2CheckOut helping South Africans with online payments
2CheckOut is one of the big payment systems available on the Internet and since my blog post about PayPal South Africa, they took the time to read all the comments and have stepped up to the plate to provide, us South Africans, with a way to receive online payments.
They have also told me that they are offering South African businesses free signup (No $49 payment) for a period of time, most probably until the end of August. This means that South African businesses can sign up, give it a test and not worry about losing money.
CLICK HERE if you’re interested in more 2CheckOut South Africa specific information.
It’s fantastic to see that blog posts I’ve written are leading to large International corporations taking the time to help us all out.
Well done 2CheckOut!
Christopher is the founder of iMod - Most of his time is spent building websites and pushing the limits with Search Engine Optimization. You can follow him on Twitter @ChristopherM
Chris M has written: 4156 posts.
Aug 3rd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Good for them, Chris. I like that they decided to waive the $49 initial fee. It also seems like they’re prepared to accept payments for online advertising, so I am considering using them.
Aug 4th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I agree, it’s so important to have International companies taking an interest in us Saffers! Waiving the $49 startup fee is fantastic, gives us all a chance to test their system out and see how we can benefit.
Aug 4th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Bummer, we missed this promo by a week.
Aug 4th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Nah, the free sign up should be valid for the whole of August?
Aug 4th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
We registered in July ;)
Aug 4th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Ah, I follow, darn that’s annoying, hehe.
So, if 2CheckOut working lekker for you?
Aug 4th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
So far so good mate. Their %’s that they take off each sale are on the high side but I am more than happy to use them. They also offer some pretty solid customer service dude.
Aug 4th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Awesome, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! It’s pretty cool that guys like Woothemes are using it.
Aug 5th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Ye @David, there commission’s are expensive, but at the end of the day, if a service works well, it’s worth paying for, so I’m glad to hear that you’re happy.
@Johann – It’s about time Saffers had a system which works well!
Aug 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Full credit to 2CO. They just contacted us notifying me that they have given us a $49 refund.
Now how cool is that? Awesomeness.
Aug 7th, 2009 at 12:22 am
What can I say, pays to comment on iMod ;)
Aug 11th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Hi Chris,
Thanks alot for the info, much appreciated!
I signed up with the link you provided.
I also opted for the payoneer card, will see how this turn out.
I agree with everyone that was ranting about how we are alowed to let money go out of SA but we are restricted when we want to bring money back to SA, it just does not make sense to have a oneway pipe for money.
Aug 11th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Hi
Just noticed that 2CO charged my visa card with the $49 :-(, I contacted them via email and hope they will refund it.
@Chris do you know until when this offer is available?
Aug 11th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Hi Adolf,
Several people have mentioned this and they have all been refunded, so don’t worry mate!
Sep 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
They’ve just added a whole whack load of sites they weren’t offering before.
And with a free sign up and no monthly fees that’s wonderfully attractive to try them out :)
Sep 4th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
They’ve also extended the free sign up period until the end of September 09! And the latest news is that they’ll soon offer Rands in their system – this should happen within the next 2 months.
Sep 4th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I wasn’t warned that it’s a refunded $45 signup fee – it’s still free (YAY) – but I wasn’t aware that they would need to run the credit card first. I had selected the ‘pay by paypal’ anyway and just bypassed the payment system.
I have checked with support (they’re great) and it’s been worked out.
Anyway, I just noticed some comments about whether or not 2CO is legal in South Africa. I can understand why: if Paypal isn’t possible, why is this?
It might be useful for 2CO to look at the legalities of bringing in / earning foreign curreny in South Africa.
From what I understand, you can use the Payoneer debit card without having to declare the income to SARS (because how would they know?)
I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, but since a number of people may be asking the same question, it might be a good idea for 2CO to explain how we can keep things legal?
And apparantly they’ll be implenting ZAR currency soon – kick ASS!
Sep 4th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Hi Marcel,
Thanks for the comment!
My contact at 2OC isn’t on Skype, so the minute I can chat to him, I’ll get some good feedback about this for you! I’m stoked that this is all happening, finally!
I’ll keep you posted.
Sep 8th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Right, so here’s some feed:
“If you read the various TOS (Terms of Service) documentation that you agreed to when you established your account you may have noticed we do not operate as a payment processor or FSA (financial service association). We contractually – legally contractually – actually take title to the goods and services you are providing. In turn, we sell the product to the end user. Our understanding of PayPal is that they move money and do not actually interact in a retail or wholesale perspective with their merchants or PayPal end-users – our customers.
