The short answer
- Canada is on the list. Checkfront's feature table names the United States, Canada and Australia for Authorize.Net.
- Deposits and balances work. With Authorize.Net's Customer Information Manager (CIM), Checkfront stores the card as a token and charges the balance later.
- You can hold a payment for 30 days. After that, an uncaptured hold expires and cannot settle.
- One currency only. Checkfront does not support accounts with more than one currency, so US visitors pay in your account's currency.
- No 3D Secure, no Apple Pay or Google Pay. Checkfront points you to other providers for those.
- No chip or tap. Staff-side readers are swipe-only, so pair Checkfront with a separate terminal at the counter.
How a payment travels
A guest books on your Checkfront page and enters a card there. Checkfront sends it to Authorize.Net, and a webhook tells Checkfront the payment went through. The processor then settles the day's batch to your bank.
- Online booking
- Deposit charged
- Card saved in CIM
- Balance charged later
- Your bank account
- Damage hold (up to 30 days)
- Capture or void
| Step | Where it happens | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Guest books and enters a card | Checkfront booking page, on your Checkfront domain | Checkfront |
| Card is checked and charged or held | Authorize.Net gateway | Authorize.Net |
| Checkfront hears the payment went through | Webhook to Checkfront | You set it up, Checkfront receives it |
| Payment is approved and settled | Card networks, daily batch | Your processor |
| Money lands in your account | Your bank | Your merchant account provider |
What Checkfront does with Authorize.Net
| Feature | What Checkfront's documentation says |
|---|---|
| Live payments | Supported |
| Integrated checkout | Guests stay on your Checkfront domain to pay |
| Rebilling | Charges a stored card later. Needs Authorize.Net CIM turned on |
| Refunds | Supported, within a time window (see the limits below) |
| Hold payments | Authorize Only holds the amount for up to 30 days |
| Staff-side payments | Supported |
| Terminals | "Triple track" magnetic-stripe readers, for staff payments only |
| Test mode | Sandbox Mode in Checkfront, with your Authorize.Net account in Test mode |
| Address verification (AVS) | Checkfront sends the address and postal code |
| Not supported | Redirect checkout, more than one currency, 3D Secure, PSD2, use as a secondary provider, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, iDEAL, Buy Now Pay Later, Google reCAPTCHA |
Set-up runs through Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment, with admin access. Your booking form must ask for address, city, province, postal code and country. That data feeds the address check.
Canada and Canadian dollars
Checkfront's feature table lists Canada as a supported country. Its intro text names a wider group: the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia. The table is the narrower and more specific of the two.
Checkfront does not name Canadian dollars. It says invoices are in one currency and accounts with more than one currency are not supported. That matches Authorize.Net's own rule: each account is set to one currency, as the parent page explains. If your account is set to CAD, an American guest is charged in CAD.
CleverPays can open both, a CAD Authorize.Net account and a USD one, and add American Express to them.
Limits to know before you rely on it
- Add the webhook. Without it, Checkfront says the payment can hang and a guest may submit twice and double-book. In Authorize.Net, go to Account > Business Settings > Webhooks. Point it to
https://[your Checkfront url]/notify/AuthorizeNet/for thenet.authorize.payment.authcapture.createdevent. - The refund window is stated two ways. One part of the article says 180 days from settlement, and its E00027 error note agrees. A section header says refunds stop at 120 days. Confirm the window in your Authorize.Net account. For an old sale, refund in the Authorize.Net dashboard and record a POS refund in Checkfront.
- Same-day partial refunds fail. A payment that has not settled can only be voided. For a partial refund, wait until the day after the batch settles.
- Holds expire. An Authorize Only payment left for 30 days expires and cannot be captured. Checkfront says most businesses will likely use Authorize & Capture.
- Turn off Authorize.Net's email receipts. Otherwise guests get two receipts.
- Watch the Market Type. Error 87 appears when Market Type is set to Retail. The article says to change that setting for Checkfront to work.
Who this fits
The businesses below are examples of how Checkfront is used. They are hypothetical, not our customers.
A tour operator taking deposits
A whale-watching or multi-day tour company takes part of the price at booking. With rebilling on, it charges the balance before departure from the stored card. The guest does not re-enter anything.
An example only, not a quote: a $1,000 trip with a $200 deposit at booking and $800 charged two weeks before departure.
A bike or kayak rental shop
A rental shop wants a damage deposit it can release. Authorize Only holds an amount for up to 30 days. Checkfront's article describes this as a payment setting. It does not say if one setting can hold some bookings and charge others. Test that in the sandbox first.
An attraction with a front desk
An escape room or zipline park sells online and at a desk. Online bookings run through Authorize.Net. At the desk, Checkfront only supports swipe readers, and most Canadian cards are chip cards. A separate chip-and-tap terminal handles walk-ups. Ask Checkfront how to record those payments against a booking.
Changing the processor behind Checkfront
Authorize.Net says a processor change does not affect your API connections. Your API Login ID, Transaction Key and webhook in Checkfront stay as they are. Cards stored in CIM stay in the same Authorize.Net account, so balances due on future bookings can still be charged.
Plan for the rest. Refunds on older bookings go to the new processor. Settle open batches first and capture or void any open holds. Keep the old merchant account open until older refunds and chargebacks are done. Then book one small test, refund it, and check the deposit. Moving to a new Authorize.Net account is a bigger job: new credentials, a new webhook, and stored cards that do not move by themselves. See keeping the gateway and changing the processor.
Where CleverPays fits
Checkfront owns and maintains its Authorize.Net connector. Authorize.Net runs the gateway. The processor approves and settles payments. CleverPays does not make, certify or support Checkfront.
We can review your current statement with you and show what you pay today. We can open the Authorize.Net account and the Canadian merchant account behind it, and connect it to Checkfront with you. We can test a booking, a deposit, a balance charge, a refund and the first deposit to your bank. We can stay your contact after launch, in English and French. We can also open a USD account and add American Express.
Sources
- Checkfront: Setting up Authorize.net as your Checkfront payment provider, read 6 October 2026
- Authorize.Net: processors and currencies, via the parent page, read 6 October 2026
- Authorize.Net: what happens when you update your processor, via the parent page, read 6 October 2026
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