2Checkout
Is This Your Business?Author: Kaitlyn Short
2Checkout was founded in 1999 by Alan Homewood when he started this business out of his home. 2Checkout is now an online payment processor for start-up businesses, as well as small and medium-sized businesses with the capability of processing payments worldwide. The company focuses solely on providing online payment options for small and mid-sized businesses and it has a wide variety of payment options available. However, 2Checkout's fees are slightly higher for a payment processing company of its size compared to other leading payment processing companies. 2Checkout charges 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction. The company also offers volume discounts for businesses who process more than $50K per month. These are the U.S. rates, but please note 2Checkout's fees vary from country to country. In addition to attractive rates, 2Checkout also has an impressive line of services.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Features and benefits
- Payment options
- Plug-ins
Features and Benefits
2Checkout does not appear to use any deceptive marketing practices and there aren't any complaints about the company's rates, processing fees, or customer service procedures. The company offers a variety of popular features most merchants look for in a payment processing company. 2Checkout offers a pre-integrated payment gateway, transparent pricing, month to month service commitments, and a free merchant account. The company also has a PCI compliant gateway, international processing, and international fraud prevention, no monthly fees, no setup fees, no hidden fees, and no cancellation fees. Nor does the company charge extra for fraud protection or recurring payments features.
Payment Options
2Checkout offers easy payouts which include bank transfers, international wire transfers, or if you prefer, payment to a Payoneer MasterCard. 2Checkout accepts credit cards, debit cards, and Paypal with no additional fees and it has implemented advanced fraud protections with more than 300 fraud rules which are applied to each transaction. This is the highest level of protection in the industry, which is extremely important when it's your responsibility to protect your customer's sensitive data.
Plug-ins
The company has plug-ins for 100 of the most popular shopping carts with no coding required, automatic responsive mobile optimization, a dashboard with multi-level user access, and two checkout methods, hosted or API, with easy website integration and fewer fields for checkout. Customers can easily integrate their information with Freshbooks and other add-ons as well. Additionally, 2Checkout has customer service offered via phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, FAQ's, and a knowledge base (phone support not available on weekends).
The Bad
- Customer complaints
- Online services only
- Transaction fees
Customer Complaints
There are some complaints from customers who made a purchase from a 2Checkout merchant and were not happy with their purchase, but instead of filing a complaint against the merchant, they filed a complaint against 2Checkout. In addition to the above complaints, 2Checkout also has some other issues that might be of some concern. The company has a few fees customers need to be aware of, such as:
- A range of chargeback fees are accessed, and vary depending on the situation; however, most range from $20-$65
- It does charge a $10.99 setup fee for international accounts
- Currency conversion fees average 2-5% above the daily bank exchange rate
- There is a 1% fee for payments from customers outside the United States
Online Services Only
2Checkout does not offer POS systems, it provides online services only. Since the company offers a virtual terminal only, any credit card information can't be manually entered by hand; therefore, customers have to contact their account rep for assistance, if they have a manual transaction.
Transaction Fees
Some merchants have mentioned that it states in the contract that 2Checkout can charge a higher transaction fee than what it advertises if it determines a business is a high risk. Additionally, 2Checkout has a policy to hold funds for 90 days after an account is terminated; therefore, if customers have what is considered a high-risk business, they might want to make a note of this.
The Bottom Line
2Checkout has a fairly high satisfaction rating for a company of its size. However, just like anything else, customers need to read everything carefully and familiarize themselves with all of the company's policies before signing anything, especially if they have what the company considers a high-risk business model. Due to 2Checkout's exceptional fraud prevention measures, it is better equipped to handle risk, which is a huge benefit for merchants, because a security breach could essentially be the end for many companies who can't sustain such a loss and the damaging press that comes with any security breach. 2Checkout offers feature-rich services and even though its rates are slightly higher than some, it offers a variety of options that many merchants think make the fee structure worth the little extra it charges. One thing to note is the fact that, per the company's contract, it does have the option of charging a higher fee than advertised, but with that being said, the company currently doesn't have any complaints regarding this issue. There are some negative reviews out there, but for the most part, those stem from merchants who don't understand the process. 2Checkout is widely accepted around the world and due to its global reach, its extensive list of convenient features, and its predominantly positive reputation, we don't have a problem recommending them. However, just like anything else, you need to perform your own due diligence to see if what they have to offer is right for you.
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