It may seem and feel like splitting hairs but we have successfully defended our unique business model for 9 ½ years and are thrilled to be able to support entrepreneurial businessmen and women worldwide. Of course, we pick up some additional risks along with the title of the products and services which is why our screening process – both initial and interim – is so very thorough.”
Following this and answering to the question about not declaring money to SARS:
“I never recommend not reporting income. You may be ABLE to do it but that certainly doesn’t mean that you SHOULD do it.”
So, there we go, directly from my connection at 2CheckOut :)
Sep 8th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
@Chris: That’s a good answer from them. Best thing about 2CO so far is that they actually care to answer queries properly without giving canned responses like PayPal does.
Sep 8th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Agreed! I’m hoping that soon some South Africans can come along to this thread and share more about their experiences with 2CO, what they’ve sold, how they’ve “got” the money and all those other questions, which have never been possible with PayPal..
Sep 9th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Not me personally but one of the sites that I’m employee of is using 2CheckOut and they’re awesomely great.
We haven’t used the Payoneer system of payouts but wire transfers into our SA account is perfect.
I don’t have personal access to that part of the business so can’t comment though :)
Sep 9th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Thanks for the feedback Haroun, it’s so awesome to hear about a system that is actually working for us South Africans.
Now I just need to get more and more people commenting on this thread, so we can create a nice knowledge base!
Sep 9th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Anytime Chris, you’re doing great work and I’m happy to be part of the work. For me the most exciting thing is that the WordPress plugin I bought, Shopp, now has 2CheckOut as a payment gateway built into it and they’ve just written a Netcash module for me.
With no set-up fee, for a while and no monthly fees it makes this service extremely exciting to use.
Welcome to the age of the internet entrepreneur ordinary people :)
Sep 9th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Must admit, it is exciting – Gives us the ability to put up trials for the first time ever. I’ve always wanted to offer something for sale on my website, now I could actually do that, thinking of a member area with paid access – members will access more advanced information on SEO, etc.
What you rate? Just an idea for the time being.
Sep 9th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I’m really excited about 2CO. I can’t stop thinking of awesome stuff to build now that I can easily accept payments. This is what the PayPal-enabled world must have experienced for years now…
@Chris M: I think it’s a good idea. I’ve found a lot of valuable info on your site and wouldn’t mind paying a couple of Rand for more in-depth info.
Sep 9th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
@Johann – You’ve hit the nail on the head by saying, “This is what the PayPal-enabled world must have experienced for years now…”
I’ve been in the online marketing space since around 1996 if I remember correctly and have a huge number of friends online who operate overseas and even some who’ve relocated to overseas just to be able to make use of online payments and what I can tell you is that most of them have, and are, making a very decent living.
Just my example above about offering a dedicated area for members shows an example, something I would have done many moons ago if services like PayPal could of helped us South Africans. With 2CheckOut, these opertunities become a reality and now it’s about embracing them and seeing how creative we can be.
For a long time I’ve wondered about having a memebrs only area, where I can run a progressive blog about making money online, it’s what I’ve done all my life, so taking people from the start on a journey could be an interesting avenue to explore.
The gates are open, let’s see what everyone can do! :)
Sep 10th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Chris! I knew that you would find a way! Thanks.. I am forwarding your blog to my South African friends and can’t wait for them to make money online! (Hope to convince 2CheckOut to extend the promotion for September!!) And if you guys don’t get greedy, can make a killing with the exchange rates! I am in Canada so if anyone needs something done on my side, let me know.. if I can’t do it, will know someone who can!! can reach me at di.theron@gmail.com
Sep 10th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Ok.. so it may be that the 2checkout.com is too good to be true. While checking out the issues that their clients have, one is that the client is double charged on currency exchange rate. First goes to EUR and then to Rands.. so price quoted will not be price paid. solution mmmm?
Sep 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Hi Dianet,
We’re really excited about this so thank you for forwarding it onto all your South African friends! The promotion should go on until the end of September and I reckon we would be able to twist their arms to perhaps go a little longer, after all, it’ll be worth their while to let us South Africans experiment :)
Thanks for offering to help, I’ll let you know if anything comes up :)
Sep 10th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Chris, is 2CO running an affiliate offer on this? Because if they are, I’d be happy to replace the moneybookers and AlertPay banners on my site with a 2CO one.
I’ve given AlertPay loads of signups offer the last 12 months, but so far no payout from them, so if 2CO proves more popular and people actually use them, I would like to make some change out of promoting them on my blog.
Sep 10th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Hi Richard, I’ve experienced the same thing with PayPal, I’ve sent a large number of people over, but have made nothing in return, their conditions are too impossible to reach.
