This article will guide merchants through understanding and setting up the Verified Merchant Seal (VMS).

What is the Verified Merchant Seal (VMS)?

The Verified Merchant Seal (VMS) page allows you to view the list of Web domains that are configured to display the Verified Merchant Seal and provides the Verified Merchant Seal HTML code.

Displaying the Authorize.net Verified Merchant Seal on your website is a quick and easy way to boost customer confidence and potentially increase sales. It's free! Here's how it works:

1. Configure the Web domains (e.g., http://www.yourdomain.com) where you want to display the Verified Merchant Seal in the Merchant Interface.
2. You (or your developer) then copy and paste the generated seal HTML code from the Merchant Interface to the desired area(s) of your website(s).
3. When a customer clicks on your Verified Merchant Seal, a pop-up window appears verifying that you are an Authorize.net merchant.

The Authorize.net Verified Merchant Seal assures your customers that their transactions are being handled by one of the most trusted names in the payments industry. Configuring your Verified Merchant Seal Domains List is the first step toward displaying the Verified Merchant Seal on your website.

Cost and Billing for VMS

There is no fee for or cost for using the VMS. You may view your account billing and fee details with the steps below:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Select Account from the main toolbar.
3. Click on Merchant Profile in the main left side menu.
4. Click on Fees to the right of Payment Gateway in the Payment Methods section.

Signing up for VMS

Only an Account Owner can enable this feature.

To sign up for VMS, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface
2. Click Account from the main toolbar.
3. Click Verified Merchant Seal in the main left side menu.
4. Click Sign Up. The VMS Service Addendum page appears and fees will be displayed.
5. Click the checkbox labeled I have read and understand the Terms of Service.
6. Click I Agree.

To add domains to the Verified Merchant Seal Domains List:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Click Account from the main toolbar.
3. Click Verified Merchant Seal in the main left side menu.
4. Enter a full Web domain address (e.g., www.mydomain.com) in the text field on the left and click Add >>.
5. Note: You do not need to add the full address of every Web page on which you would like to display the Verified Merchant Seal. By listing only the root domain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com), the Verified Merchant Seal can function successfully on all pages on that domain such as www.yourdomain.com/page.html.
6. Click Submit to continue or click Cancel to cancel the action. The Verified Merchant Seal page appears displaying the updated Verified Merchant Seal Domains List.

To implement the VMS code on your web site(s):

1. Copy the code from the Verified Merchant Seal page.
2. Paste the code into the footer of your homepage and/or other desired area(s) of your website(s).
3. You might need to contact your Web developer for assistance with implementing the code in the proper location(s).

To implement the VMS code on the Authorize.net Hosted Payment Form:

The VMS can be added to the hosted payment form used by Server Integration Method and Simple Checkout Hosted Form using the following steps:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Click Account from the main toolbar.
3. Click Payment Form
4. Click Verified Merchant Seal
5. Check the box for: Display Verified Merchant Seal on the Payment Form
6. Click Submit

Removing a domain from the VMS Domains List:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface
2. Click Account from the main toolbar.
3. Click Verified Merchant Seal in the main left side menu.
4. Click the Web domain address you would like to remove in the Verified Merchant Seal Domains List.
5. Click << Remove.
6. Click Submit to continue.

Removing the VMS from your web sites(s):

To remove the VMS from other forms, that will need to be done by your web site provider/host and developer to remove the seal code.

Removing the VMS from the Authorize.net Hosted Payment Form:

The VMS can be removed from the hosted payment form used by Server Integration Method and Simple Checkout Hosted Form using the following steps:

1. Sign in to the Merchant Interface.
2. Click Account from the main toolbar.
3. Click Payment Form
4. Click Verified Merchant Seal
5. Uncheck the box for: Display Verified Merchant Seal on the Payment Form
6. Click Submit

Common Errors

Refer to the list below for additional details on the error or problem you are experiencing.

I configured my domain in the Merchant Interface, but when I click on the seal I get an "Unable to Verify Site" message.

Open your Web page that displays the Verified Merchant Seal. Verify that one of the domains you configured in the Merchant Interface matches the domain in the Web address bar exactly. If the URLs do not match, add the domain that appears in the Web address bar to your Verified Merchant Seal Domains List on the Verified Merchant Seal page. You should configure BOTH of the following domain formats for each domain on which you would like to display the seal: www.yourdomain.com and domain.com.

The domain shown in the "Unable to Verify Site" pop-up window does not match the domain I configured in the Merchant Interface.

There are a couple of reasons why this problem might occur:

• You use an e-commerce hosting platform that masks or hides its domain. If the URL in the "Cannot Verify Site" window matches the domain of your e-commerce host, you will need to configure that domain in the Merchant Interface Verified Merchant Seal Configuration.
• This solution will allow for successful verification. However, your customers may not understand why the domain in the "Verified Merchant" pop-up window does not match the domain they see in their Web browser, which might create confusion or suspicion. Please contact your e-commerce host service provider for information about a potential solution.
• Likewise, if you use a shopping cart or other non-Authorize.net hosted payment form, you will need to configure the domain of that solution on the Verified Merchant Seal page in the Merchant Interface.

After pasting the code into my Web page, the page takes a long time to load and the seal does not appear.

When using the Authorize.net Merchant Seal, it is important that the code we provide is not modified on your site. Site builders (and likely some other website editors) are known to modify our code when you publish your page. You can work around this issue by slightly modifying our code before entering it into Site builders.