A Cautionary Experience with YOCO

I would strongly urge any business owner to think very carefully before using a merchant service like YOCO. We’ve had an incredibly frustrating and damaging experience that no responsible provider should allow.

Fifteen months after a client paid for a safari to South Africa, then cancelled—after we had already paid for the non-refundable accommodation, which is clearly outlined in our policy—YOCO permitted a chargeback to go through. This is despite both us and the accommodation supplier having a well-documented non-refundable deposit policy, publicly available on our website and booking materials.

What makes this more concerning is that, by standard banking regulations, chargebacks are only valid for up to six months. After that, the client has no further recourse, and merchants should be protected. This transaction was fifteen months old, and yet YOCO still debited the funds from us.

We have now handed this over to our attorneys, and are awaiting further guidance on how to proceed. The lack of merchant protection and disregard for basic financial rules is unacceptable. Businesses need to be aware of the risks when using YOCO.

Absolutely not on.