25 Subscription Management and Billing Platforms that support Account Updater Services

How to select a payment processing vendor that provides access to the Account Updater service.

Directory of 25 Subscription Management and Billing Platforms that support Account Updater services

Source: Bigstock

Account Updater – a service offered by Visa, MasterCard, Discover and more recently, American Express – provides updated payment card information to help merchants manage “card-not-present” issues. In our Account Updater Trend Report, we discussed issues and trends impacting the Account Updater service with information for subscription and membership recurring businesses to minimise subscriber churn and increase the lifetime value of customers.

With this directory of 25 subscription management and billing platforms that support account updater services, you’ll be able to create a short list of vendor contenders for your subscription business based on applicable industry experience, existing customers, payment gateways and processors supported, as well as pricing.  

Why should you choose one over another?  Well, that is up to you!  A wise mentor always told me to get three bids on any major purchase. This directory is designed to help you evaluate the possibilities as you select a technology platform partner, helping you keep your eyes wide open as you build a better subscription-based business.  Choose your future billing partner(s) carefully and make sure they understand YOUR business and budget – be it SaaS, publishing, media or even Internet of Things (iOT), video on demand, Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming and other business- and consumer-focused services. Note that some of the billing and subscription management platforms in this directory are “pure-plays;” that is, billing and processing is the key focus of their solutions.  For others, the subscription and recurring billing component is only a part of their overall solutions.  As you conduct your bake-off, do your due diligence and confirm that the many best practices for managing recurring revenue will be followed and make sure your final solution includes access to the Account Updater service.  

Selecting Vendors that Utilize Account Updater

With such a high percentage of subscriber files being impacted by stale payment card data (and that number is expected to rise exponentially with the reissuance of Eurocard, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) “chip card”-compliant cards, the proper employment of Account Updater is critical to a merchant’s success. To ensure you are taking full advantage of these tools made available by the card brands, vendor selection is key. 

What to look for in a vendor:

1)       Experience. Whether you’re evaluating a billing platform or a payments platform, or both, look for a vendor that has deep experience with subscription businesses. There are some vendors who dabble in recurring billing, but that is not their core competency. Look for vendors that support the most successful recurring revenue businesses – think Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc.

2)       Flexibility. Account Updater services, as well as other vendors that assist with recovery and retention tactics, should be flexible and easy to deploy. Having the ability to send accounts to Account Updater based on multiple triggers (i.e. a billing event, a specific day each month, date prior to expiration date, upon receiving a decline, etc.) can help improve results and reduce costs. Weaving together various Account Updater and recycling (re-presentment) tactics will prove optimal.

3)       Integrations. Top-notch recurring billing platforms and subscription management platforms with recurring billing capabilities should be integrated with top-tier recurring payments acquirers or processors in order to maximize success. If you are outsourcing the billing management piece, be sure that your billing or subscription management platform is connected to a merchant processor that majors in the art and science of recurring billing.

4)       Data.  As with anything in business, especially revenue, key performance metrics are required in order to measure and enhance performance. Be sure that your vendor offers detailed reporting, including metrics that analyse retention, recovery and all associated costs.

5)       Cost. Typically Account Updater services charge a small fee per response returned. This fee applies to any response within the four categories mentioned previously. Certain processors may offer value-added services to manage the Account Updater process on your behalf at an additional cost. For merchants using a billing management platform, the Account Updater functionality is typically included at no extra cost, though the fees from the processor do still apply.

Account Updater can be engaged either directly through a merchant processor, or via a billing management platform.  If your company uses a billing platform or subscription management platform with billing capabilities, you will need to make sure that the merchant acquirer or processor that connects to that platform supports the Account Updater service.

Directory of 25 Subscription Management and Billing Platforms that support Account Updater services

Source: Subscription Insider

Payment Processors

Merchant acquirers – sometimes generically referred to as “processors” – are the only transaction-handling entity required between the merchant and the card companies (Visa, MasterCard, etc.). They are the primary initiators and facilitators of Account Updater services. Acquirers with deep Account Updater integrations include Chase Paymentech, Vantiv, First Data, Merchant e-Solutions and TSYS, among others.

Payment Gateway Providers

Not all merchants have direct integrations with acquirers, instead, they clear transactions through payment gateways. In such cases, merchants are dependent upon their gateway to support the Account Updater service in tandem with their merchant acquirer. Some gateways support Account Updater services, while many do not. Among the gateways that support Account Updater are Braintree, Cybersource, Digital River and Stripe.  Additionally, many acquirers also offer a gateway to connect to their platforms via a simpler integration rather than coding directly.  Vantiv, Chase Paymentech, Worldpay and others offer these gateway services.  Some of the gateways offered by the acquirers also include value-added services, such as managing recurring billing, tokenization, hosted pay pages and more.