2CO does have a referral system, I’ve signed up already – One snag is that whilst the free signup process is taking place, they aren’t paying out commissions, which I guess is understandable..
Sep 10th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Interesting Dianet, I’ll have the marketing guys at 2CheckOut pop in and comment :)
Sep 10th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Chris.. they should still be paying you for referrals.. they are going to make a bunch of money out of us! Their loss of $49 in the great scheme of things. Stand your ground.. companies pay a fortune for advertising, and you are doing an amazing job for them!!
Sep 10th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Interesting you say that Dianet, I sometimes do feel that I’m not firm enough and agree that I’ve probably sent several hundred people over there, who now have accounts. Honestly, I’m not quite sure how I’d approach something like this..
Sep 10th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Well, one way to encourage them to find a way to renumerate you is to ask! And get your referrals to mention that they found them through you.. and 2Checkout must know that if you find a better way that we will follow your advice.. so is a good business decision to thank you!
Sep 10th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I concur, I’ll pop 2CheckOut an email and have a chat :)
Thank you!
Sep 10th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Well, good news is that they will be honouring the signups I send now, regardless of the fact that it’s free to sign up :)
Sep 10th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
:)
Sep 10th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
@Dianet, to do with your question about exchange rates, here’s their response:
“If a customer makes a purchase in a currency other than USD the amount of the purchase will be converted to USD when the funds are received and held by 2Checkout. When the funds are paid to the supplier for the orders they have received, the funds will be converted from USD to the currency that the supplier had elected to be paid in. As 2Checkout is a US based company, the funds must be held in a US bank in USD until they are paid to the supplier.”
Sep 11th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Chris.. ok, so the idea is then to quote the client in US dollars so it avoids the hassle going from Canadian $ to Us $ to SA R. Gotcha. Thanks for looking into it!
Sep 11th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I’ve been through this for sometime. and have come up with the best solution of the lot.
2CheckOut does not work as you have to have a business running from their website to be able to receive money Although I like their pioneers card which works like a credit card.
but my solution is http://www.Xoom.com now there a perfect solution. my clients pay me by paying directly into Xoom.com and I receive it into my bank acocunt without any banking charges. what a pleasure. they are fast efficient and a pleaure to work with. they have an excellent tracking system so you can virtually watch your money move from Xoom.com into your bank acounts.
Another solution for South Africans is http://www.moneybookers.com. No hassles opening an account, easy to upload funds for you to pay people into their moneybookers account. The even use a Standard bank branch in Braamfontein for uploading funds.
These are two alternative options for South Africans. I’ve not had to fill in forms at the banks to receive my money. it arrives with no hassles at all. http://www.zoom.com is my first choice and they are totally professional in the way they handle money.
another solution is moneygram. again I had no hassles getting my money. Although I had to go into Standard bank to get it, fill in forms, but I received the cash or could have it pain into my standard bank account.
I’ve still not sorted out PayPal I was able to open an acount. If I can get fund loaded into the account (payment for work done). then I’m hoping I’ll be able to use the money to upgrade on some membership sites… I’m presently workin on that,
Sep 11th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Hi Cynthia,
I would love to hear more about your experiences with 2CheckOut – I’m trying to build this thread into a knowledge base, much like the PayPal thread and you sound like you have some great information to share?
Thank you!
Sep 12th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Although 2Checkout does require suppliers to operate a web site that will contain purchase buttons or links that will forward the customer and the order information to 2Checkout to complete a transaction, they aren’t required to run their business, or list their products, on our site.
As moneybookers.com and xoom.com are mentioned specifically, are we dealing with a situation which involves selling from an auction site such as eBay, or is the web site in question an auction site? 2Checkout is unable to support sales from auction sites, so that may be what you is referring to.
I hope that helps?
Sep 12th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Hi Chris,
I do not work on e-bay or any auction sites so that’s not my situation. I do freelance editing proofreading, article writing, blogging and some web work. I’m commissioned by people to do their grunt work for their internet marketing enterprises. (I’m also learning more about internet marketing but have not put in into practice). My clients pay me for work done. it’s a straight forward transaction. I’m not selling anything (just a service) and although I have a website I’m not using it for a business enterprise. Since I could not offer 2checkout a website as a business enterprise I was refued the opportunity to use the payment methods. At the time that I opened the account I did not have time to create a website to fit their requirements so we looked for an alternative payment method. I could at some later stage still create a website that would fit requirement if I wished to use their facilities.
I’ve never worked on any auction sites I know people are making money there. I’ve just been too busy to investigagte it…
Cynthia
Sep 22nd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow marks the start of the last week of free subscriptions to South Africans who want 2CheckOut accounts!
