2Checkout (2CO) Review

2Checkout Overall Rating

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2Checkout Overview

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2Checkout (2Checkout.com & 2CO.com) is a merchant account alternative founded in 2000 that allows online merchants to accept credit card payments from their customers. Also called “2CO,” 2Checkout offers similar services to that of PayPal, Google Checkout and Amazon Payments with at least one major difference. Unlike PayPal, Google Checkout and Amazon Payments, 2Checkout does not solicit the customer to sign up for an account and simply lets the customer checkout using a credit or debit card, among a few other options. For the purposes of this 2Checkout review, we’ll be focusing on the credit card and debit card processing services.

Since 2Checkout focuses it business solely on providing online payment options to small and mid-size businesses, it claims to have much higher conversion rates than its competitors. This focus also allows 2Checkout’s services to be more feature-rich and centered on the needs of online sellers. Some of these services include a hosted shopping cart that can be easily setup and installed using code snippets, integration into 3rd party shopping carts, a PCI compliant payment gateway to secure the transactions, and a robust user dashboard that has multi-level user access controls to filter what different users can see and do on the system. The one feature that lacks with 2Checkout is that it appears that a virtual terminal is not included unless your business is a non-profit. Therefore, for-profit merchants cannot use 2Checkout to enter credit card information by hand. The details on the virtual terminal are unclear, so there may be exceptions depending on individual merchant needs.

2CO Sales Strategy & Tactics | A+

2Checkout does not appear to use any mis-leading sales tactics or marketing. The service is primarily marketed online through advertising and affiliates.

2CO Fees, Costs & Contract Terms | B-

There are both pros and cons to 2Checkout pricing and fees. On the pro side, 2Checkout offers month-to-month service with no cancellation fee, and its credit card processing transaction fees are simple and easy to understand. On the con side, there is a $49 setup fee ($30 for each additional account) and the processing fee is a whopping 5.5% + $0.49 per credit or debit card transaction. The processing fee is considerably higher than most traditional merchant accounts and about 1.5% higher than PayPal’s and Google Checkout’s highest fee tier.

It is important to note that even though 2Checkout’s processing fee is somewhat high, 2Checkout offers premium services that are easy to use and requires no term length agreement. Therefore, it is up to the merchant to decide if the cost of 2Checkout is worth the services and benefits.

Other 2Checkout Fees:

There is an additional $15 fee for each charge dispute a merchant challenges.

There are a few other fees only charged in circumstances unrelated to credit card processing. Merchant’s wishing to accept electronic checks and other forms of payment will want to inquire about the related fees.

2CO Complaints, Service & Dispute Resolution | A-

Like other popular merchant account alternatives, 2Checkout suffers from the problem of being available to anyone who wants to set up an account and therefore has a few dozen complaints filed online. Of the complaints, many appeared to have originated from people that did not understand, or take the time to understand, 2Checkout’s fees and services. Of the valid complaints, there is a common complaint of 2Checkout rejecting transactions after the merchant has already sent an order. Although definitely an annoying problem, it does not appear to be a widespread issue.

2CO Better Business Bureau Report | A+

2Checkout has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2001 and, as of this review, holds an “A+” rating with 73 complaints filed in the last 36 months. Of the complaints, the majority have been in relation to billing and collection issues and problems with 2Checkout’s service. Also of the 73 complaints, 61 were resolved to the customers’ satisfaction while 12 were not.

Based on the complaint count and resolution ratio, we are adjusting the rating to a “B-” for the purposes of this review. You can learn more about why we adjust BBB ratings in our rating criteria.

Bottom Line

2Checkout offers an easy to use alternative to a traditional merchant account for accepting online payments for e-commerce transactions. Overall the company scores well in customer satisfaction in comparison to other similar providers of its size. To avoid problems, merchants should take care in understanding 2Checkout’s policies with procedures. 2Checkout’s processing fees are higher than average but the added cost also comes with a feature-rich service that is customizable to most online retailers’ needs. Merchant should evaluate whether the added cost is worth the added features.  Visit 2Checkout at: http://www.2checkout.com

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