Setting up Checkfront Payments as your payment provider

Learn about Checkfront Payments, including pricing, supported features, setting up the integration, enabling additional payment methods, refunding, reporting, and more!

 

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Which plans include this feature?

Legacy: Soho, Pro, Plus, Enterprise, Growth (Subscription)
Current: Growth (Online Booking Fee)*, Managed
**Checkfront Payments is the supported payment provider for the Growth (Online Booking Fee) plan. Availability depends on your business country. See the list of countries we provide support to below.
→ Learn more about our current plans or how to change your plan.

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions are required to manage Payment Providers.
• Checkfront Payments is now available to new and existing accounts that don't have a Stripe account. Existing Operators using Stripe, please stay tuned for updates and your opportunity to migrate to Checkfront Payments.
• Checkfront Payments is powered by Stripe. You can create a new Stripe account during the activation process. Note existing Stripe accounts with active business are not supported at this time. We would like to direct you to use our standard Stripe integration instead.

 

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Checkfront Payments is an all-in-one payment provider built for businesses of any size. Accessible to any plan, you can securely process online payments, issue receipts and refunds, and harness detailed reporting. Get started!

Why choose Checkfront Payments?

• Low fees
• Online and In-person payments
• Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Flex Pay (formerly Uplift)(Canada & USA only)
• More payment options coming soon!

 

Learn more about the benefits of Checkfront Payments here: Checkfront Payments

 

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Check the status of Checkfront Payment powered by Stripe services here: Stripe status: https://status.stripe.com/ Checkfront status: https://checkfront.statuspage.io/ You can learn more about the Checkfront status page here.

 

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Checkfront Payments and Stripe are Checkfront's exclusive providers for the following offerings:

• • Stripe Terminal
  • Google reCAPTCHA

 

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Fees vary depending on the region in which you are doing business. Card fees also vary depending on the card’s country of origin relative to your business location. Pricing per region is inclusive of all card types unless otherwise specified. (*Pricing as of July 31, 2023)

 

Percentage Fee Per Transaction

Cards and Wallets (Apple Pay and Google Pay)

Business Region	CAN	USA	EEA	UK	AUS	NZ	NO	SE
Cards Domestic (excluding American Express)	2.9%	2.9%	1.5%*	1.5%*	1.75%	2.7%	2.4%	1.5%
American Express Domestic	3.4%	3.4%	1.9%*	1.9%*	1.75%	2.7%	2.4%	1.9%
Cards EEA	See Intl.	See Intl.	See Domestic	2.5%	See Intl.	See Intl.	See Domestic	See Domestic
Cards UK	See Intl.	See Intl.	2.5%	See Domestic	See Intl.	See Intl.	See Intl.	2.5%
Cards International (Intl.)	3.5%	3.9%	3.25%*	3.25%*	2.9%	3.7%	3.25%	3.25%
AliPay	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%

 

+ Flat-Rate Fee Per Transaction

Business Region	CAN	USA	EEA	UK	AUS	NZ	NO	SE
Cards & Wallets	$0.30	$0.30	€0.25	£0.20	A$0.30	NZ$0.30	2kr	1.80kr

 

International Payment Method Fees

Business Region	CAN	USA	EEA	UK	AUS	NZ	NO	SE
iDeal	N/A	N/A	€0.29	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

 

Other Fees

Business Region	CAN	USA	EEA	UK	AUS	NZ	NO	SE
Card Dispute Fee	$15	$15	€15	£15	A$25	NZ$25	150 NOK	150 SEK
Standard Payouts	No additional charge
3D Secure Fee (per attempt)	No additional charge
Card account updater (per updated card)	No additional charge
Refund Fee	No additional charge*

* We do not charge to process refunds, but the original transaction fee is non-refundable, as Checkfront is still charged various fees for processing the original transaction.

 

Exclusive Checkfront Payment Features

Business Region	CAN	USA	EEA	UK	AUS	NZ	NO	SE
Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Flex Pay (Available to eligible US and CDN Operators based on Merchant Category Code. Learn more)	No additional charge		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

 

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The following is a list of standard Payment Provider features. Those available with Checkfront Payments powered by Stripe are marked as supported (✓).