Sep 22nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
We will be sure to check this out and implement it ASAP. Finaly I see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Sep 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I haven’t read all the comments, but it seems It eventually redirects to .com then mentions it’s going to debit your account with $49?
Sep 22nd, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Chris.. I just realised that I am caught in between the two fires. I am in Canada and am hosting the website on behalf of a South African business.. so I would be applying for the 2CheckOut from Canada although the funds will end up in South Africa.
Advice please!
Sep 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 pm
@Wezz – It does debit your account, but then they refund you :)
Sep 23rd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Dianet,
Your client can still benefit from 2Checkout’s free signup offer, but the signup will have to come from South Africa, or we won’t be able to flag it for a refund appropriately.
I would simply suggest you have your client visit and complete our signup routine on or before Sep 30, and then have him/her pass their Vendor I.D. and login info back to you, so you can technically take over as usual.
It’s the only way they can fully take advantage of the $49 USD savings. Thanks for your interest!
Sep 24th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Thanks Vic! So my client went ahead and registered and paid and I have her info. However.. omg this is not a very user friendly site! Is there a step by step process that I am missing.. have no idea how to get the logo’s onto my site much less the shopping cart! Am I just overtired that I am missing something? Help please!
Sep 24th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Dianet,
That’s great news about your client getting signed up. I am glad it worked out. And, no problem, we’ll be happy to help you immediately. I am not sure which Canadian time zone you’re in, however, when you are ready this morning, send me your account’s Vendor ID number and your contact information and I will have one of our support staff contact you immediately and help you get up and running. Thanks, vcleary@2co.com
Sep 26th, 2009 at 5:26 am
Thanks Vic.. your customer service has been lovely, and my client on my say so registered with 2Checkout.com. And when I had no idea how to or where to go from there, you refered me to your support chaps. Well.
1. I could not find the webcode and the support person did not read my request properly and sprouted info about your logo not being able to load correctly and that technicians were working on it.
2. When I reponded to his reply that actually what I was looking for was a step by step explanation of where and how to get the code.. I got an email back saying that my issue had been resolved. Oh?
3. Now, tonight I get an email saying that your site cannot support our website as it does not support tours. Our website offer tours, safari’s and accomodation at local reserves by a registered, reputable, and well known tour guide.. with a registered company. Blog has contactable international references. grrrrrr!
http://www.dalytoursandsafari.com
So if we were selling elephants and rhino’s that would be ok? geeez.
(Chris.. at this point am considering SWIFT even if the charges are higher.. less hasstle and time!)
Sep 30th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Dianet,
First off, thanks for your response and sorry for the confusion. It sounds like one of our tech department’s auto-responder emails identifying that your first question was addressed and answered landed in your inbox right after you sent your second email and it was misinterpreted as a response to your second email instead of a response to your first email. I can see how that would confuse anyone!
Our techs would be happy to walk you through the process step-by-step either by email, or by phone, whichever you prefer.
To better clarify the issues we had with the account you are working with, it is best to first define 2Checkout. 2Checkout, by definition, is a reseller. When a customer clicks a BUY NOW button on your site and is redirected to our purchase routine to complete the transaction, we take ownership of your product in real time, sell it to the customer, and then transfer the money generated from the sale (less 5.5% and $.45 USD) into your 2CO account.
Because we are a “reseller,” there are certain products we cannot resell, for a number of various reasons. For example, some are illegal to sell and resell, some are VERY risky or attract very high levels of fraud, some require a license to sell, and some products we simply decided not to associate with (porn, for example). Travel related products such as flight bookings, hotel rooms, cruises, etc. — are listed on our Prohibited Products List (PPL) because, in many cases, the seller (or reseller in our case) is required to have an agent’s license to sell and market the products. We do not have a travel agent license therefore, we cannot resell these products. However, we do allow stand alone tours. Therefore, if you were marketing and selling the actual safari and tour by themselves (less all-inclusive travel, accommodation booking, etc.) you could utilize 2Checkout.
I hope this better answers your question.
Oct 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 am
Thanks for popping in and updating us Vic C. appreciate it!
Oct 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Yup, thanks Vic for clarification. Just wondering how long it takes for the refund?
Oct 9th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
2CHECKOUT RAND IMPLEMENTATION FINALIZED
Just a quick note to let you know two good pieces of news from 2Checkout for South Africans.
As of today (OCT 9), the Rand is now active on 2Checkout’s purchase routine for 2CO vendors to set as a default payment for their goods and services and/or for customers to choose.
