GoCardless Review

• ACH Processing: For users in the United States, GoCardless uses the “ACH pull” method to transfer funds from one bank account to another. ACH processing accounts require an extensive underwriting process that can sometimes be more involved than what a merchant account for credit card processing requires. GoCardless accounts are available to registered companies, charities,  and individuals. The signup process is straightforward and can be completed online. Note that funds from ACH transactions typically require 3-4 business days to be deposited into your account. This timeframe is more or less standard when using the Automated Clearing House network, so no faster option is currently available.
• eCheck Processing: GoCardless accounts also include support for eCheck payments in the United States. Note that GoCardless processes eCheck payments using the ACH network, and does not include support for paper check scanners.
• Recurring Billing Support: The GoCardless API includes full support for recurring billing, allowing you to manage memberships and subscriptions with ease. This feature is available with all pricing plans and does not require an additional monthly fee.
• International Payment Support: GoCardless is available in over 30 countries around the world, allowing merchants to send and receive payments to any country in which GoCardless does business. Support for international payments is provided through a partnership with Wise, one of our favorite money-transfer services.
• Third-Party Integrations: GoCardless is compatible with over 350 third-party platforms, including QuickBooks Online, Xero, Chargebee, Salesforce, and many others.
• Online Dashboard: All GoCardless accounts include access to an online dashboard, enabling you to monitor and control your account from any internet-connected device with a web browser.
• API Access & Developer Tools: All GoCardless accounts include a hosted payment page, as well as access to the GoCardless API for integrating the company’s payment platform directly into your business website. GoCardless includes an extensive library of API developer documents on its website to help you with this process. API client libraries are available for PHP, Java, Ruby, Python, and .NET. You can also set up a free sandbox account to test everything out before going live on your site.

• Automatic Retries For Failed Payments: If you sign up for the GoCardless Advanced or Pro plans, you’ll have access to the company’s Success+ feature, which will automatically retry any transaction that fails to be completed. The company claims a 70% success rate in being able to authorize and fund a transaction that has failed on the first attempt. Transactions are typically re-tried on the next business day. You can configure Success+ for multiple retries on the GoCardless dashboard. Note that approximately 97.3% of ACH payments go through successfully on the first try, as bank accounts typically do not expire the way credit and debit cards do.
• Protect+ Anti-Fraud Service: Protect+ automatically scans your payments for signs of possible fraud, alerting you and blocking the transaction until you can confirm the customer’s identity. This feature is only available with the GoCardless Pro Plan.

The GoCardless Standard Plan is the company’s entry-level pricing plan and offers the lowest per-transaction processing fees (0.50% + $0.05/transaction, capped at $5.00 for domestic transactions). There’s also no monthly fee, although you have the option to have your business name appear on your customer’s bank statements for $25.00/month. This might seem like a high price to pay for a seemingly minor feature, but it’s actually a very good investment if you accept a lot of ACH payments. Without it, your customers will merely see ‘GoCardless’ on their statements instead of your actual business name. This frequently leads to confusion and chargebacks, which can cost you both time and money.

While the Standard Plan is a good option for small businesses that accept relatively few ACH payments, be aware that you won’t have access to the Success+ automatic retry feature, the Verified Mandates customer identification authentication service, or the Protect+ anti-fraud feature.

The GoCardless Advanced Plan includes all of the features of the Standard Plan, as well as access to the Success+ automatic retry service, a customer identity verification feature, and the ability to design a tailored customer experience that allows you to embed a payment page directly on your website.

Because it includes these additional features, the Advanced Plan charges 0.75% + $0.05 per ACH transaction (capped at $6.25 for domestic transactions). International transactions cost 1% more. The Advanced Plan can cost up to $75/month with all optional services included.

For high-volume users or those with special needs, the GoCardless Pro Plan offers all of the features of the Standard and Advanced Plans, as well as access to the Protect+ antifraud service.

Because it includes the antifraud feature, transaction rates under the Pro plan are 0.90% + $0.05/transaction (capped at $7.00 for domestic transactions). Monthly fees can be as high as $75/month with all additional options included.

Although no minimum monthly processing volume is specified on the company’s website, customized pricing is available to high-volume enterprises and businesses requiring special services. Customized pricing also includes access to a dedicated account manager for customer support issues. Monthly fees and processing rates will be customized to your business, and are entirely negotiable between you and GoCardless.

As a UK-based business with only a single office in the United States, GoCardless does not have a profile with the BBB. However, the company has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars (based on 296 reviews) on G2, and a rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars (based on 53 reviews) on Capterra. Although the majority of the feedback received on these sites was positive, the following issues did come up frequently:

• Sudden account closures: Many business owners complained that after signing up with GoCardless, their accounts were suddenly closed with no warning once they started accepting payments. This issue comes up frequently with providers who use an online signup process to establish accounts. While your account may be approved by GoCardless in just a few minutes, it hasn’t been fully underwritten, and once you start processing a few payments, you’ll quickly be flagged if your transactions violate the company’s terms of service. To be clear, GoCardless generally does not accept high-risk merchants. It also publishes an extensive list of restricted activities on its website. However, this page is buried so deep in the Legal section of the site that few merchants are likely to see it before they sign up for an account. We’d really like to see GoCardless display this information more prominently on its website, as it would reduce the number of high-risk merchants who sign up and then have their accounts shut down. It would also reduce the number of complaints that the company receives about this issue.
• Erroneous complaints from consumers not recognizing ‘GoCardless’ on their bank statements: Unless you pay $25/month to have your business name appear on your customer’s bank statements, those transactions will merely list ‘GoCardless’ as the merchant. Since most customers will have no idea who GoCardless is, they’re very likely to dispute the transaction. This costs you money and time that could be better spent on running your business. If you don’t want to pay the extra monthly fee, the simplest way to reduce the frequency of this problem is to prominently post a statement that “transactions will appear as ‘GoCardless’ on your bank statement” on your checkout page.

As we’ve noted above, GoCardless has received a lot of positive feedback from business owners on both G2 and Capterra. Besides praising the company’s low cost and simplicity of use, users were particularly impressed with the huge number of integrations that GoCardless supports. With over 350 compatible partners, it’s highly likely that GoCardless will work with whatever other business software you’re using.

The company also has a large number of customer testimonials on its YouTube channel. While this kind of self-promotion is always going to be a little one-sided, it’s encouraging to see how actual business owners have benefited from using the services that GoCardless offers.