No one has time to custom-build a bespoke payment processing solution for the brick-and-mortar and ecommerce stores. Thankfully, third-party payment gateways coordinate the behind-the-scenes dance between merchants and their banks, buyers and their banks (that issue debit cards), and credit card companies. The right payment gateway helps keep every party safe and remove friction from the purchase process.
Table of Contents
- Essential Features of Payment Gateways
- Amazon Pay
- Authorize.net
- Clover
- Dwolla
- Payoneer
- PayPal
- PaySimple
- Square
- Stax
- Stripe
Essential Features of Payment Gateways
Each platform has unique attributes, but there are some essential features of payment gateways to consider during the selection process.
Security
Security is the only non-starter on this list. Never, ever subscribe to a payment gateway with known security problems. When assessing the quality of a platform’s security, look for their:
- fraud prevention measures
- PCI compliance
- accessibility of support (24/7 support is the best)
A payment gateway must instill in customers a feeling of trust and safety that will encourage repeat purchases.
Cost
There are two parts to the costs of payment gateways: the initial cost to subscribe or join and the costs associated with transactions. Subscription costs are either a flat fee per month or is a certain percentage of or cents-per-transaction cost. The transaction costs can impact customers, so be certain to investigate the details before selecting a gateway that might surprise customers with hidden fees for things like chargebacks, statements, etc.
Payment Methods
A payment gateway that accepts a wide variety of payment methods will remove friction between a buyer and a sale. Look for a payment gateway that will accept different credit card brands, can take mobile payments or tap-to-pay in store, etc. Also consider whether your customers would prefer a gateway that processes their payment onsite or whether they would accept being redirected to the gateway’s site.
Integration
The best payment gateway is a “plug-n-play” solution, requiring no custom development on the back end of your system to integrate the payment gateway into your current technologies. Remember: the greater the customization, the harder to scale. Another integration consideration is compatibility with an existing point-of-sale (POS) system for brick-and-mortar stores.
International Processing
Unless your business intends to conduct commerce and eCommerce only in your own country, select a payment gateway that can process international payments. A poor user experience (UX) is a top-five predictor of a lost repeat customer, and an international customer getting all the way to checkout only to find that their payment method is invalid both loses a sale and risks bad word-of-mouth.
Here are 10 of the top payment gateways in 2022, presented in alphabetical order.
Amazon Pay
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
eCommerce giant Amazon offers Amazon Pay for Business. Accepting transactions both in the U.S. and around the world, Amazon Pay for Business has dedicated technical support and integrates quickly with your existing systems. After signing up and connecting Amazon Pay for Business to your system’s API, the “Amazon Pay” button can appear on the payment page of your shopping cart. The customer paying with Amazon Pay will be redirected to their Amazon payment page to complete the transaction. Amazon Pay for Business’s reputation is backed by high-profile customers like Samsung and Crayola, and transactions are backed by Amazon’s Payment Protection Policy. They are transparent about their fees, including those for chargeback disputes. A key drawback is that Amazon Pay for Business can only process credit and debit cards.
Authorize.net
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
Authorize.net by Visa offers a very wide variety of payment methods, including POS, mobile, phone, and eChecks. It’s also capable of operating on a cell phone or tablet, turning it into a mobile POS (mPOS) system. Authorize.net offers free 24/7 support that has been recognized for 12 years by the Ace Award and includes anti-fraud management and simple PCI compliance. They offer transparent pricing options and are capable of processing international payments. Authorize.net is not difficult to set up, and they offer a Getting Started Guide to assist the process.
Clover
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
Clover has perhaps the lowest barrier to entry: after purchasing Clover, all you need is a cell phone or tablet and the Clover Go card reader to start processing payments via chip, swipe, or tap-to-pay, in addition to their ecommerce offerings. Clover is intended for more traditional POS use (e.g., online ordering from a restaurant, purchasing from a farmer’s market stand), so it does not process international payments. Pricing information is available by solution (e.g., retail shops, personal services, etc.), though costs are somewhat higher than other systems because you’re purchasing both hardware and software. For this same reason, Clover isn’t the best solution if you have existing POS equipment or software. Clover offers PCI compliance and includes data encryption and fraud protection to keep users safe. 24/7 support is also available to customers.
