Payment Gateway Providers for eCommerce Business

Need to find the best payment gateway for your eCommerce Business? Setting up how you get paid online is the next step before launching your online shop. In this article we run through some of the top payment gateway providers in 2022 for processing online payments.

Choosing a Payment Gateway Solution

Once you have chosen your eCommerce platform, you will need a payment gateway to accept online payments on your website. Without a payment gateway you will not be able to easily complete orders and your customers will leave for an eCommerce website that has all steps fully streamlined.

Choosing how you get paid online is important, and we recommend taking a good look at the options available before making your decision.

So what exactly is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a software application that allows ecommerce websites to accept payments online. It authorizes transactions from the customer's card details and processes online payments as well as transferring sensitive credit card information securely.

Most leading payment gateways will allow you to accept all major payment methods – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Before you choose, we recommend that you compare the features on offer and any transaction fees that may apply. Some platforms – e.g. Squarespace and Shopify come with payment gateway options built in, as well as integration with others, so you can choose one that fits all your needs.

Alright, so let's get right to the main options available on the market today. Here is a selection of payment gateway alternatives available when selling online.

Bank Transfer

It is a stretch to say this is a payment gateway, but this comes as a standard option with WooCommerce. There are no fees involved in this as the customer just has to send the money from their account to your business account. This method requires more manual steps making it a cumbersome task for both the customer and you.

Additionally, if a customer can’t pay on their card there and then, chances are they might lose interest. Save this option for when your orders are reaching higher amounts than some cards allow you to spend at once. Or if you are offering a bespoke solution that requires more direct interaction with your customers.

People are increasingly preferring to pay directly from their online bank accounts! Offer this in your checkout and capitalise on a fast-growing consumer trend.

PayPal

PayPal is one of the leading payment gateways as most people already use it for sending and receiving money. It integrates all the latest security practices and instils confidence of using the PayPal brand into your website which enables your customers to feel safe when sending payment.

It is important to note that PayPal charges 2.9% +20p for processing payments so you should check here to confirm the latest rates and for further information.

Stripe

Stripe is very well known and it's leading, more technical payment gateway with businessses including Deliveroo and Booking.com using it. It adds seamless integration for all card payments into your website and allows you to receive funds with ease.

Stripe charges 1.4% +20p for EU cards and 2.9% +20p for all non-EU cards. Be sure to check here for the latest information and more details.

Go Cardless

Go Cardless is a useful option if you want to collect ongoing regular payments. "GoCardless makes it easy to collect Direct Debit payments from customers worldwide, even for one-off or variable amounts." See the latest information on prices here.

Worldpay

Worldpay is one of the oldest industry standard payment gateways, formerly the most used solution for processing payments online. However, as their business became more about appeasing shreholders and creating profit, the lack of updates and functionality is apparent in comparison with the other solutions. If you prefer the safety and the stability of a government level robust system, Worldpay is for you. If you want something that is agile, user-friendly and works across all browsers, platforms and devices - you will be better off choosing one of the more modern options. See the latest information on prices here.

Zettle by PayPal

iZettle is a new approach to manage your business and accept card payments. It works with a free app, a Chip&Pin card reader, and analytics to help you understand how your business is evolving.

This payment app is hreat for small businesses, selling products. Easy to use, it also turns your smartphone or tablet into a modern, compact, and wireless cashier or POS. It allows you to accept safe payments with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express fast, inexpensively, simply, and anywhere.

Square

Square is a mobile payment startup that provides everything a small business might possibly need, including point-of-sale systems, hardware, and small-business accounting services.

Unlike other payment processors, Square is a free POS system that is available to businesses of all sizes. Their smartphone app has been downloaded over 30 million times, and they have over 2 million active vendors.

Cardstream

Cardstream is the unique provider in the UK of a totally independent 'white label' payment gateway. This is a solution that allows you to accept credit card payments on your website as well as a real-time virtual terminal for receiving payments over the phone or by mail.

Cardstream differs from other payment processors in that it is fully independent of the acquiring bank and other payment businesses. This implies that regardless of whatever bank processes the card payment, Cardstream may be used as a payment gateway, and a fully configurable gateway can be simply incorporated into your website.

