2Checkout Review (Now Verifone)

Pros

• Predictable flat-rate pricing
• Month-to-month billing
• Broad support for international merchants
• Excellent website and advertising

Cons

• Cannot process card-present transactions
• Frequent reports of held funds
• Not available to high-risk merchants

2Checkout Overview

As the company’s name suggests, 2Checkout allows customers “to check out” and pay when completing an online purchase. 2CO is very similar to PayPal and Stripe Payments and competes for much of the same market share. With this 2Checkout review, we’re going to discuss what distinguishes 2Checkout from these other processors.

What Is 2Checkout?

2Checkout (2CO) is a payment service provider (PSP) for eCommerce merchants, specializing in international sales, subscription billing, and easy shopping cart integration. It offers simple (though pricey) flat-rate pricing and month-to-month contracts, which we appreciate. However, 2CO is for card-not-present purchases only. If you’ll be processing lots of card-present transactions, you’ll need to use another processor in addition to or in place of 2CO.

There are several positives and negatives to consider regarding 2CO. For starters, withheld funds and terminated accounts are the main complaints of 2CO.com users, which isn’t surprising given that the company is a PSP. Other PSPs — PayPal, Stripe, and Square, to name a few — have the same complaints levied against them. However, 2Checkout’s offerings are some of the most sophisticated we’ve seen for accepting online payments. If you need a robust yet flexible way to accept card-not-present payments, 2Checkout is a very viable option.

Before we go further, remember that 2Checkout is currently only able to process card-not-present transactions. These transactions can occur online or within an app, or they can be manually keyed-in transactions. Also, 2Checkout offers more features than your average online payment processor, which is great if you need recurring billing and an online store builder. However, it also means that 2Checkout is more expensive than more basic options. If you just need a basic online processor or a way to accept card-present transactions, consider looking at a few of our other preferred payment processors.

Read on for more details about the 2Checkout platform and how it can benefit your business.

Countries Served

2Checkout serves a remarkable 234 countries and territories worldwide: 37 in North/Central America, 61 in Europe, 51 in the Asia/Pacific region, 71 in Africa & the Middle East, and 14 in Latin America. All in all, the vast majority of the planet can accept payments with 2Checkout.

2Checkout Products & Services

While some payment companies fail to provide basic information about their products and services, 2Checkout’s main product offerings are clearly described in detail on the company website. While the site occasionally descends into marketing-speak, overall, it’s far better than most websites we’ve seen in the payments industry.

2CO (an abbreviation Breaking Bad fans can appreciate) breaks up its product offerings according to the pricing plan. Merchants on higher-tier (read: more expensive) plans will have access to more features. That said, you can always add on more features à-la-carte style via 2Checkout’s add-ons. You’ll need to decide what features your business needs before you can evaluate the total cost of ownership. Here is a brief breakdown of the features included in each plan:

2Sell

• Sell Internationally: Sell in 200+ countries and territories. List your checkout in 29 languages, and accept payment in 100 currencies. Your customers won’t have to sign up for 2CO themselves; they can quickly make purchases using one of the 45 accepted payment methods (including PayPal if they have a PayPal account).
• Integrate With Shopping Carts: 2Checkout has prebuilt integrations with 120+ of the most popular software options.
• Checkout Features: Make your checkout page mobile-friendly and customize the look to match your brand. Localized checkout is also available.

2Subscribe

All of the features from 2Sell, PLUS:

• Recurring Billing: Recurring billing is available globally through nine specific payment methods. Take advantage of 2Checkout’s subscription management tools. Customize your subscription’s billing frequency and select your pricing model (you can choose from flat-rate, usage-based, and hybrid). Subscription reporting is also included.
• Revenue Recovery Tools: 2Checkout claims to help merchants recover up to 20% of their revenue using its account updater and retry logic tool.

2Monetize (For Selling Digital Goods ONLY)

All of the features from 2Sell, PLUS:

• Conversion Rate Optimization Tools & Services: The company doesn’t include more detailed information about its tools and services on its website.
• Cart Abandonment Prevention: These tools typically include cart abandonment reports.
• A/B Testing: See what inspires more purchases.
• Invoice Management: Send invoices to customers.
• Global Taxes: Use 2Checkout to manage VAT and sales tax collection and handling.
• Risk & Fraud Protection: Reduce chargebacks with fraud protection tools.