 

25 Billing & Subscription Management Platforms That Support Account Updater Services

There are many options available for billing management but not all focus on, or have expertise in, recurring billing and subscription management. If you decide to outsource rather than build this feature in-house, make sure you perform your due diligence and evaluate the potential partner for best practices in managing recurring revenue, including Account Updater.

This directory focuses on access to the Account Updater service with information on industry focus, pricing, customers and the payment gateway and/or processors supported. This is really just a snapshot, subscription billing only represents a small percentage of the entire e-commerce billing ecosystem. Some subscription merchants have used those platforms and customised them to their needs.  Other vendors not included in this snapshot are platforms that only tie into CMS platforms like WordPress. (That is a future article!)

Of course, when selecting a vendor that supports the Account Updater service, always remember that it is one of many features to look for.  Depending on your business model, budget, offering, product line or category, product or service delivery needs- plus, potential fulfilment, customer service, CRM or marketing automation requirements-your requirements for a billing partner are unique. As you review the directory below, note that a number of the vendors below are “pure-play” solutions that focus only on subscription and recurring revenue.  Others offer billing and subscription management as part of a larger solution.  Below are a few options to evaluate in your quest to find a billing management champion that best fits your business needs: 

Aria

www.ariasystems.com

  • Industry Focus: Enterprise-class clients in high-tech, media, communications, cloud, finance and other industries.
  • Payment Gateways Supported Authorize.Net, Braintree, Merchant Partners, Mercury Pay and NETS Collect.
  • Processors Supported: Chase Paymentech, CyberSource, DIBS, First Atlantic Commerce, First Data PayPoint, Global Collect, Vantiv, PayPal PayFlow Pro, Pay Junction Trinity and Worldpay.
  • Customers Include: Audi, HootSuite, Pitney Bowes, VMWare, Blackboard, AAA, Adobe, Constant Contact, RingCentral,Verizon and StudyDog.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Avangate

www.avangate.com

  • Industry Focus: Software, Software as a Service (SaaS) and online services.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported:  Undisclosed; acts as merchant of record, with available add-on revenue recovery service that includes Account Updater services.
  • Customers Include:   Absolute, ABBYY, Bitdefender, Brocade, FICO, HP Software, Kaspersky and Telestream.
  • Offer/Pricing:  Growth edition is 3.99 percent, plus $0.99 per transaction up to $15,000 in revenue per month; Standard edition is 4.9 percent, plus $2.5 per transaction or 8 percent with minimum of $2.5 per transaction, no revenue limit; Enterprise edition: Custom pricing is available for more features and support.

CDS Global
(Hearst)

www.cds-global.com

  • Industry Focus: Media, nonprofit, higher education, consumer products, utilities and others.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Chase and Vantiv.
  • Customers Include: Seventeen of the top 25 consumer media brands,1,000 print and digital magazine titles and eight of the 50 largest U.S. charities.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Chargify

www.chargify.com

  • Industry Focus: No specific industry focus.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: FirstData, Authorize.net, Beanstream, Braintree, Elavon, CyberCource, PaymentExpress, Vanitv, eway, QuickPay, PayMill, Pin Payments, TrustCommerce, Stripe, Chase Paymenttech, Moneris and wirecard.
  • Customers Include: RackSpace, GrassHopper, Citrix, NewsCorp and ShaveKit.
  • Offer/Pricing: Free test account. $65 per month for up to 20 customers, $169 per month for up to 500 customers, $459 per month for up to 2,000 customers.

CheddarGetter

www.cheddargetter.com

 

  • Industry FocusNo specific industry focus.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors SupportedIncludes their own “native” gateway. Stripe, Beanstream, ogone, PayPal and Authorize.net.
  • Customers include: USTV, GoogleBox, SongTrust, StoryAmp and Periodia.
  • Offer/Pricing: Free to open an account and test. PayPal payments are $9 per month, plus $0.25 per transaction or $79 per month and $0.20 per transaction.

ePublishing

www.epublishing.com

 

  • Industry Focus: Publishers and media companies.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported:  Authorize.net, CyberSource, Amazon, PayPal, Press+ and EBSCO Tele Services
  • Customers Include: FDA News, Advertising Age, Indiana Lawyer, PremierGuitar, Microwave Journal, Crains, Sprint, BP, TV Week, Conde Nast, AHC Media and Chief Learning Officer.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

FastSpring
www.fastspring.com

 

  • Industry Focus: SaaS and desktop subscription products for Small and Medium-Sized Merchants (SMB) and large enterprises.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: FastSpring gateway; no third-party gateway integrations.
  • Customers Include: Adobe, Random House, Pixate, Connectify, Things for Mac, Tumult, American Heart Association and PostBox.
  • Offer/Pricing: 8.9 percent per transaction or 5.9 percent, plus $0.95 per transaction (rates include merchant fee).  Call for enterprise-level pricing information.