Amazon Payments

Amazon Payments is an online payment network that allows users to use their Amazon accounts to pay for their purchases. Customers can use a credit card, a bank account, or their Amazon Payments account balance to make a payment.

In other words, consumers log in and pay instantaneously on any website that accepts this payment platform using the information already stored in their Amazon accounts. By selecting the Amazon Payments button at the bottom of their purchase order, users can check their payment progress or request a full or partial refund.

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is an ecommerce payment gateway included with Shopify subscriptions that allows you to rapidly activate online payments with any platform (credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) in a Shopify-hosted online store.

You can automate the process of setting a payment gateway in your online store using Shopify Payments, which requires no technical knowledge or equipment and allows you to integrate several external services without having to configure them one by one. Shopify accounts are the only ones who can use it.

SumUp

SumUp is a UK-based startup that was established in 2012. The business is a payment service provider that processes payments between people using an MPOS (Mobile Point of Sale) app and a card reader. Its service offering is extremely similar to those of its closest competitors, Square and PayPal, making it an excellent choice for small-business owners who don't need to keep complicated inventories. Neighborhood stores, informal companies, and apparel stores in intermediate cities, to name a few examples.

Adyen

Adyen is a small Dutch startup with a significantly lesser budget than PayPal. Yet its technology allows it to accept payments in over 150 different currencies.

The benefits of employing this system are numerous, but they may be summarized into two categories: buyer and seller. The ability to pay using Adyen broadens the range of payment alternatives available to the buyer. It will be at your fingers if you wish to use a system that is similar to PayPal but offers more alternatives. It enables for more professional collections and lowers costs for the seller because procedures are simplified.

Cybersource

Cybersource is a flexible electronic commerce platform that can adapt to a web page, app, or call center. It is a world leader in payment processing and online fraud protection. Visa and Mastercard cards are accepted for payment.

Cybersource is a Visa International-endorsed company that processes over 25 billion transactions each year and has over 500 thousand linked businesses around the world.

Opayo

Opayo is a prominent and widely utilized payment service provider (PSP) platform in Europe. Its aim is to securely process card transactions and other types of payment, as well as to help avoid fraud and security breaches.

Opayo handles millions of transactions per month for tens of thousands of customers. Because of its adaptability and accessibility, this payment gateway may be customized to fit the size and activity of any organization. These services are being used by a wide range of enterprises, from tiny firms to major web corporations.

Additional Payment Gateway providers

• Authorize.net
• Braintree
• Dharma Merchant Services
• First Data
• Flagship Merchant Services

Researching different Payment Gateway Options

Take some time to look at the details, here are some things to consider.

Payment Gateway processiong fees and costs

When researching different platform providers, look closely at monthly costs, transaction rates and fraud protection.

1. One time Set-up Fee
2. Monthly Fee
3. Transaction Fee
4. Transaction Rate

International transactions

Do you need to accept international transactions? If you have customers from around the world you will need to look at the best option to collect payments internationally. Or you might want to use different gateways for customers from different regions.

Fraud and chargeback protection

It is a good idea to make sure that the payment gateway service has fraud and chargeback prevention. Look out for features including High-risk merchant account support, Validation services, Purchase tracking, Certified Level 1 Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI DSS), Tokenization, Point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and Fraud management filters.

Different eCommerce platforms work with different gateways

Check out the payment gateways each different eCommerce platform supports. Most will integrate popular payment solutions. For example, if you are thinking of using Shopify, here is a list of Ways to accept payments in United Kingdom. Some other popular platforms have lists too, including Big Commerce Available Payment Gateways and Woo Commerce. So make sure the ecommerce platform that you want to use supports your preferred payment gateway.

"We help clients set up their eCommerce platforms and are able to help with any of preferred Payment Gateways."

In Conclusion

We know that finding the right online payment gateway is a key decision for your ecommerce business. Processing payments in a secure and reliable way is vital. As you see from this article there are options available to suit a wide range of needs.

Offering your customers their preferred payment method will mean that you don't lose out on potential sales. Lack of trust is a common reason for shopping cart abandonment, so using well known trusted payment options is recommended. So hopefully if you have a good idea of the things you need to consider. If you have any questions drop us a comment below!

If you haven't already be sure to check out our Website Launch Checklist

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