[3 Minute Read]
Payment gateways make it possible for your customers to make instant purchases. They make the transaction fast, easy and automatic.
Customers are no longer willing to go through the hassle of making transfers or over-the-phone payments. They want fast. They drive the demand.
Naturally, the market responds to the demand and expands. This is good news because expansion drives competitiveness among the providers.
Businesses can shop around for payment gateways that offer the best fees, support, and stability.
In this article, we’ll go through a list of the best payment gateways and how they’re different from one another.
Stripe
Since 2011, Stripe has been working hard to provide a payment gateway focused on customizability. Developers can build custom payment experiences, catering to the specific needs of your business and your customers.
Although Stripe aims to provide a customizable experience, the native integrations make it possible for anyone to use Stripe without the need to hire a developer.
Stripe is especially popular in the eCommerce space, the integrations for platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace are great.
Stripe supports over 130 currencies. It also supports different payment types like subscription billing, mobile payments, one-click checkout, and more.
Stripe customers have access to 24/7 support (email, chat, or phone).
Unlike most other providers, Stripe doesn’t have a monthly fee by default.
The transaction fees are 2.9% +$0.30 per transaction.
PayPal
PayPal is the most popular payment gateway. It started as a digital wallet in 1999 and expanded into the most trusted payment processor on the internet.
We have all either used or come across a ‘Pay by PayPal’ button at the checkout. That’s how widespread and accepted PayPal is. PayPal plays that card well, claiming that using PayPal as your payment processor can increase your checkouts by over 40%.
PayPal also offers eCommerce platform integrations for all the popular platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.
PayPal’s fees vary between 2% and 3.49% + fixed fee. It depends on whether it’s a domestic/ international transaction and on the type of payment that was made. PayPal supports different payment options like PayPal button checkout, QR code payments, and credit/ debit card payments.
Authorize.net
Authorize.net was born in 1996 and adopted by Visa in 2010. It’s pretty well established and connected with most merchant account providers. Authorize.net can process payments from major credit and debit cards, but also digital payment platforms like PayPal.
Authorize.net is well suited to new and experienced merchants because of how easy the platform is to use.
You can use Authorize.net just as a payment gateway, or take advantage of their package that also includes a merchant account.
The fees vary, depending on which package you choose.
Either way, there is a $25 monthly fee.
As a payment gateway only user, you’ll pay $0.10 per transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee. The option with the merchant account comes with a 2.9% +0.30$ fee per transaction.
WePay
WePay prides itself on being powered by JPMorgan Chase. The volume of payments they process annually is huge and as a payment processor, WePay is highly reliable.
WePay also focused on API-first development, making your checkouts fully customizable and integrated with your platform of choice.
Although WePay can be used by small businesses, what makes it stand out is its usability for software development companies and SaaS companies.
If you’re in the business of SaaS or selling software, and you need a way for your customers to accept payments within your platform—WePay is your answer.
With WePay integrated into your software, the customer doesn’t have to go through the fuss of registering with a payment processor and integrating it into your platform, everything is set up and ready to go.
The standard WePay fee is 2.9% + $0.30.
Shopify
Shopify is mostly known for being an eCommerce platform that allows you to quickly build an online store. Shopify has countless features and integrations, that’s why it’s one of the most popular eCommerce platforms.
Shopify also has a ‘Lite’ plan which is the payment gateway only plan, without the other features Shopify normally offers.
From $9 per month, you can use the Shopify Lite on your website, making it easy for your customers to buy instantly. You can also use Shopify’s point of sale app to accept credit cards with your iOS or Android device. Shopify Lite also lets you create invoices and accept payments from your clients that way.
What makes Shopify Lite stand out is that it integrates well with social media. Your customers can buy directly from Instagram, without ever leaving the app. Or move from a TikTok video to your checkout page in one tap.
Shopify’s payment processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. As you probably noticed, this is a standard fee.
Klarna
If you want to offer flexibility to your customers—Klarna might be a good choice.
Klarna gives you the option to offer your customers different ways of paying. They can pay in instalments (without interest), pay after 30 days, or get financing. You control which options are made available to your customers.
Klarna is a leader in the buy now, pay later category, it has been working hard to make this accessible to most businesses and consumers.
Consumers can directly sign up to Klarna, and use it at check-out, kind of like PayPal. Klarna also has an app that encourages consumers to browse through the businesses that use Klarna as the payment processor.
Klarna claims to bring you new customers through their own marketing channels, and increase your order value by 44% on average.
When it comes to Klarna pricing, there is a variable fee of up to 5.99% + $0.30 (flat) per transaction.
Klarna also offers an instant payment gateway option, which costs $30 per month, and a variable fee of up to 3.79% + a flat fee of $0.30 per transaction.
Summary
When it comes to payment gateways you have a lot of options to choose from. They’re different from one another, have different business models, and work on different ideas.
Choosing the best payment gateway for your business will depend on what type of business you run and how you want your customers to pay you.
In the end, you want to use tools that make your business run more smoothly and efficiently. A good payment gateway will do just that.
If you’re always on the lookout for ways to improve your business, take a look at tools like this virtual mailbox and remote notary. Both of these let you manage your business hassle-free and 100% remotely.
