title: Subscription Management with Merchant Account via API
body: <p>I'm researching gateways/vendors that provide the ability to create subscription based transitions for merchant accounts. In other words, I want to allow customers to signup for a subscription for a website service that charges once a month. </p>
  
  <p>Authorize.Net has an <a href="http://www.authorize.net/solutions/merchantsolutions/merchantservices/automatedrecurringbilling/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ARB</a> (Automated Recurring Billing) Module. The cost is cheap, $10 a month for the service, with unlimited subscriptions, and they have an API that allows XML or SOAP access to create, update and cancel. The LARGE negative of the service is that it doesn't have elegant way to obtain the current status of a subscription. They can send a daily email with an attached CSV file, or someone can login into the site and review statuses – neither is an enterprise solution.</p>
  
  <p>The parent company "CyberSource" has a "<a href="http://www.cybersource.com/resources/collateral/Resource_Center/product_briefs/Recurring_Billing_Datasheet_101403v2.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Recurring Billing Service</a>" which implies a more robust solution, including API access to subscription information. I’m currently waiting for a sales call back on costs related to the service. </p>
  
  <p>I also looked at PayPal's <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_payflow-recurring-billing-overview-outside" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Recurring Billing Service</a>, but that appears to require that users are redirected to the PayPal site to signup for the subscription -- again, not an an elegant solution.</p>
  
  <p>Does anyone know of any other vendors/gateways that offer subscription service, that meet the following criteria: </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Vendor/Gateway must host the credit
  card number and be PCI compliant </li>
  <li>Have an API that accessible via a Web
  Service, Post over HTTPS or SOAP </li>
  <li>Have an API that allows querying the
  status of subscriptions and/or the
  ability to query for activity since a certain date.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Thanks in advance for your suggestions.</p>