Feature	Supported	More Info
Live Payments	✓	The ability to process payments in real-time.
Rebilling	✓	The ability to re-charge using previously provided payment information (tokens).
Refunds	✓	The ability to return a paid amount directly to the original payment method.
Integrated Checkout	✓	Customers remain on the Checkfront domain to input details. These details are sent to the provider to process the transaction without redirecting the Customer.
Redirect Checkout	X	Customers are redirected to the Payment Provider’s domain to input details and process the transaction.
Staff-side Payments	✓	Staff can take payment through the Booking Details page using new payment information.
Terminals	✓	Accept in-person payments with supported hardware via Stripe Terminal.
Test Mode	✓	The ability to process test payments using your Checkfront and Stripe accounts before going live. Referred to as Test Mode in Checkfront.
Multiple Currencies	X	The ability to offer payments in more than one currency. Checkfront does not support accounts with more than one currency. While Stripe can handle multiple currencies, we can only send invoices to them in one currency.
PSD2 Compliant / 3DSecure	✓	Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant, including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). Our integration is PSD2 compliant and utilizes 3DSecure security. Learn more about PSD2 here!
Can be a secondary Provider?	X	The ability to configure a primary provider for online payments and a secondary provider for Staff-side payments through the Booking Details page. Checkfront Payments can only be a primary provider but can be activated with Square as the secondary provider to process Staff-side payments.
Supported Payment Methods	✓	Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB.
Additional payment methods	✓	The following additional payment methods are only supported through Checkfront Payments and Stripe. Alipay iDEAL Apple Pay, Google Pay, and browser-saved cards (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge)
Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Flex Pay	✓	Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Flex Pay is an additional payment method exclusively supported by Checkfront Payments.
Capture and Send Zip / Postal Code and Address for Address Verification (AVS)	✓	Capture Zip / Postal Code and Address to send for Address Verification (AVS) to help prevent disputes and fraud.
Google reCAPTCHA	✓	Google reCAPTCHA is an add-on which helps protect your business against fraudulent activity. See the Google reCAPTCHA article for the full list of supported payment providers.
Supported Countries	✓	Checkfront Payments powered by Stripe is available to Operators in the following business countries. United States 🇺🇸 Canada 🇨🇦 Australia 🇦🇺 Austria 🇦🇹 Belgium 🇧🇪 Cyprus 🇨🇾 Estonia 🇪🇪 Finland 🇫🇮 France 🇫🇷 Germany 🇩🇪 Greece 🇬🇷 Ireland 🇮🇪 Italy 🇮🇹 Latvia 🇱🇻 Lithuania 🇱🇹 Luxembourg 🇱🇺 Malta 🇲🇹 Netherlands 🇳🇱 New Zealand 🇳🇿 Norway 🇳🇴 Portugal 🇵🇹, Slovakia 🇸🇰 Slovenia 🇸🇮 Spain 🇪🇸 Sweden 🇸🇪 United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Supported Currencies	✓	Checkfront Payments powered by Stripe supports 135+ currencies. See what currencies you can use for making charges and paying out to your bank account here. Ensure that your Base Currency and Locale (Manage > Setup > Base Currency/Locale) match those supported by the payment method and Checkfront Payments.
Minimum Transaction Payment Amount	✓	Checkfront Payments powered by Stripe's minimum charge amount varies depending on the currency being processed. For CAD and USD amounts, this is $0.50. The full list is available here: Minimum and maximum charge amounts

 

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To enable Checkfront Payments, log into your Checkfront account and navigate to your Payment Provider settings (Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment). Your list of available payment provider options displays.

Checkfront Payments is featured at the top of the page, so click the Setup Checkfront Payments button. This launches the Setup modal.

 

Have you already processed bookings and payments through Checkfront, for example, through Authorize.net, but want to switch to Checkfront Payments as your Payment Provider? Check out this article first: Switching to Checkfront Payments as your payment provider

 

To initiate the process of activating Checkfront Payments, click on the Activate Checkfront Payments button.

 

Why is the Activate Checkfront Payments button disabled for me? Is the Activate Checkfront Payments button disabled within your account? You must upgrade to a paid account which includes Checkfront Payments, to activate a live payment provider. Click on the upgrade to a paid Checkfront plan link in the Checkfront Payments modal to subscribe now.

 

You can also try Checkfront Payments in test mode. Learn more below.

 

2. Connecting your Stripe account

 

Next, you are presented with the Get started with Stripe page, as Checkfront Payments is powered by Stripe. Enter your Email address here and click Continue to proceed to the next step.

• Need a new Stripe account? Follow the steps to doing so with Stripe. Start by entering your email address. Be prepared with payout bank account details.
• Already have a Stripe account? Enter the email address associated with your Stripe account. Stripe then retrieves the associated account and asks you to sign in. Note existing Stripe accounts with active business are not supported at this time. We would like to direct you to use our standard Stripe integration instead.

Once the connection to your Stripe account authorizes and completes, you return to your Checkfront account with Checkfront Payments activated.

 

The Setup modal refreshes and the following settings are presented (see below). Click Update to save any changes.

 

Choose to offer AliPay, iDEAL, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and/or Flex Pay if the payment method(s) meets your business needs and account requirements.

 

Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Flex Pay are auto-enabled for accounts using Checkfront Payments.

 

Learn more about enabling additional payment methods here: Offering additional payments methods with Checkfront Payments  Buy Now, Pay Later: Offering Flex Pay as an additional payment method with Checkfront Payments

 

Ensure that your Base Currency and Locale (Manage > Setup > Base Currency/Locale) match those supported by the payment method and Stripe.