Fusebill
www.fusebill.com

  • Industry FocusSmall and Medium-Sized Merchants (SMB)
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: 25 different payment gateways, includingAuthorize.net, Stripe, Braintree, PaymentsGateway, InternetSecure, FirstData, FuseBill CC and ACH options.
  • Customers Include: TwinSpires, IWatchLife, BambooHR, Adeptia, RunIt, CWD, e-SignLive, ConceptShare and Assured Software.
  • Offer/Pricing: 30-day free trial. Professional version is $499 per month, plus $0.35 per customer per month. Contact vendor for enterprise-level pricing information.

GoTransverse

www.gotransverse.com

  • Industry Focus: Technology-focused industries that include cloud solutions, digital entertainment and media, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine-to-Machine (M2M), logistics and hosting/managed services.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Authorize.net, Chase Paymentech, CyberSource, FirstData, Heartland, PayPal, Stripe and Vantiv.
  • Customers include: cVent, vcom, LiveU, Starz Play, Aplifier, IAS and Hemisphere.
  • Offer/Pricing: Free demo. Contact vendor for information. 

ICN

www.icnfull.com

  • Industry Focus: Publishing.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Chase and Vantiv.
  • Customers Include: Undisclosed.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

IProduction

www.iproduction.com

 

  • Industry Focus: Publishing and media.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Numerous gateways supported, including Adyen, Authorize.Net, Beanstream, CenPOS (Auth.net), Chase Paymentech, CyberSource, First Data, Global Collect, Helcim, iATS, Ingenico, Moneris, NetBillings, Network Merchants (NMI), NPC SkipJack, Optimal Payments, PayPal PSI Gate, Stripe, Transfirst Payment Gateway, V.me by Visa Payment Gateway (Redsys), Vitalpay, Wirecard and World Pay.
  • Customers Include: Remedy Health Media, Roll Call, Source Media, Bellvoir Media Group and ALM.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

MemberGate
www.membergate.com

  • Industry Focus: Niche publishers and membership organizations.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Stripe, Authorize.net, PayPal Payflow Pro, First Data, PSiGate, eWay and Sage Pay.
  • Customers Include: General Motors, Restaurant Owner, Sports Scholarship Pro, We Love CostaRica, NAPSI.org, CreditToday and Screen Cast Central.
  • Offer/Pricing: No free trial. Free demo available. $197 per month.

Mequoda (Haven Nexus)

www.mequoda.com

  • Industry Focus:  Multiplatform publishers in the $2-25 million range.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Authorize.net, Paypal and Cybersource 
  • Customers Include: Paid circulation and free circulation publications, B2B and B2C. 
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

MetraTech
www.metratech.com

  • Industry Focus:  SaaS and Everything-as-Service (XaaS).
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Authorize.net, Braintree, Paypal, CyberCource, Chase Paymentech, WorldPay and TransFirst.
  • Customers Include: Concur, LifeLock and TelMore.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Monexa
www.monexa.com

  • Industry Focus: Enterprise-class clients in a wide range of industries.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Chase Paymentech, beamstream, Authorize.net, PayPal, Vantiv, Global Payments, Globale Collect, InternetSecure, RedFin Network
  • Customers include:  GE Healthcare, Wiley, ActiveState, AOL, Bell, Expedia, PitneyBowes, ReMaxx, Sprint, Telus, Pareto Systems and Radiant.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information and a demo. 

MultiPub

www.multipub.com

  • Industry FocusBusiness-to-business, consumer and newspaper publishers.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Authorize.net, Magento, Chase Paymenttech, PayPal and WooCommerce.
  • Customers Include: CQ Roll Call, Informa, AHC Media, Thompson Information Services, PennyPress and American Recycler.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Palm Coast Data

www.palmcoastdata.com

  • Industry Focus: Media companies, membership and nonprofit organizations, marketing support services.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Chase and Vantiv.
  • Customers Include: Redan Publishing, Remedy Health Media, The Nation, Down East Enterprise, Latina Media Ventures, Motorsport Marketing, The Saturday Evening Post Society and Source Interlink Media.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Recurly

www.recurly.com

  • Industry FocusNo specific industry focus.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Authorize.net, Beanstream, Braintree, Chase Paymentech, CyberSource, Vantive, Merchant eSolutions, PayPal Paylow Pro, PayPal payments Pro, SagePay, Stripe and Wirecard.
  • Customers Include: JibJab, CBS Interactive, HubSpot, LinkedIn, Twitch, Adobe and Dish.
  • Offer/Pricing: Sign-up is free. Contact vendor for information and a demo. 