Also, the Rand has been officially added to our remittance currency list, meaning those of you in South Africa who have 2Checkout accounts can be paid out in Rand by wire transfer.
Thanks for your continued support and best of luck!
Oct 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Hi Vic C.
Thanks soo much for coming in and sharing the news with us, it’s much appreciated and this is very exciting!
Oct 11th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Woohoo, awesome news!!! Thanks Vic C., this is all I’ve been waiting for.
Oct 11th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Ye Johann, it’s really useful to hear right away when things like this are implemented!
Oct 14th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Hi everyone, I’ve got a question I need answered please.
I’m in a band called Present Future. We are currently getting airplay on SA radio stations and we will be getting airplay on UK radio stations by end of October.
My problem is that I signed up to a USA based website called HotRythms.com but they deal with paypal and our two tracks are already loaded onto their website but people can’t download them because of this PayPal debacle. My question is – Can I connect 2CO to PayPal or what alternative is there for me.
PS: You can go and visit Hotrythms.com and have a listen to our two tracks there. Also have a look at the site and see if you can spot an alternative solution to my problem. Many thanks and kind regards, Etienne Muller
Nov 12th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I have noted the requirements are for money into SA, with regard to outbound money, how much are we allowed to move out? Am currently considering to relocate abroad, however my business interest will remain, thus will need the moola abroad.
Nov 12th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Hi
I recently put it to the test and to my surprise was told that i cannot charge for my product in ZAR. I can only be paid via 2checkout in ZAR. So if I advertise a product on my site I have to use another accepted currency but not ZAR.
Nov 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
@shadley: that’s a problem because some locals will get offended if an SA site does not price its goods / services in rands.
I’m probably going to use payfast.co.za myself.
Nov 12th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
This in straight from my connections at 2CheckOut..
You bring up an issue we are working on resolving. Although ZAR isn’t listed as a pricing Currency on the Site Management page, 2Checkout does support sales in ZAR. We are currently working to resolve this issue, but in the meantime, here is a workaround that will allow you to set your Pricing Currency as ZAR.
In order to sell in ZAR, you will need to first set up a payment profile in your 2Checkout account. After you have created a payment profile you may then set the Pricing Currency to ZAR on the Bank Account page in your account.
To create your payment profile, log in to your 2Checkout account click the Account tab. On the Account page, click the Bank Account sub tab and then click the blue Banking Wizard button on the right side of the page. You’ll then follow the on screen instructions in the Banking Wizard to create a payment profile on your account.
After you have created a payment profile, select ZAR from the Pricing Currency drop down menu on the Bank Account page and click the update button located directly to the right of the selected currency. The page will refresh and you will now see ZAR as your pricing currency.
Big thanks to Rick from 2CheckOut!
When these changes have been made, customers will see the pricing reflected in ZAR when they are redirected to 2Checkout from your site to complete their order.”
Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
hi all – soz for asking a silly question, i have been struggling to receive $$ from an ebay user in the states for mnths now, it seems xoom.com is the best option for payments? as for selling, it seems 2checkout is the way to go then?
Dec 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I see that on this website http://www.2checkout.co.za/ you are still offering the free signup but from what i have read in this blog the offer has ended.
if i sign up today will i be charged the initial startup fee?
Dec 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
@Bartek – As far as I know, the free sign up offer is now finished unfortunately, but it’s not expensive at all!
Dec 6th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Hello, can 2checkout receive funds for you if you’re selling on ebay?
Dec 9th, 2009 at 11:35 am
There is a massive change underway in the mobile media market as it becomes unshackled from the operators’ portals that have dominated it for a decade, all without having made any significant inroads into the content use of mobile users. The new capped data packages, fuelled by further competition, will see a total revamp of the mobile media market. It will no longer be based on portals but on direct services by content and services providers via open source phones and mobile-friendly Internet-based services. The next step is the continued emergence of m-commerce and in particular m-payment services.
Dec 10th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Great post and offer by 2CheckOut.
I did however stumble across this too late…My bad! :(
The link (www.2checkout.co.za) still appears to be advertising the promo but do you know if it is still available?
Thanks Chris.
Jan 26th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Well this has been really useful thanks :)
One question, how do you guys get money into South Africa then?
Mar 5th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Hey brothers & Sisters
This is good for me who will be launching a multipurpose website soon. But i have 1 question and that is will i be able to use 2CO with my premium website? i won’t be selling but users will be billing for particular services that are offered by me on my site.
I the answer is no what is 2CO prepared to do to make this possible? Please help because you seem like to be the only system which will help RSA Web Business Owners.
Thanks
Dr TB Ntsele
CEO: O&I Brand Network