If you’re an online business that experiences fraud on your site, you’ll want to invest more in features that protect you. However, the company advertises a 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction fee for all cards and digital wallet payments. This is the full cost of their payment processing service and not the cost of standalone gateway services. With over 30 years of experience, Elavon provides businesses with a variety of payment options, from in-person terminals to online payment gateways for small businesses.

• Still, given the comprehensive array of extras, it may be worth the price tag.
• Working with a payment gateway company that can provide merchant account services in-house can be convenient.
• Payment gateways support multiple payment options like credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers.
• In 2021, USAePay was acquired by NMI to increase the parent company’s omnichannel payment options.
• We would love to see more factual information on the website and less sales speak.
• While that’s great, it seems like Elavon’s roots lie more in banking than in technology and, to be frank, it shows.

What is the easiest payment gateway to set up?

The payment processing system will then automatically lock out any transaction attempts that fail to meet your minimum safety thresholds. All in all, your omnichannel Square system should be able to take credit and debit card payments, gift cards, ACH transfers, mobile wallet payments, checks, cash, plus QR codes. Processing international payments shouldn’t be a problem, as the service supports 202 countries and 25 currencies. Learn more about payment gateways and how they differ from payment processors. Best for tech-savvy businesses looking to customize their online payment platform with developer-based tools. 2Checkout received a score of 3.9 out of 5 on G2 from around 200 reviews, 4.2 out of 5 on Capterra from nearly 100 reviews, and 2.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot from around 2,250 reviews.

Fraud Detection

However, some reviews express frustration with Shopify’s customer service, billing practices and high transaction fees. Problems frequently cited include being locked out of accounts and slow responses from the company’s support staff. A poorly chosen ecommerce payment gateway can lead to high processing fees, abandoned carts, and integration headaches. Stripe, Stax, PayPal, and Square are the best credit card processing companies. Stax is best for businesses with high processing volume and integration with QuickBooks, Zapier, etc.

How payment processing works

Some customers complain that Stripe unfairly classified them as high-risk businesses. On the other hand, positive user reviews note Stripe’s wide range of features and support for third-party integrations. With the rise of multi-platform shopping, consumers are increasingly engaging with brands across websites, mobile apps, social media, and physical stores. A modern payment gateway in ecommerce must support omnichannel payments, ensuring that customers can start a transaction on one device and complete it on another without disruption.

Payment gateway 6 best payment gateways for small businesses integration may require coding knowledge, API customization, and troubleshooting potential compatibility issues. By embracing these trends, businesses can remain competitive and cater to modern consumers’ expectations. Square supports 27 currencies and is available in the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, and Ireland.

Shopify Pricing

Without a payment gateway, businesses have no way of serving these customers. Very small businesses are more likely to benefit from a payment gateway that is easy to install and use, even if the service charges more than the industry average. On the other hand, large retailers realize the greatest value from gateways that process payments at rates slightly above the bank’s interchange fees. Stax users criticize the payment processor for having unresponsive and ineffective customer support, charging unexpected fees and making it difficult to cancel its services.

Streamlining Transactions for Success

• Payment gateways act as a bridge between merchants and financial institutions, ensuring secure and efficient transaction processing.
• Square’s free POS plan comes with a magstripe reader for in-person purchases and includes an e-commerce website for opening your business up to online customers.
• Last but not least, they need to be assured that they will have the payments deposited in their business bank account in a timely manner.
• Ensure your payment gateway integrates seamlessly with your online store’s software.
• Businesses should regularly update security protocols and work with compliant payment providers.
• You can integrate the tool with popular retail sites like WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Shopify.

You can choose from more than 100 template themes and customize details from there. Square’s free POS plan comes with a magstripe reader for in-person purchases and includes an e-commerce website for opening your business up to online customers. It’s a low-cost solution for hybrid businesses that want to sell goods and/or services both in-person and online. Atomic Invest also shares a percentage of compensation received from margin interest and free cash interest earned by customers with NerdWallet. NerdWallet is not a client of Atomic Invest, but our engagement with Atomic invest gives us an incentive to refer you to Atomic Invest instead of another investment adviser.

Higher-volume merchants that need the stability and additional features of a full-service merchant account will have a harder time finding a “free” gateway. While most merchant account providers no longer charge a setup fee to use one of their payment gateways, monthly gateway fees are still somewhat common. Automated Level 2 and 3 card data capture reduces payment processing fees because the card-issuing banks lower interchange rates when you give them more transaction information. This is a great feature for B2B and B2G businesses that include more transaction information such as tax IDs and accept Level 3 interchange eligible credit cards.