Checkout.com is a London-headquartered payment platform that provides payment processing services and operates as a payment gateway, acquirer, and processor, with a focus on local processing in many markets.
Where Checkout.com is used
Checkout.com has local acquiring capabilities in 50+ countries across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. It primarily serves enterprises and scaling merchants, mainly across e-commerce, subscriptions, marketplaces, and travel. Support for 150+ currencies helps these businesses sell internationally (checked in September 2026).
Explore Akurateco’s guide to UK payment methods, which lists Checkout.com and other providers for PSPs and merchants weighing their options in the UK.
How Checkout.com works
- The customer chooses a card at checkout and enters payment details.
- Your backend creates the payment using the Checkout.com API and receives a payment ID you can store and track.
- If authentication is required, the customer completes the challenge and returns to your site.
- Checkout.com processes the authorization and returns approved or declined.
- You capture the payment based on your business model, immediate capture, or delayed capture.
- Checkout.com sends event notifications to your webhook endpoint so your system can update payment state reliably.
- Funds move through settlement and payout according to your configured schedule and reporting.
- Finance reconciles payouts using settlement reports and payout IDs, then matches them back to orders.
Merchant requirements and setup basics
Most teams follow a simple pattern: onboarding, sandbox testing, then controlled production rollout.
Common requirements for Checkout.com integration:
- Merchant onboarding with standard KYB and KYC checks
- API keys for the sandbox and production environments
- Webhook endpoint configured to receive event notifications
- Return URLs for redirect-based authentication flows, where needed
- Clear decision on PCI scope and how card data is handled
- Testing that includes declines, timeouts, retries, and webhook re-delivery, not only the happy path
Fees, settlement, and refunds overview
As of September 2026, Checkout.com’s official pricing page states that costs are based on the merchant’s business profile and risk category. It’s either an interchange++ structure or a custom-negotiated flat rate. Payment processing is free for registered charities (in the countries where Checkout.com currently operates). For an exact quote, contact Checkout.com’s sales team directly.
Checkout.com settlement settings are managed in the Dashboard, including settlement bank accounts and schedules. Refunds can be issued via the Dashboard or API. Docs describe both full and partial refunds and note that partial refunds can be issued multiple times, provided the total does not exceed the original payment amount.
Pros and cons of Checkout.com
Pros:
- Helps you accept cards through Checkout.com across multiple regions with one core setup
- Webhooks make it easier to keep order status accurate as payments move through different states
- Settlement reports give finance a clearer path to reconcile payouts and fees
- Refund tooling supports full and partial refunds, which is useful for e-commerce operations
Cons:
- Checkout.com doesn’t publish per-transaction rates, so you need to contact the team for a custom quote
- If you add a second PSP, reporting becomes fragmented unless you standardize it across providers
Using Checkout.com in a multi-method checkout
Checkout.com often becomes the core card rail, but most businesses still add wallets and local methods, which improves conversion. Once you run multiple methods and multiple providers, the real challenge is control: a single set of rules, a single way to measure performance, and a single place to compare failure causes and outcomes.
A payment orchestration platform lets PSPs and merchants add Checkout.com alongside other acquirers and local methods through a single integration and manage them from one place, routing each transaction to the best-fit provider based on cost, approval rate, or region.
Integration via Akurateco
Akurateco helps PSPs and merchants manage multiple payment methods through a single orchestration layer, so routing rules and reporting don’t need rebuilding for each new provider. If you want to discuss method availability or a custom integration request, contact us to confirm details.
FAQs about Checkout.com
What is Checkout.com?
Checkout.com is a London-headquartered payment platform that operates as a payment gateway, acquirer, and processor, combining all three into a single integration. It primarily serves enterprise and scaling merchants in sectors such as e-commerce, subscriptions, marketplaces, and travel.
Where is Checkout.com available?
Checkout.com focuses on local acquiring and processing across more than 50 countries. The current list includes Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
Is Checkout.com safe?
Yes. Checkout Ltd is authorized by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an electronic money institution (register number 900816), and group entities hold equivalent licenses in the EU, Singapore, Brazil, and other markets where Checkout.com operates. Checkout.com is also certified as a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1 Service Provider.
Does Checkout.com support refunds?
Yes. You can issue Checkout.com refunds via the Dashboard or API, including partial refunds within the original amount.
How long does the settlement take?
Checkout.com settlement timing depends on your schedule and setup. Use the Dashboard and settlement reports to track what was paid out, what was included, and how fees and refunds affected the settlement.
Is Checkout.com good for subscriptions or recurring?
Yes. Recurring charges run on stored card tokens instead of raw card numbers, and tokenized payments get authorized more often than one-off cards. 3DS and the risk setup behind it deserve closer attention, so get that right in the sandbox before you rely on it for renewals.
Can I use Checkout.com alongside other providers and local methods?
Yes. Many merchants do. Orchestration can help when you need a payment monitoring system that keeps routing decisions and performance tracking consistent across multiple methods and providers.