Add-Ons

As we’ve mentioned above, you can add more features to your chosen plan through add-ons. Some of these add-ons are already included as features of specific plans, and some you can purchase at additional cost. I like how this add-on model lets you customize your feature set. On the other hand, I don’t like that prices for add-ons are not listed, making it difficult to determine your custom plan’s overall cost. Here are those add-ons:

• Verifone CPQ: B2B quote tool that provides integration between sales and back end ordering, subscription, payment, and financial systems, available at additional cost.
• 2Bill: Subscription management tools that 2Subscribe and 2Monetize already include.
• 2Recover: Renewal recover tool that includes an advanced authorization dashboard, available at additional cost.
• 2Partner: Increased channel distribution and automation that is available only for 2Monetize at additional cost.
• 2Service: For premium services and dedicated support, available at additional cost.

Also, the following features are available to all merchants using 2Checkout:

• Hosted & Inline Checkout: You can choose between 2CO’s hosted cart or its inline cart (or the integrated payments option discussed below). The hosted cart allows you to offer checkout on 2CO’s servers. This checkout is mobile-friendly and customizable. Alternatively, you can use the company’s inline cart to offer checkout on your site. Customers will not be redirected to checkout. 2CO recommends the inline cart for merchants with a smaller product catalog.
• Payment API: 2CO has now added a third option for checkout: directly integrated payments. This solution gives you the most control over the payment process and is the most streamlined for your customer. Buyers place sales directly on your website without the need for redirection to a hosted payment page. Card data is tokenized, and you submit the charge from your server via the 2Checkout API.
• Reports: View executive, financial, and marketing reports. Merchants on the 2Subscribe plan can view subscription reports, including renewal and churn rate, active customers, etc.
• Security: 2Checkout provides tools for fraud management. Additionally, 2Checkout complies with a whole slew of security standards. The company is PCI DSS compliant, ISAE 3402 and SSAE 18 compliant, and GDPR compliant (for the EU). 2Checkout also boasts a 99.98% uptime.
• Shopping Cart Integration: In addition to hosted payment pages and direct integration options, 2CO already integrates with an ever-increasing lineup of established eCommerce shopping carts. The current cart count is over 120. Note that invoicing, booking, and other types of software integrations are included in 2CO’s “shopping cart” list. You’ll also have access to 2Checkout’s simple plug-and-play cart with both hosted and inline checkout.

Also, 2Checkout offers an optional and unique selling solution that it calls “Merchant of Record.” In this model, 2Checkout becomes a reseller of your digital and physical goods. Your goods are sold on a “co-branded” website, and 2Checkout is responsible for order processing, payment processing, and tax collection. As the merchant, you can change the website’s look and feel and monitor your sales through a dashboard. You are still responsible for shipping your physical products, but aside from that, your business’s daily operations are passed on to 2Checkout. 2Checkout also offers add-on services for building integrations and marketing, which are available for purchase. Pricing information for these services is not disclosed, but presumably, it depends on your business and current sales.

Keep in mind that this Merchant of Record service is entirely separate from the payment processing service. If you choose to use 2Checkout’s payment processing service, you’re not required to sign up for Merchant of Record.

Overall, we’re impressed by 2Checkout’s range of features. We especially like that 2CO offers three different ways to add its checkout services to your website (Standard, Inline, and Payment API). You can see which of these checkout services are compatible with your shopping cart by looking in 2CO’s master list of third-party integrations. Each integration lists the available checkout options as well as whether recurring billing is available.

Fees & Rates

Your 2Checkout fees depend on which of the three pricing plans you sign up for:

• 2Sell: 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction
• 2Subscribe: 4.5% + $0.45 per transaction
• 2Monetize: 6.0% + $0.60 per transaction

2Checkout bases its pricing on a pay-as-you-go model — you’ll pay per transaction, but there are no monthly or annual account fees or early termination fees for closing your account.

At the same time, 2Checkout’s transaction processing rates are significantly higher than we’re used to seeing. The lowest plan charges 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction, which is 0.6% + $0.05 more than the industry standard rate for online transactions (2.9% + $0.30). If you are just looking for a basic online processor, this might be a deal-breaker for you.

However, in return for these higher transaction rates, you’ll gain access to a few features that aren’t available with cheaper competitors. For example, compared to Stripe, 2Checkout has much more extensive international capabilities. While Stripe is open to merchants in 34 countries, 2Checkout is available in over 200. Also, 2Checkout is often praised for its out-of-the-box usability; the same cannot be said for Stripe. And 2Checkout comes with features that cost extra with other services, such as recurring billing and an online store builder.

