Top 7 Payment Gateways: the list for ecommerce

‍What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a tech tool integrated into a web store that allows payment processing, controls activities between shoppers and retailers, prepares money faster, reduces the exposure of any scam, and protects buyers' sensitive data.

‍How does the payment gateway work?

‍Let's see what happens behind the scenes:

↓ A buyer clicks on the 'pay' button in the shopping cart.

↓ To complete the operation successfully, a buyer gets the requirement to fill in the card details.

↓ Next, this information is securely moved to the payment gateway. Security protocols like cyber guards protect the data from fraud and guarantee it will be delivered to the targeted bank.

↓ After the card's verification, the gateway requests the buyer's bank to launch the transaction.

↓ The bank pays the funds to a merchant's bank and deposits them into their account.

In short: after the client fills in their card info, the payment is being seamlessly processed by the fintech software. Integrating a payment gateway to your web store is enough to start processing and receiving online payments.

The most pleasant part :)

How to choose the payment gateway for your business?

When you start searching for the best digital payment options for your store, consider their flexibility and security first. It's also essential to define how appropriate it will be for your business in terms of costs and technology capabilities.

The most critical necessity buyers expect is data protection. So, gateways that employ high-security protocols win the competition. Payment processors use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to guarantee data safety. Setting up encoded channels permits a safe transfer of personal information over public channels.

Bear in mind the gateway's pricing and transaction charges: check the cost per transaction and see if it fits your budget. Run through the features list, countries, and currencies coverage the payment gateway offers.

Here, we briefly review the top 7 ecommerce payment integrations for digital businesses in 2022.

PayPal

PayPal is one of the most widely-known payment gateways. From its foundation in 1999, its primary mission was to assist brands and shoppers in completing secure transactions.

Today PayPal works in 200+ countries and serves the most widespread card providers like Citibank, Mastercard, Visa, and many more. Adding PayPal as a payment method to a web store may increase the checkout conversion rate up to 40%.

Paypal pricing

PayPal charges 2.29% + 0.9 USD per in-person transaction and 2.59% + 0.49 USD for online payment.

Paypal: Advantages

• Straightforward integration into a web store.
• Merchants get no additional charges (except the transaction fee).
• No need to open a merchant account.
• A trustworthy system, proved by years of its existence.
• No monthly/yearly fees.
• PCI-compliant.
• Phone payments can be received via Virtual Terminal.
  

Paypal: Weaknesses

• High chargeback fees.
• The account can be suspended without any prior notice. Reactivating may take up to 180 days, leading to sales losses.
  

Square

In 2009 Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey founded the platform to run payments with smart devices instead of expensive POS hardware. Today Square market share counts 27.83% in the POS Systems category. The solution is available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese and accepts all primary credit cards along with Apple Pay and Google Pay. For now, it's functioning in a few countries, including the US, UK, Australia, and some parts of Europe.

Square pricing

Square includes predictable flat-rate pricing of 2.6% + 0.10 USD per swipe and 3.5% + 0.15 USD per no-card transaction.

Square: Advantages

• The POS app and magstripe reader are free.
• Suitable for small-to-medium retailers.
• Additional support for low-volume retailers.
• The affordable chip card reader that could be plugged into a mobile device to accept online payments.
• No included monthly fees.
• Supports 130 currencies.
  

Square: Weaknesses

• Payment can be processed only through the Square App.
• The flat rate may be high-priced for enterprises.
• No support for Paypal.

See how we made an online payment integration for Square >

2checkout (Verifone)

2checkout is the online payment processing solution covering up to 20K clients around the globe. Its payment gateway is mobile-friendly and compatible with Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, etc. For sellers, 2checkout offers a flexible commerce dashboard to overview their customer health and sales metrics, marketing and merchandising tools.

2Chekout Pricing

2SELL basic package will cost 3.5% + 0.35 USD per successful sale.

2SUBSCRIBE charges 4.5% + 0.45 USD.

2MONETIZE requests 6% + 0.60 USD per sale.

2Chekout: Advantages

• Suitable for selling domestically and internationally.
• No setup and monthly fees.
• Tier-1 security protocols protect merchants and clients from fraud.
• There're integrations for 120+ shopping carts, including Magento, Shopify, WP eCommerce, Checkfront, Bookly, Cloudbook, and other ecommerce platforms.
• Suitable for selling any products.
  

