Top 9 Global Payment Gateways
Online payments have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. We’re transacting online not only through debit or credit cards but through numerous other modes like UPI, net banking and wallets as well.
Paying online is a fundamental feature that every e-commerce platform in the world offers. And they can provide this facility by integrating with a payment gateway.
If you are setting up an e-commerce store or selling digital products from your website, you’ll need a payment gateway to accept payments from your customers.
Payment Gateway Explained:
A Payment Gateway is simply an e-commerce service that processes, verifies and accepts (or declines) direct payments or credit card processing on behalf of merchants using secure internet connections.
It is like a tunnel that connects your bank account to the platform where you need to transfer your money. It is a software that authorises you to conduct an online transaction through different payment modes like net banking, credit card, debit card, UPI or the many online wallets that are available these days.
It fulfills the important roles in e-commerce transaction processes between a merchant and customer. It is used to help facilitating online transactions and get approved by issuer bank.
To explain this in simpler terms, suppose you are buying a shirt from a popular digital platform like Amazon. When you make the payment for the shirt, a payment gateway helps you in the process by transferring your money to Amazon.
Why is it important?
If you are setting up an e-commerce store or selling digital products from your website, you’ll need a payment gateway to accept payments from your customers.
Until a couple of years back, setting up a payment gateway as a mammoth task. It used to involve a lot of documentation, verification, huge setup feeds and technical know how to make it work. But now, it has become very easy to set up a payment gateway for selling your products.
The right payment gateway is the key to a superior checkout experience.
A good Payment Gateway is the one managing the cash flow in and out of your business. It is responsible for not just managing the online payments but also offering the best user experience to your e-commerce customers.
A few of the top factors for shopping cart abandonment are directly associated with the UX that users get from the payment gateways.
- 28% of customers abandon a shopping cart for a complicated checkout process
- 19% of customers do not trust the site with their credit/debit card information
- 8% of customers cannot find their preferred payment option on the site
- 4% of credit cards get declined due to technical errors
With all this in mind, maybe you’re wondering: how do you select a payment gateway that will maximize convenience, minimize risk, and ensure the security of your customers’ information?
We’ll make it easier for you.
Let’s check how to select the right payment gateway for your business.
Here are some crucial points to consider before selecting the payment gateway:
- Security
Security should be your top priority. Make sure at a minimum it should be integrated with 3D secure and comply with the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
- Customer experience:
In addition to security, buyers are looking for a smooth and convenient purchasing experience. As more customers turn to online shopping, it is important that you offer them an experience that balances with what they are familiar with from big sites, even if you are running a small business. If it requires too much time, effort or personal information to buy through you, they may turn elsewhere.
- Domestic and international payment acceptance:
We live and work in a global market. Make sure you’re not limiting your business to only local sales.
- Fees:
Make sure your payment gateway fits into your company’s budget.
- Payout Time
It should be less time taking to credit money in your bank account. Before integration check how payouts are made? Whether they’re on a weekly or bi-weekly cycle.
- Ease of website Integration
Before you sign make sure that the integration is simple or it can develop a custom-coded solution for your platform easily.
- Multi-currency
If your customers are also from outside the country or using a different currency, then your payment gateway should handle payments across currencies, regions, platforms and alternative payment solutions.
From the growing list of payment gateways in the world, we’ve carefully picked 9 best Global Payment Gateways suitable for small businesses.
Therefore, make an appropriate choice for your online store that relies on quality standards and policies, and secures the available sensitive data.
1. Paypal
PayPal was founded in 1999 and both MasterCard and credit card payments can acknowledge it. It is free for buyers, while merchants need to pay transition fees while using PayPal for Visa payments. This e-commerce payment gateway does not require any setup expenses, gateway fees, or monthly charges.
The advantage is that merchants do not have to pay once the sale is done. While using PayPal Standard, customers may leave the site to checkout and sign in to their PayPal account or they can pay via credit card or Visa without signing up. PayPal Pro enables merchants to have and modify their entire check out process so that consumers do not have to leave the site. It also accepts credit cards via fax, mail, or phone.