 

Stripe Terminal is available for Staff-side, in-person payments for US and Canadian accounts. For detailed information and instructions on setting up Stripe Terminal to work with Checkfront, please see the following article... Using Stripe Terminal with Stripe or Checkfront Payments

 

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Operators can require certain fields in Stripe (and Checkfront) to help prevent fraud.

 

Learn more about the best practices to prevent fraud here: Preventing disputes and fraud

 

The billing address and postal / zip code are captured and sent to Stripe, where Address Verification (AVS) checks can be applied to help protect against disputes and fraud.

This is true for Customer-facing (Payment page) and Staff-side (add payment form) payments.

 

Ensure that your Booking Form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form tab) includes the Address and Postal / Zip code fields and that the fields are marked as required. The Payment page's Billing Address and Postal / Zip code fields are prefilled with the values entered in the corresponding Booking fields. The Staff-side Add Payment form includes these fields by default - no additional configuration is required.

 

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It's highly recommended that you do a test of your checkout process before launching your site live.

1. Go to the Payments tab of the Ecommerce Setup page (Manage > Ecommerce Setup). 
2. Open the Checkfront Payments Setup modal by clicking on Set up Checkfront Payments button within the feature card at the top of the Payments tab. 
3. Click on the link to Try Checkfront Payments in Test Mode. This refreshes the modal to reveal further options.
4. Configure your Payment Type and any Additional Payment Methods.
5. Click Update to save your selections.

Checkfront Payments is now connected in test mode!

You can now create a booking and payment transaction as a Customer. If you don't have a website to test on, use the hosted booking page (e.g. https://yourcompany.checkfront.com/reserve/) to test.

Check that the transaction appears in your Checkfront account as paid or as a deposit. 

 

Testing the Payment Request Button Testing Google Pay? You can use test mode, so you are not charged for the payment. Apple Pay requires a working credit card and a live account (your credit card is charged for any payment you make).

 

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To test Checkfront Payments powered by Stripe, you must use test credit card credentials when processing a payment in Checkfront. Use one of the test credit card numbers provided with any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC number to process test payments.

You can find a list of credentials available in Stripe's online documentation.  Testing cards by brand

 

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After testing is complete, you need to switch from Test Mode and choose to Go Live with your account (Manage > ECommerce > Payments tab > Checkfront Payments > Setup).

Once connected to a live account, click Update to save your changes. You are now live!

 

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Refunds are processed manually via the booking invoice. Learn more here: How do I refund a booking payment? Refunding payments from booking invoices

 

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Learn more about reporting on your Checkfront Payments here: Getting Started with Reporting: A-Z Overview Reporting on transactions Viewing transaction details from booking invoices

 

You can also report on Checkfront Payments via the Dashboard of your connected Stripe account. Learn more here: Payments, payouts, and reporting

 

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• When are the transaction fees collected?

  The fees are deducted before they are paid out, so no need for the Operator to pay anything.
  
  

• How long are payments held before deposit?

  The Payout Speed, or the amount of time it takes for your funds to become available, depends on many factors, including your type of business, country, bank, and payout schedule.
  → Learn more with this Stripe article on Receiving payouts and Payout Speed
  
  If you have an issue with funds being held, please contact Stripe.
  
  

• If we switch from Stripe to Checkfront Payments, can we rebill or refund a Customer who paid through Stripe?

  Your account is migrated, so you can rebill and refund past Customers.
  
  

• Do fees vary depending on the type of credit card used, e.g. VISA, Mastercard, or Amex?

  No, our pricing per region is inclusive of all card types.
  
  

• Can I generate tax invoices through Stripe when using Checkfront Payments?

  No, but you can generate a report through the Booking Index by adding a tax column.
  
  

• How can I report on provider fees per transaction?

  You can report on these fees via your Stripe account. 

  1. Go to your Stripe Dashboard
  2. Select the Payment tab.
  3. Select the All Transactions tab.
  4. Note the Fee column.
     
     

• Does Checkfront Payments prohibit or restrict any business types?

  Checkfront Payments is powered by Stripe, so any business activities prohibited or restricted by Stripe are, by extension, prohibited and restricted by Checkfront Payments. Learn more here:
  
  

  • Prohibited and Restricted Business Types
  • Restricted Business List - FAQs
    
    

• Will I automatically receive a POS device for in-person credit card transactions once I activate Checkfront Payments?

  No, Checkfront does not provide POS devices. If you require a device upon activation, you need to order the device through Stripe directly.
  
  

• Is the Checkfront Payments processing fee charged on the full amount of the booking, including the booking fee?

  Yes, we charge processing fees on the full amount of the booking, including the booking fee (where applicable), because we are charged network costs and fees on the total amount.
  
  

• Are Checkfront Payments rates the same for card-present and card-not-present transactions?

  The rates for transactions made with Checkfront Payments are the same regardless of whether the card is present or not.
  
  What is a card-present and card-not-present transaction? A card-present transaction is any transaction where the Customer physically interacts with a payment terminal using their card. A card-not-present transaction is any transaction using a credit card where the Customer is not there and cannot physically use their card for payment.