthorizeNet/

[checkfront url] should be replaced with your account URL. From there, set the Webhook to send on the following event:

net.authorize.payment.authcapture.created 

To enable Authorize.net in Checkfront, log in to your Checkfront account and navigate to the Payment tab (Manage > Ecommerce Setup).

Depending on your locale, the system presents several recommended Payment Providers.

You can find the Authorize.net tile and click on it to open the Setup window.

In the Add-on Setup modal, fill in your details and click Activate. A description of each field is available before.

This value is the login ID you obtained in the previous step.

This value is the Transaction Key you obtained in the previous step.

Select whether you would like to Authorize & Capture your transactions or Authorize them only. The answer to this depends on how you operate your payment system. Most businesses will most likely use Authorize & Capture.

• Authorize & Capture - This setting allows you to authorize the payable amount and charge the card immediately for a partial or full payment.

• Authorize Only -  This type of transaction creates an authorization with the card-issuing bank that holds the funds until you wish to capture them manually. An authorization is valid for 30 days until the transaction is captured or voided. If the authorization exceeds 30 days with no merchant action, its status will change to Expired, which means the transaction is no longer available for settlement.

Authorize.net CIM is a service that allows you to store sensitive customer information, such as credit card details, as a token for later use.

You can take a deposit at the time of booking and then charge the final balance later without needing to obtain the card details again.

Signed up for this service with Authorize.net? Then, check the Enable Rebilling box to enable this feature within Checkfront.

Learn more about Authorize.net's CIM service that supports rebilling: Authorize.Net CIM

Billing Address and Postal / Zip code are captured and sent to Authorize.net, where Address Verification (AVS) checks are applied to help protect against disputes and fraud.

This workflow applies to Customer-facing (Payment page) and Staff-side (add payment form) payments.

Both address and postal/zip code fields are required Ensure that your Booking Form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form tab) includes the Address and Postal / Zip code fields and that they are marked as required. The system prefills the Payment page's Billing Address and Postal / Zip code fields with the value entered in the corresponding Booking fields. The system requires that the Staff-side Add Payment form include these fields by default; no additional configuration is required.

Learn more about Address Verification (AVS) with Authorize.net: How do I use Address Verification Service (AVS)? What settings should I configure?

Testing your checkout end-to-end before putting your site live is highly recommended. To do so, follow the setup instructions above and check Enable Sandbox Mode. You must also put your Authorize.net account in TEST mode.

To do this, return to your Authorize.net account and go to the Account menu. Look for the Security Settings section and click on the Test Mode link.

On the next page, flick the switch over to Test.

You now see a confirmation above that the account is in Test Mode.

Once the payment module is enabled, remember to turn on payment processing on the Payment page (Manage > Ecommerce) in your Checkfront dashboard.

Create a transaction as a Customer would and check to see if it shows up in your Checkfront account as paid. The transaction should also appear within your Authorize.net account. If you don’t have a website to test on yet, use the hosted booking page, e.g., https://yourcompany.checkfront.com/reserve/

You can use the following test credit card numbers when testing your Authorize.net checkout:

Visa: 4007000000027
Amex: 370000000000002
Maestro: 6759649826438453

You can use any CVC code and an expiry date in the future. Remember to take your account out of sandbox mode when finished.

Upon payment, Checkfront sends the Customer to a booking receipt page. So, you should NOT be able to supply a custom receipt page within Authorize.net. You should use the Default Receipt URL and the Default Relay Response URL to ensure the booking is completed.

By default, the system sends Customers and Administrators email receipts. These receipts provide more information on the booking that Authorize.net can supply. Turning off email receipts within Authorize.net is generally recommended so your Customers don’t get multiple receipts simultaneously.

Transactions over 120 days old If a transaction is 120 days or older, Authorize.net will not allow refunds. You need to refund your Guest through your Authorize.net dashboard and add a POS refund to the booking in Checkfront.

Authorize.net makes batch settlements for your account daily. When a payment is processed, it goes to the status of Captured. At the end of the day, all transactions are posted and changed to the status of Settled.

You can see unsettled transactions by logging into your Authorize.net account and clicking Unsettled Transactions in the left-hand sidebar.

You cannot partially refund Unsettled Transactions. You can only void these transactions, so they don’t settle.

If you wish to make a partial refund, you must wait until the next day when Authorize.net has settled the transaction. In the Unsettled Transactions section, you can check if a transaction is unsettled in your Authorize.net account. 

 

Listed here are common errors you may come across when using Authorize.net:
 

Error 35: An error occurred during processing. Call Merchant Service Provider This error occurs when someone attempts to use a method that has not yet been enabled as an accepted method in your Authorize.net merchant account.   Error 87: Transactions of this market type cannot be processed on this system. Market Type in their Auth account is Retail This error may happen when processing a live or test payment in Checkfront. You must set the Market Type in Authorize.net to work with Checkfront to resolve it.   Error E0007: User authentication failed due to invalid authentication values This error occurs when you enter incorrect credentials for your Authorize.net account. Re-enter your credentials within the Add-on Setup modal (Manage > E-Commerce Setup > Payment > Authorize.net), then click Update.   Error E00027: Referenced transaction does not meet the criteria for issuing a credit. This error message means the transaction is too old to be refunded. You can only process Authorize.net refunds within 180 days from the initial payment.