Spreedly

www.spreedly.com

  • Industry FocusOther platform providers and companies with in-house enterprise-class development teams.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: 91 systems supported globally, including Authorize.Net, BluePay, Braintree, BridgePay, CyberSource, DIBS, First Data Global Gateway, Moneris, PayPal Payflow Pro, Chase Paymentech, Stripe, Sage, TNS, TransFirst, Vantiv, WePay and Worldpay.
  • Customers Include:  chargebee, Cratejoy, fusebill, SubscribePro, Oxfam, SeatGeek, zomato
  • Offer/Pricing: Starts at $99 per month, which includes one gateway, 5,000 transaction and 5,000 cards.

SubscribePro

www.subscribepro.com

  • Industry Focus: No specific industry focus.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Hundreds of systems supported globally, including Authorize.net, Braintree, PayPal, First Data, CyberSource, Vantiv, Chase Paymenttech, Payflow Pro, WorldPay, TNS and Sage.
  • Customers Include: Previnex.
  • Offer/Pricing: Free demo. The self-serve plan is $159 per month and $0.40 per transaction; the community plan is $279 per month and $0.35 per transaction; and the enterprise plan is $389 per month and $0.30 per transaction.

SubscriptionBridge

www.subscriptionbridge.com

  • Industry FocusNo specific industry focus.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Authorize.net and Braintree.
  • Customers Include: Not available.
  • Offer/Pricing: Sign up is free. Plans are $25 per month for fewer than 100 subscribers, or $0.25 per subscriber for fewer than 500 subscribers. Price per subscriber is tiered to $0.11 per subscriber.

THINKSubscription (Digital River)

www.thinksubscription.com

  • Industry Focus: Publishers, news media, online service providers and membership organizations.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: PayPal,  CyberSource and Digital River World Payments.
  • Customers include: MacMillan, InvestorPlace, The John Hopkins University Press, Yes!, TI ITF, OAG, Cricket, News Digital Media, Audio-Digest Foundation and  Cabot.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Time Customer Service (TCS)
www.tcs-timeinc.com

 

  • Industry Focus: Media and Publishing.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Chase, Vantiv, First Data and Chase’s Orbital gateway.
  • Customers Include: National Geographic Traveler, Fortune, People, New York, People, Harvard Business Review, Sunset, Essence, Kiplinger’s, Food & Wine, Money, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Real Simple and Health.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

Vindicia

www.vindicia.com

  • Industry FocusEnterprise-class clients in media and content, online services, SaaS, software, OTT Monetization and Web-based businesses.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Chase Paymentech, Vantiv, Merchant eSolutions, a Cielo Company, First Data Merchant Solutions, GlobalCollect, WorldPay, Adyen, TSYS, CyberSource/Authorize.Net, PayPal, Amazon Payments, Coinbase, MOLpay, Skrill, InComm and Boku. 
  • Customers Include: Lifelock, The MotleyFool, Pearson, HighTail, Britannica, Bloomberg, TransUnion, Bloomberg, Carbonite, DirecTV and the NFL.
  • Offer/Pricing: Free trial. Contact vendor for information. 

Zenbership

www.zenbership.com

  • Industry Focus: Clubs, organizations, subscription websites and insurance companies.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Stripe, Authorize.net, Beanstream, Avalon, eWay, First Data and Paypal Payments Pro.
  • Customers Include: SRED engine.
  • Offer/Pricing: $3,500, with optional services available for $799 (full implementation); programmer plan is $1,500 per week and hosting is $30 per month.

Zuora

www.zuora.com

  • Industry Focus: Enterprise-class clients in cloud applications, cloud infrastructure communications, media, education, healthcare and the IoT.
  • Payment Gateway and/or Processors Supported: Numerous gateways supported, including Adyen, Authorize.net, BlueSnap, Braintree, Chase Paymentech, CyberSource, First Data, Global Collect, Merchant eSolutions, PayPal PayFlow Pro, Stripe, Vantiv and WorldPay.
  • Customers Include: Fairfax Media, FT, Box, Zendesk, InsideView, Dell, Pearson, Safari Books Online, Kaplan, PTC, Reed Business Information, HBO and Time.
  • Offer/Pricing: Contact vendor for information. 

 

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