There is also an enterprise plan for high-volume sellers. If you sign up for this plan, you’ll be able to negotiate your pricing and features. The enterprise plan includes premium onboarding, dedicated support, professional services, custom integration, and an affiliate network.

2Checkout charges very few fees on top of its flat transaction rates. There is a chargeback fee (which is charged by all payment processors) and a cross-border fee. 2Checkout’s chargeback fee depends on your business’s chargeback ratio. If your chargebacks make up less than 1% of your transactions, you’ll pay $15 per transaction. If your chargeback ratio falls between 1%-2%, it’s a $20 fee, and if your ratio is higher than 2%, it’s $45. You’ll want to keep your chargeback ratio under 1% to avoid higher fees and keep your account in good standing with 2Checkout.

Additionally, you’ll need to consider the cross-border fee. If you are operating in one of 23 select countries (including the US, Canada, and the UK) and you have a 2Sell or 2Subscribe account (2Monetize accounts are exempt), you can expect to pay an additional 2% cross-border fee to accept payments from customers outside of that country.

Also, note that transaction rates can vary for a few advanced localized payment methods (such as Boleto Bancario and Kombini). One of these “advanced” payment methods is 2Check (eCheck)/ACH. I’m told that the additional cost for this processing type is 2.6% + $0.15, and it’s only available for certain packages. Ask about rates for any local payment method that you plan on using.

Add-ons are also available at an additional cost. I have not been able to find any pricing information for add-ons. Let us know in the Comments section below how much your business has paid for 2Checkout add-ons!

Supported Payment Types & Currency

2Checkout offers support for 45+ payment methods and 100 display & billing currencies. And with over 30 languages supported, your customers will be able to shop in their language while paying in their local currencies using their chosen methods. From credit cards to ACH to Alipay to various localized payment methods around the world, 2CO has international eCommerce covered.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

2Checkout doesn’t appear to use gimmicky marketing tactics, and its website is clear and easy to navigate. Pricing is straightforward and easily accessed, as is the fact that 2CO is a PSP, not a merchant account provider. Advertising is standard and mostly limited to the web. 2CO attracts new customers via its site or referrals, and I found no evidence of an old-school salesforce cold calling potential customers.

The Legal Center contains several handy resources, such as privacy policies and lists of restricted industries. I think 2Checkout could improve transparency by making this list of restricted industries even more available for onboarding merchants. Negative reviews indicate that many merchants sign on with the processor without having read this list. Overall, though, 2Checkout does very well in this area.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

The 2Checkout website includes two Terms & Conditions documents. However, these documents are written for the end consumer, not the merchant. To obtain a copy of a Merchant Agreement, you’ll need to contact 2Checkout directly. You may be sent two different documents upon request: one for 2CO’s payment processing services as a PSP and the other for the Merchant of Record model. We’re focusing exclusively on 2CO’s payment processing here.

2Checkout’s payment solutions are offered on a month-to-month basis with no early termination fee. Your agreement may be terminated with 30 days prior written notice. Upon termination, 2CO may decide to reserve a portion of your funds as a “deposit.” The purpose of this deposit is to guarantee security for 2CO by covering any remaining refunds, chargebacks, fees, and penalties that your business may incur after you terminate your 2CO account. 2CO can choose to hold this deposit for as long as it deems necessary. In its Merchant Agreement, the company states that it is typical to hold these funds for up to 180 days (the standard window for chargebacks on credit transactions).

Also, check out 2CO’s Legal Overview, including the company’s lists of prohibited and restricted products. It’s exceptionally comprehensive and detailed. This lack of ambiguity is a huge plus. If your business is anywhere close to a restricted category, save yourself some future pain and clear it with 2CO from the beginning or find a high-risk processing specialist.

Finally, information on payouts and 2CO’s rolling reserve is available in the knowledgebase. Here’s a quick overview of 2CO’s policies:

Payouts occur weekly for merchants on the 2Sell and 2Subscribe plans. Sellers on 2Monetize will have monthly payouts by default. Slow payouts are one of the negatives that we’ve seen users mention on review sites. If you go with 2Checkout, try to negotiate a more frequent payout schedule (and get it in writing).

2Checkout operates on a rolling reserve: The company will withhold 5% of your transactions for 90 days on a rolling basis. 2Checkout also maintains the right to raise the reserve rate (hold more of your money) if your business experiences too many chargebacks or refunds. This is another frequent cause of complaints. However, keep in mind that this issue (held funds) is typical of all PSPs. Our article on how to avoid merchant account holds, freezes, and terminations has more advice on preventing this problem.