2Chekout: Weaknesses

• According to online reviews, the platform has weak customer assistance.
• The prices are higher than the industry average, making it not the finest choice for small brands.
  

Stripe

Stripe's main competitive advantage for 10+ years of its existence has been its focus on technology and innovation. With more than 4000 workers, it builds economic infrastructure so that any business — from a small startup to a giant enterprise — could effortlessly receive payments and drive their online businesses. 

Stripe is extremely popular and is used by millions of users from 46 countries, allowing payments in more than 130 currencies. Ecommerce developers believe it's one of the most effortless payment integrations to set up and maintain.

Stripe pricing

Stripe charges 2.9% + 0.3 USD per transaction; 2.7% + 0.05 USD for the in-person transaction.

Stripe: Advantages

• Includes advanced elements like custom UI toolkits, automatic payment handling, built-in API, embeddable checkouts, consolidated reports, and more
• No redirect to another site while making payments.
• No setup and monthly fees.
• 450+ platforms and add-ons.
• Machine Learning is used for fraud prevention.
  

Stripe: Weaknesses

• Requires software development expertise to use Stripe's tools and open API.
• Fewer features for in-person retail businesses compared to competitors.
  

Amazon Pay

Owned by Amazon, Amazon Pay is probably one of the most reliable choices for SMEs. Initially, it was created for Amazon clients and shoppers to support smooth shopping experiences. Amazon Pay is integrated into a web store by utilizing widgets for the buyers never to leave the ecommerce site. It allows buying items in 80 currencies with the ability to change the currency of preference.

Amazon Pay pricing

Amazon Pay assigns a transaction cost of 2.2% + 0.30 USD. It also can charge taxes where applicable.

Amazon Pay: Advantages

• The same payment process as the one in Amazon.
• Transaction process design could be customized. 
• Monthly fees-free.
• Fine for digital brands not requiring volume discounts or custom plans.
• A range of free plugins is available.
  

Amazon Pay: Weaknesses

• Limited availability by country.
• You have to have an Amazon account to receive payments.
  

Authorize.net

Up to 430K retailers have used Authorize.net since 1996. The platform's number of processed transactions per year is around one billion. It covers more than ten currencies and is sufficient for online merchants based in the US, the UK, Australia, Europe, and Canada. Even though it's one of the oldest processors of digital payments, Authorize.net platform is very user-friendly and suitable for both entrepreneurs and experienced traders. 

Authorize.net pricing

Using Authorize.net, you'll have to pay a monthly fee of 25 USD and 2.9% + 0.3 USD per transaction.

Authorize.net: Advantages

• Security compliance: chargebacks and other fraudulent actions blocking.
• It covers various digital payment types: from credit and debit cards to e-checks.
• Accepts Paypal payments.
• Live client support.
  

Authorize.net: Weaknesses

• Limited region availability.
• The fees are higher than the industry average.
• A monthly fee of 25 USD.
• No phone payments are available.
• Online reviews include many negative comments about the low speed of processing.
  

WePay

WePay is a JP Morgan & Chase service covering online payments solutions to SaaS, crowdfunding platforms, and marketplaces. The company assists retailers across Canada, the UK, and the US. It's thought to be one of the most suitable payment integrations for omnichannel ecommerce with various customization components. With WePay, there's no problem building custom checkout flows supporting in-person payments and those made online.

WePay pricing

WePay charges 2.9% + 0.25 to 0.3 USD per transaction and ACH payments for 1% + 0.30 USD per transaction.

WePay: Advantages

• Great for crowdfunding campaigns.
• Handles complicated payment requests.
• Flat for transaction charges.
• Provides additional benefits for WePay partners.
  

WePay: Weaknesses

• Customer support is enabled only via emails.
• Its API is inclined towards crowdfunding portals and corresponding payment types.
• It doesn't fit large businesses since it's missing a dedicated merchant account.
• Less comfortable for brands not working with WePay partners.
  

Summary

When considering the payment gateway to integrate with your web store, choose one depending on your objectives. It has to provide the most satisfactory checkout experience to your customers while still fitting your ecommerce business requirements.

Next blog series:How to integrate a payment gateway into a website