Dwolla
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
Dwolla is scalable and flexible, and by design, is a low-code API platform meant to be easily integratable. It is intended for use by businesses using bank transfer payments, like utility providers, real estate investors, etc. It is therefore not a good solution for traditional point-of-sale businesses like restaurants or shops. Dwolla does not make pricing information transparent; you must sign up to see pricing information (even the chatbot requires your email address). They offer a wide variety of support options, though access varies by subscription level. Dwolla works with all U.S. banks and credit unions, and with the Currencycloud add-on, Dwolla can accept international payments from over 180 countries. Because Dwolla focuses on ACH/bank-to-bank payments, it makes security a top priority.
Payoneer
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
One of the biggest draws of Payoneer is its ability to process funds in EUR, USD, GBP, and more. There are a very wide variety of payment options, including the Payoneer Commercial Mastercard®, but all are for ecommerce only (there is no in-store version of Payoneer). Pricing ranges from free between Payoneer customers and via receiving accounts to a 3% charge on credit card purchases by clients and more; fees to withdraw fees to a bank account range even further. While there are a lot of different fee types, Payoneer is transparent about them. Integrating easily into existing systems, Payoneer can be configured to process payments on a Payoneer pop-up on your website or can redirect to the Payoneer site.
PayPal
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
PayPal is one of the most used and respected platforms. Protecting transactions with fraud detection measures, chargeback protection, and seller protection, PayPal equips merchants to offer even first-time customers a trusted way to pay. PayPal can accept both credit and debit cards and offers buy now, pay later options, and PayPal Zettle is PayPal’s in-store POS solution. They are already integrated with major platforms like GoDaddy and Squarespace, making it easy to integrate into your existing systems. PayPal accepts international transactions, operating in over 200 countries. Merchant fees are on the high side at around 3%, but PayPal is transparent about their fees and pricing.
PaySimple
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
PaySimple supports ecommerce, in-person, and mobile payments, though only to businesses in the U.S. and only in USD. PaySimple is PCI DSS certified, uses SOC reports, and relies on “intelligent” intrusion detection by Trustwave to keep users secure. They accept a variety of payment methods, and pricing is both transparent and competitive. A strong suit of PaySimple is the ability to process recurring payments, and they integrate with QuickBooks to minimize friction between sales and accounting. To meet merchant expectations, PaySimple also integrates into popular ecommerce platforms.
Square
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
Square is designed to be a full-service POS for tiny businesses up to enterprises. Because of this, it does not integrate well into existing systems; instead, it works best as your system for processing payments. Square offers a wide variety of POS hardware to fit different verticals and business sizes. They have packages for in-person payments at POS systems, remote payments for ecommerce, invoicing, and phone purchases, and a build-your-own solution, all with transparent pricing. Square can process most major international and U.S. credit cards, among other card types, and invest in tight security including ISO 27001 certification.
Stax
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
Stax is meant to be a complete POS/payment-processing service. It therefore doesn’t easily integrate with an existing POS system in stores; instead, Stax hardware is preferred. Stax boasts that it can “accept any payment anytime, anywhere, in one easy-to-use platform and manage your business from a single dashboard,” including international purchases. They offer U.S.-based support, and they have an excellent reputation for security. Stax offers payments ranging from in-person to mobile to ecommerce and almost everything in between. Stax has pricing plans for small businesses, large businesses, and SaaS platforms, and the small business plan offers tiered pricing to meet smaller merchants’ needs.
Stripe
- Security ?
- Costs ?
- Payment Methods ?
- Integration ?
- International Payments ?
Stripe is very popular for ecommerce but can also handle online invoicing and POS payments. They can process payments on-site or on a pre-built payment page, and it’s an excellent payment processing add-on to existing websites, because it was designed with developers front-of-mind. Stripe’s pricing varies widely by payment type, and they are transparent about costs. Stripe can accept a variety of payment methods including major credit cards, digital wallets, and more. They can process payments from international and domestic customers. And they prioritize security and use machine learning for fraud detection.