Overall, 2Checkout is on par with similar providers as far as processing agreements go, maybe even a bit better thanks to that super-clear list of prohibited businesses. Just make sure you read every word of each document before you sign. You don’t want to be surprised by held funds or a terminated account later on down the road.

Customer Service & Technical Support

2Checkout offers technical support through a few different avenues. You can get help for order and payment issues 24/7 through phone and email. And true to 2Checkout’s international approach, that support is available in nine different languages.

Take a look at all the ways you can contact 2CO as well as a few of the learning resources you can access:

• Phone Support: This option is available Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:30 PM EST. These aren’t the greatest hours, but the fact that phone support exists at all puts 2CO ahead of many other competing payment service providers.
• Support Tickets: Inquiries outside the regular operating hours listed above are answered ASAP.
• FAQ: This webpage covers a dozen or so basic topics.
• eCommerce Resources: Whitepapers, webinars, infographics, and datasheets are available for download. You’ll have to hand over some personal information (name, phone number, and email) to access these resources. You can also view product release videos (no personal information required).
• Glossary: This feature is not particularly extensive, but it’s better than nothing.
• Blog: 2Checkout publishes articles regularly, covering selling strategies and industry news.
• Developer Resources: Here, you’ll find a knowledgebase and API documentation. I’d definitely suggest perusing these resources if you’re considering 2CO. I found very important bits of information here, such as details on payout options and the rolling reserve.

You can also contact 2Checkout via social media (although this is more of a last resort option). 2Checkout is active on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter and occasionally responds to customer complaints and concerns on these platforms.

2Checkout Reviews, Complaints & Common Problems

Negative 2Checkout Reviews & Complaints

2Checkout reviews cover a wide variety of opinions. Some users love 2CO; others call it a scam. In total, I found more negative reviews than positive ones. However, this is not abnormal for a payment processor (see our article on negativity bias). After reading hundreds of reviews, I identified a few trends in these comments, both positive and negative.

2Checkout maintains an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau (it had an A+ rating a year ago), with 17 complaints filed within the past three years, 7 of which have been filed within the past twelve months. This is actually a much lower complaint volume than the company had in October 2020 when we last updated our review. Unfortunately, all but one of these complaints are no longer available to view on the company’s BBB page. However, you’ll also find additional complaints on Trustpilot and other review sites. Issues of concern to merchants include the following:

• Account Termination: 2CO appears to closely monitor accounts; users report account closures with no notice or a highly inadequate explanation. Some merchants said that 2CO closed their account after performing a final review of the business, even after those merchants had been using 2CO for years.
• Withheld Funds: Some merchants report dissatisfaction with 2Checkout’s reserve policy — the automatic holding of 5% of each payout for 90 days to protect against risk and chargebacks. Most often, sellers were frustrated that their money was (or still is) being held for an indefinite period after their account was suddenly frozen for review or just plain closed. This period is typically at least 90 days and sometimes much longer (up to a year!). Unfortunately, customers have up to 120 days from the time of purchase to file a chargeback, so the company has little recourse but to hold funds from a transaction for at least that long.
• Poor/Slow Customer Service: Some users report frustration with the lack of urgency and clarity in the resolution process with 2CO. Merchants feel strung along or left in the dark for long periods.

That all sounds pretty bad at first glance, but it’s important to point out that the overall complaint total for 2Checkout and the nature of the complaints themselves are pretty reasonable by industry standards. These issues plague all payment service providers, as it’s unusually easy to set up an account and start processing right away.

Positive 2Checkout Reviews & Testimonials

2Checkout includes a brief list of testimonials on the “Clients” page of its website. These reviews were originally written on third-party review sites, and 2CO provides links to those original comments. The company also has a handful of video testimonials on its YouTube channel. Around the web, I found bits of praise for 2CO in the form of written reviews from users. Here’s what those positive reviews tended to mention:

• Widely Available: 2CO works in multiple payment methods, currencies, and languages. Most significantly, there are only a handful of countries 2CO does not serve. Some merchants have selected 2CO essentially by default but have been happy with the option nonetheless. Several sellers expressed gratitude that 2CO is available in countries where companies such as Stripe or Shopify Payments are not. Merchants also like how 2CO can manage international tax rules.
• Easy To Use: Merchants report that 2CO is quick to set up and operate.
• Support: Some comments report positive interactions with customer service and support. Note that, overall, I’ve seen many more negative comments on customer support than positive.

