GoCardless Review: The Best Choice For Business Payments?

GoCardless is an online payment service provider that was founded in 2011 to provide small and mid-sized businesses with a convenient way to manage direct debit transactions and avoid card processing fees. It has since expanded and now also serves large companies, processing around $20 billion annually. GoCardless now operates in the US as well as various European countries and Australia.

More than 85,000 companies use GoCardless to pay and get paid.¹ But it is a suitable choice for your business? This article will look at the key features of the service to help you decide.

You'll also be able to learn about Wise Business as an alternative for companies that frequently send and receive international payments.

Find out more about Wise Business

Methodology: The team of dedicated content experts at Wise research each provider thoroughly, uncovering the key features, fees, and pros and cons to watch out for. This is then collected into an easily digestible format, to save you time and hassle when looking into a provider.

GoCardless Review: Quick Overview

🗝️ Key features	No monthly fees Payments via ACH transfer and eCheck avoid card processing charges International payments in 30 countries and 8 currencies Flexible transaction pricing Extensive list of third-party integrations
💰 Main fees²	Domestic transactions: 0.05% + $0.05 with $5 cap on Standard plan, 0.75% + $0.05 capped at $6.25 on Advanced, 0.90% + $0.05 capped at $7 on Pro International transactions: 1.5% + $0.05 on Standard plan, 1.75% + $0.05 on Advanced, 1.9% + $0.05 on Pro
✔️ Great for	Small businesses that need to send or receive one-off or recurring direct debit payments
⭐️ Trustpilot rating³	3.3 out of 5

GoCardless: Key Features

In the US, GoCardless uses the Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment network to process direct debit transactions at competitive rates. Unlike some other ACH service providers, it supports international transactions. It typically takes 3-4 business days for ACH transactions to settle, although GoCardless supports faster payments with its premium subscription service.

The company processes eCheck payments in the US using the ACH network, but doesn’t provide support for paper check scanners. It also doesn’t process credit or debit card payments, so you need to use it in combination with a card processing service.

There are no monthly fees, long-term contracts or early termination fees with a GoCardless account. It offers pay-as-you-go pricing that is well suited to small businesses looking for a straightforward way to collect one-off or recurring ACH payments.

There are three pricing plans with monthly billing and different levels of transaction fees: Standard, Advanced and Pro. Businesses that have a large volume of transactions can negotiate a custom plan.

The Advanced plan credits payments in two days with Faster ACH, reduces failed payments through intelligent retries, verifies new customers' bank account details instantly at checkout, and allows you to customize the user experience, such as with branded payment pages and email notifications – for which there are additional fees. The Pro plan adds fraud prevention features.

There’s no limit on the number of monthly transactions, but there is a limit of $5,000 on the amount, so the service may not be suitable for businesses that handle larger payments. There is also a charge of $5 for additional chargebacks if you exceed 15 in one month.

GoCardless processes international transactions through Wise for payments in more than 30 countries and eight currencies: Australian dollar (AUD), Canadian dollar (CAD), Danish krone (DKK), Euro (EUR), British pound sterling (GBP), New Zealand dollar (NZD), Swedish krona (SEK), and US dollar (USD). International payments can be collected with or without converting the currency and use the mid-market exchange rate without commission or other markups.

Domestic transaction fees range from 0.5% + $0.05 to 0.90% + $0.05 depending on the plan, while fees for international transactions range from 1.5% + $0.05 to 1.90% + $0.05. This is lower than card processing fees, which can exceed 3%.⁴

Read on to find out more:
Ease of Use Customer Service GoCardless Fees Features and Considerations Conclusion: Is GoCardless the Best Choice for Your Business? Discover Wise Business

Ease of Use

GoCardless accounts provide businesses with hosted payment pages as well as access to its application programming interface (API) to integrate payments directly into their website at no additional charge.

The platform also offers integrations with more than 350 third-party software partners, including QuickBooks, Salesforce, and Xero.

Positive GoCardless reviews on independent review site, Trustpilot, state that the GoCardless platform is user-friendly and integrations are easy to set up. They also praise the company’s customer service team for providing helpful responses if they do need support.⁴

However, some negative reviews from Trustpilot mention their accounts being closed unexpectedly after GoCardless conducted a full review of their business, so it’s important to check the types of businesses the service permits before signing up to avoid losing time and funds.⁵

Customer Service

GoCardless provides 24/7 customer service via support ticket submitted online. It also provides phone support in the US from its San Francisco office Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm PT, as well as help via email. There is an extensive help center with knowledge base on the website and instructional videos on the company’s YouTube channel.⁷

GoCardless Fees

Here are some of the main fees to expect when using GoCardless:⁸

• Domestic transactions: 0.05% + $0.05 with $5 cap on Standard plan, 0.75% + $0.05 capped at $6.25 on Advanced, 0.90% + $0.05 capped at $7 on Pro
• International transactions: 1.5% + $0.05 on Standard plan, 1.75% + $0.05 on Advanced, 1.9% + $0.05 on Pro
• Refunds: $0.50
• Chargebacks: $5
• Payment failure: $5
• Business name on customer bank statements: $25 per month
• Custom checkout and notifications: $50 per month, only available on Advanced and Standard plans

What Percentage Does GoCardless take?

GoCardless charges fees ranging from 0.05% + $0.05 for each domestic transaction up to 1.9% + $0.05 for each international transaction.

Transaction charges can quickly add up if you frequently send and receive international payments. Consider a Wise Business account, which allows you to handle foreign currency transactions in 160 countries at the mid-market exchange rate and manage multiple currencies all in one place with low fees.

Features and Considerations

Key Features	Considerations
No monthly account fees Send and receive payments by ACH transfer to avoid costly card processing fees Handle payments in more than 30 countries and 8 currencies Flexible choice of three subscription tiers More than 350 integrations plus API for customization	May not be suitable if you need a range of payment options International transaction fees are not capped like domestic fees and can add up for frequent payments

Conclusion: Is GoCardless the Best Choice for Your Business?

The ACH processing service from GoCardless offers small businesses an alternative to costly debit and credit card payment processing and wire transfers. You can opt to solely collect direct debit payments or use GoCardless in combination with a traditional card processor to provide your customers with options. ACH payments can be slower than other methods, but offer convenience and security for you and your customers.

Whether GoCardless is right for your business will depend on the nature of the payments you send and receive and whether you need to handle frequent international transactions.

🔍 You can also read the guide to GoCardless alternatives to discover other options

Discover Wise Business: Manage International Payments With Ease

Wise Business can help you save money on international payments. You can pay overseas employees or suppliers in more than 160 countries with no hidden fees and at the mid-market exchange rate. You can also get local account details to receive payments like a local, all in one easy-to-manage business account.

Features of a Wise Business account include:

• No monthly fees
• International payments at the mid-market rate
• Manage multiple currencies all in one place
• Receive payments like a local with major currency account details for a one-time fee
• Hold over 40 currencies
• Easy batch payments
• QuickBooks connection to track bill payments

You can find out more and open a Wise Business account online.

About the author:
	Panna is an expert in business finance topics for the US, covering topics from invoicing to international expansion. She creates high-quality reviews on business finance tools and products with the aim to help businesses save time and make informed decisions. You can read more useful business articles on her author profile.

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Sources:

¹ About us | GoCardless
² Pricing | GoCardless
³ Read Customer Service Reviews of gocardless.com
⁴ Pricing | GoCardless
⁵ Read Customer Service Reviews of gocardless.com
⁶ Read Customer Service Reviews of gocardless.com | 4 of 79
⁷ GoCardless support
⁸ Pricing | GoCardless

All sources checked May 2024.