PayPal Payment Gateway Fees: 2.9% per transaction, with no monthly fees
Top Brands Using PayPal Payment Gateway: Adidas, Disney, ASOS, and Etsy
2. Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay offers a secure checkout experience backed by Amazon’s technology, innovation, and robust risk management services.
With a single login, the customer is immediately identified and enabled to complete a transaction, a possibility that is also available on mobile devices. Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee makes these transactions 100% secure and charges no additional fees to do so. As with most payment gateways, clients are only charged a fixed percentage of the amount they are transferring.
Within their Amazon Payments package, merchants will also find a fully-featured e-commerce suite that will help them promote, sell, and manage products and orders. In such a manner, Amazon Payments optimises its marketplace activities and converts them into reliable vendors with great reputations
Amazon payment gateway fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for domestic plus tax where applicable. They also charge for Cross-border transactions that are subject to an additional fee of 3.9%
Top brands using Amazon Pay Payment Gateway: Lenovo, Shinola, Cymax.
3. 2Check Out
2CheckOut is another fully-featured payment processing solution that appears on all similar top lists and classifications.
This prominent US-based gateway enables merchants to accept mobile and online payments from buyers worldwide, and without any concern on delays and security.
For the 16 years it has been on the market, 2CheckOut served over 50k merchants, built over 300 unique fraud prevention rules, and reached Level 1 PCI compliance. It supports 8 different payment types, 87 different currencies, 15 languages, and operates on more than 200 global markets.
Any transaction entered in 2Checkout is guaranteed to be secure thanks to the platform’s Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard
2ChecOut payment gateway fees: 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction for their basic plan.
Top brands using 2CheckOut Payment Gateway: Advisera, Bitdefender, WhiteShark media
4. PayU
PayU is the product of an Indian payment processing corporation. It is one of the simplest payment solutions that were designed to fill in the gaps left by complex service providers.
PayU has one of the best conversion rates (acclaimed 12%) and acceptance for over 45 payment methods (Net-Banking, 8+ bank EMI’s, 6 Wallets, Amex, Rupay, International Cards). PayuBiz’s API’s & SDKs help connect this platform to any website, application, or related third-party system.
PayU offers a single integrated solution that lets users start receiving local payments in all locations where it operates. International merchants can use it as their payment service provider and start receiving payments in all 16 markets, reaching a potential of over 2.2 billion consumers.
PayU offers more than 250 local payment methods and multiple currency options, allowing its users to reach all customers, even those without credit cards.
PayU Payment Gateway fees: For PayUBiz, its between 2.20% to 3.90% based on the plan. For PayUMoney, its 2%
Top brands using Payment Gateway: Myntra, BookMyShow, Ola, goIbibo.com etc
5. Skrill
Skrill is a UK-based e-commerce payment gateway designed for both businesses as well as consumers. With the help of Skrill, you can make international transactions, pay for products and services wherever you are with the help of a dedicated mobile app. Active users can submit a request for a prepaid Master card, and use it to pull back assets/buy products wherever they might be.
Skrill is simple to connect to any bank account globally and takes good care of the security of your payment data. There are no charges on creating an account on Skrill, but there is a fixed percentage of charges on what they are sending or receiving.
Features of Skrill Payment Gateway:
- Supports in-app payments
- Integrates with third-party shopping carts
- Hosted payment page
Skrill Processing Fees: 1.9% transaction fee.
Top brands using its payment gateway: Skrill’s payment gateway is being integrated by a number of global online brands, such as Facebook, Skype and eBay
6. Stripe
Stripe builds the most powerful and flexible tools for internet commerce. If you own an e-commerce store, Stripe’s meticulously designed APIs and unmatched functionality help you create the best possible product for your users. Millions of the world’s most innovative technology companies are scaling faster and more efficiently by building their businesses on Stripe.
Stripe provides you with the following features:
- Customized checkout experience: The UI toolkit gives you elements from Stripe’s own collective experience for front-end, design, and analytics that you can use to build and customize your own payment forms.