I should mention that 2Checkout currently receives an average user rating of 3.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot (based on 1,790 reviews), which is pretty decent for a payment processor.

Alternatives To 2Checkout

Let’s see how 2Checkout stacks up against its main competitors.

• PayPal: PayPal is probably 2Checkout’s closest competitor when it comes to 2CO’s primary selling point: global eCommerce and international payment acceptance. What’s more, both platforms are intuitive and easy to use (and unlike 2Checkout, PayPal supports brick-and-mortar sales through its POS app, PayPal Zettle). And though both processors offer a flat processing rate, 2Checkout’s rates for its higher-tier subscriptions feature substantially higher per-transaction rates than does PayPal. Of course, these plans include features that, in some cases, you’ll have to pay extra for with PayPal. If you’re considering both 2CO and PayPal for online sales, do some research on both companies to see just how much you’ll have to pay to get the features your business will need to grow and thrive.
• Stripe: Like 2CO, Stripe is an eCommerce-focused PSP offering international support, recurring billing tools, and more. While Stripe supports (at last count) 43 countries, 135 currencies, and numerous payment methods, this still doesn’t match 2Checkout’s payment versatility. Pricing-wise, Stripe’s across-the-board 2.9% + $0.30 per-transaction rate is lower than 2Checkout’s lowest rate and makes figuring out your costs easier. Both processors integrate with a wide variety of shopping carts. And while Stripe offers a wide variety of eCommerce tools and features, you’re more likely to require the help of a developer to implement them than you are with 2Checkout. It’s not really the out-of-the-box solution 2CO is.
• Shopify: Shopify is similar to the other two PSPs mentioned in this section in that it specializes in eCommerce, sports flat-rate pricing, and offers broad international support. Unlike PayPal and Stripe (and 2Checkout!), however, Shopify famously offers its own online store solution, making eCommerce even easier. Regarding Shopify’s subscription tiers: On the downside, unlike 2Checkout, Shopify’s eCommerce plans charge a monthly fee ranging from $29/month to $299/month (you can pay $9/month if you just want buy buttons and not a full online store). On the plus side, Shopify’s per-transaction rate goes down as you move up the subscription tier ladder, not up like with 2Checkout. High-volume merchants will appreciate this. However, 2Checkout has broader international support.
• Adyen: Adyen is another PSP specializing in international eCommerce. Adyen supports a large number of countries and payment methods (both international and region-specific), though not as many as does 2Checkout. Feature-wise, Adyen supports numerous shopping cart integrations, recurring billing, and other features also offered by 2CO. As pricing goes, Adyen differs greatly from 2CO, offering interchange-plus pricing that tends to benefit high-volume sellers more than flat-rate pricing. Unfortunately, Adyen imposes a monthly minimum on its merchants — you must have a minimum invoice of $120/month or 1,000 transactions/month to keep your account in good standing.

2Checkout Review Final Verdict

2Checkout is a solid solution for several specific categories of merchants. If you are selling exclusively online and need access to comprehensive subscription management features, 2CO may be for you. In the same vein, if your business is located in a country without many payment processing options, 2Checkout will likely be available. Merchants who fall into either of these two categories — and don’t mind paying a little more per transaction — should consider 2CO.

Along with its easy-to-navigate website, we like 2Checkout’s two simple hosted payment page options as well as its experience handling payments for both physical and digital goods. I also like that the company offers a third option to host checkout yourself using 2Checkout’s direct API.

The great thing about these three payment setup options is that no coding experience is needed to set them up — unless you want to add advanced customization options. Compatibility with virtually all shopping carts makes 2Checkout a more viable option for many eCommerce merchants when compared to alternatives like Stripe or PayPal. This broad compatibility and wide international availability make the company an excellent choice for those who don’t need to accept card-present transactions.

Simultaneously, 2CO’s high per-transaction costs hurt its overall score, especially since higher-volume merchants would most likely be paying even higher processing rates — the reverse of what usually happens in the payments industry. Considering this, along with the company’s decent reputation, 2Checkout earns a score of 4 out of 5 stars.

For more information on online commerce, check out the following resources!

• Take Your Business Global With The Best International Payment Processing Options
• How To Use A Payment Gateway To Process Credit Card Payments
• Need A High-Risk Merchant Account? Here Are The 6 Best High-Risk Processors To Work With

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

2Checkout	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see 2Checkout for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

2Checkout	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see 2Checkout for yourself.

Sources

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