Checkout.com API – Global Payment Processing for Enterprises

Overview

Checkout.com provides a cloud-based payment processing platform engineered for large-scale, international businesses. Founded in 2012, its core offering is a proprietary payment gateway designed to manage complex transaction flows across multiple geographies and payment methods through a single API connection. The platform aims to consolidate payment infrastructure, allowing merchants to accept various payment types, including credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and local payment methods, from customers globally. This consolidation can lead to streamlined operations and reduced technical overhead for merchants operating in diverse markets.

The service is tailored for enterprise-level merchants that require advanced capabilities such as sophisticated fraud detection, real-time reporting, and granular control over payment routing. Its emphasis on a flexible, unified platform distinguishes it in the payment processing landscape. Checkout.com supports cross-border transactions by managing local acquiring relationships and optimizing payment flows to improve authorization rates and reduce interchange fees. This approach is particularly beneficial for e-commerce companies with a global customer base.

Beyond payment acceptance, Checkout.com offers products for payouts and issuing, enabling businesses to manage their entire money movement lifecycle. Payouts facilitate disbursements to vendors, employees, or customers, while issuing capabilities allow businesses to create their own payment cards. The platform is designed to be highly scalable, handling significant transaction volumes and adapting to evolving payment ecosystems. Its comprehensive documentation and multiple SDKs (JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, .NET, Java, iOS, Android) aim to provide developers with the tools necessary for integration and customization, as detailed in the official Checkout.com documentation.

The platform maintains compliance with key industry standards and regulations, including PCI DSS Level 1 for data security, PSD2 for secure customer authentication, GDPR for data privacy, and SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) for enhanced transaction security. This focus on regulatory adherence helps businesses meet their compliance obligations while processing payments securely. Forrester Research has noted the increasing complexity of global payment orchestration and the need for unified platforms to manage this complexity effectively, a trend Checkout.com addresses with its integrated offering (Forrester clients can access detailed reports on forrester.com).

Key features

• Unified Payment Gateway: A single API for processing a wide range of global and local payment methods, including major credit cards, digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay), and regional payment options.
• Advanced Fraud Detection: Utilizes machine learning and customizable rules to identify and mitigate fraudulent transactions in real-time, helping to reduce chargebacks and financial losses.
• Real-time Reporting & Analytics: Provides detailed insights into transaction data, authorization rates, and payment performance through a dashboard and API access, enabling data-driven decision-making.
• Global Acquiring & Optimization: Facilitates local acquiring in various regions to optimize authorization rates, reduce processing costs, and support cross-border commerce.
• Payouts & Disbursements: Enables businesses to send funds globally to various recipients, supporting use cases like marketplace settlements, payroll, or customer refunds.
• Card Issuing: Offers capabilities to create and manage virtual and physical payment cards, allowing businesses to control their own payment flows and develop new financial products.
• Compliance & Security: Adheres to industry standards such as PCI DSS Level 1, PSD2, GDPR, and SCA, ensuring secure and compliant payment processing.
• Developer-Friendly Tools: Provides comprehensive API references, SDKs for multiple programming languages (e.g., JavaScript SDK, Python SDK), and integration guides to streamline developer workflows.

Pricing

Checkout.com employs a custom enterprise pricing model, which means that fees are not publicly listed in a standard tier format. Instead, pricing is negotiated individually with each merchant based on factors such as transaction volume, geographic reach, payment method mix, and specific feature requirements. Merchants interested in using Checkout.com's services are typically directed to contact their sales team to receive a tailored quote.

For more detailed information or to request a personalized quote, prospective clients should visit the official Checkout.com pricing page and engage with their sales representatives.

Common integrations

• E-commerce Platforms: Integration with major e-commerce platforms like Magento, Shopify, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud through plugins or custom development.
• Fraud Management Tools: Seamless connectivity with various fraud prevention tools and external risk engines to enhance security protocols.
• Accounting & ERP Systems: APIs facilitate integration with accounting software (e.g., NetSuite, SAP) for automated reconciliation and financial reporting.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Integration with CRM systems to link payment data with customer profiles for enhanced service and analytics.
• Subscription & Recurring Billing Platforms: Compatibility with platforms that manage subscription services for recurring payments.
• Alternative Payment Methods: Support for integrating a diverse range of local and alternative payment methods beyond traditional cards.

Alternatives

• Stripe: Offers a developer-focused platform for online payment processing, known for its extensive APIs and tools for startups and growing businesses.
• Adyen: Provides an end-to-end payment platform directly connecting businesses to card networks, focusing on global reach and unified commerce.
• Braintree: A PayPal service offering a payment gateway that supports various payment methods, emphasizing mobile and online payments.

Getting started

To begin integrating with Checkout.com, developers can use one of the available SDKs. The following example demonstrates a basic payment request in Python using the Checkout.com Python SDK, illustrating how to set up the client and make a card payment. This example assumes you have your secret key and card token available.

import checkout_sdk
from checkout_sdk.common.enums import Currency
from checkout_sdk.payments.payments import CardSource, PaymentRequest

# Initialize the API client with your secret key
# Replace 'sk_test_YOUR_SECRET_KEY' with your actual secret key
api = checkout_sdk.CheckoutSdk.builder()
    .secret_key('sk_test_YOUR_SECRET_KEY')
    .build()

# Define the card source using a token obtained from the client-side
card_source = CardSource()
card_source.token = 'tok_xxxxxx' # Replace with a valid card token

# Create a payment request
payment_request = PaymentRequest()
payment_request.source = card_source
payment_request.amount = 1000 # Amount in minor units (e.g., 10.00 USD)
payment_request.currency = Currency.USD
payment_request.reference = 'ORDER-123456'
payment_request.capture = True # Set to False for authorization only

try:
    # Process the payment
    response = api.payments.request_payment(payment_request)
    if response.is_successful():
        print(f"Payment successful! ID: {response.id}, Status: {response.status}")
    else:
        print(f"Payment failed. Error: {response.error_codes}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

This Python snippet demonstrates the fundamental steps for processing a card payment. Developers can find more comprehensive examples and detailed API specifications in the official Checkout.com API Reference.