- Varied payment options: You can support the payment gateway preferred by your customer as Stripe offers a variety of options. Go global by processing payments for all major credit and debit cards in every country. Digital wallets such as Alipay, Amex Express Checkout, and Apple Pay are available for customers who want a convenient way to pay without sharing their card information.
- Secured payment processing: When it comes to revenue optimization, Stripe optimizes routing paths through direct integrations with card networks like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
Stripe Payment Gateway fees: 2.9% transaction fees + $0.30 monthly charges
Top brands using Stripe Payment Gateway: Warby Parker, Target, ShopStyle, OpenTable etc
7. Braintree
Braintree, a division of PayPal, is a company based in Chicago that specializes in mobile and web payment systems for e-commerce companies. Braintree payment gateway is one of the most secure and reliable payment method these days.
Braintree Payment Gateway extension allows the admin to add its payment method for the customers. This module is designed to simplify the payment process for any online store. Using this module, the customers can do the transaction by almost all kinds of payment cards without redirecting to any payment gateway website.
Braintree environment meets the highest industry standards and guidelines like level 1 PCI compliant, industry recognition, no prohibited data storage, data encryption via the Braintree Vault, authentication & session management, activity monitoring, and testing. Braintree also doesn’t have any additional monthly fees.
Brain Tree Payment Gateway fees: 2.9% + $.30 per transaction
Top brands using Braintree Payment Gateway: Uber, PoshMark, Casper, Trrouva etc
8. Sage Pay
Sage Pay is the European payment arm of software giant Sage (Sage Payment Solutions being the US equivalent. Rebranded as Sage Pay, the firm has grown into one of the leading payment providers in the industry and probably one of the first names you’ll come across.
It adopts a unique face-to-face payment methodology (mobile, wireless, and contactless) to complement the array of online payment tools, invoice payments, and phone payments tools.
All payment pages can be tailored and customized to meet branding specifications, and protected with advanced fraud prevention mechanisms at no additional costs.
Funds are usually transferred to bank accounts within 2 working days, and data is automatically saved for distribution on your other Sage accounts.
With more of 15 years of active market participation, SagePay has grew out to be one of the world’s most reliable payment & finance processing service provider.
Sage Pay offers the full package of payment options for businesses of all sizes. Unlike some firms in the industry, you won’t be forgotten as a small business owner under Sage Pay, which explains why this is the first (and often last) payment provider smaller firms go for.
Sage Pay Payment Gateway fees: Flex plan: £20.90 /month
Top brands using Sage Pay Payment Gateway: KrispyCreme, Jaguar, Europcar etc
9. SecurionPay
SecurionPay is a highly recommended system for those who are looking to improve their conversions and cross-sales.
Basically, SecurionPay is one of the most reliable payment solutions on the market, as it is designed to boost conversions by offering a fast, simple and straightforward way for making transactions.
Simple payment forms alongside an option to remember the user and his/her card details allow for quick payment processes.
It also comes equipped with various security features to safeguard users from hackers and other online exploits.
Payment Gateway fees: 2.95% + 0.25 Euro per successful transaction.
Final Words
While there are several other options on the market for payment gateways, it’s important to opt for an industry leader to be on the safe side. You should carefully evaluate your needs and requirements and then seek out the best payment gateway that fits your business needs and that serves your store in the long run. With dozens of online payment options to choose from, it can be a complicated decision.
Hopefully, reading this post will give you a good idea of 9 of the best payment gateways to choose from, for your e-commerce store.
Payment Gateway + Billing Solution
What if the payment gateway is already integrated with your billing or invoicing software and you never have to worry about any setup hassles? This is what ProfitBooks billing software offers. Just upload a few documents from the application and you are all set. When you send invoices to your customers, they’ll see an option to pay using credit/debit card, netbanking and wallets.
The transaction fee is super low – 1.9% of transaction value or flat Rs. 99 – whichever is lower!
Know more about ProfitBooks and test drive it for free.
Also read:
Top Payment Gateways in Africa
10 Ways to fund your small business
How to create professional invoices
Top 12 FREE Software For Small Businesses
