If I have Authorize.net, do I need a merchant account as well?

If I sign-up through Authorize.net to process credit cards, do I still need a special merchant account through my bank or do I just give Authorize.net my checking account # and the funds are deposited into that?

No. Authorize.net is both merchant account and payment gateway.

stevesh:

No. Authorize.net is both merchant account and payment gateway.

So on the Authorize.net signup form when they give you these 3 options:

I chould choose the first 2 for sure, right? Or I assume I could go thru my bank to setup the merchant account and just use authorize.net for gateway services, correct?

It looks that way, but I don't use authorize.net myself.

In all the research I've done, local bank merchant accounts have always been considerably more expensive than the national providers like authorize.net, though.

If you are going to use authorize.net - May I suggest you go through our partner? They can walk you through the whole process ... http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=infopages&pages_id=45

stevesh:

No. Authorize.net is both merchant account and payment gateway.

Per Authorize.net:

"Thank you for contacting Authorize.Net!

We are only a gateway provider and do not offer merchant services."