The Best Payment Gateways for Your Online Store in 2026

Your payment gateway is one of the most consequential infrastructure decisions you'll make for your online store. It affects how much you pay in fees, which countries you can sell to, how much customers trust your checkout, and how often they abandon their cart.

Choosing the wrong gateway costs money and conversions. Choosing the right one removes friction from the most critical moment in your customer journey. Here's what you need to know.

What Is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is the technology that processes credit card and digital wallet payments from customers to your bank. When a customer enters their card details and clicks "Pay", the gateway encrypts that data, communicates with the card networks, verifies the transaction, and transfers funds — all in a few seconds.

Different gateways offer different pricing structures, supported payment methods, geographies, integration complexity, and fraud protection capabilities.

What to Look for in a Payment Gateway

• Transaction fees — typically a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction. Even small differences compound significantly at scale. Understanding your margins is essential — our guide to pricing your products covers how to factor payment processing costs into your pricing strategy.
• Supported payment methods — credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, buy-now-pay-later options
• Checkout experience — hosted (redirect to payment page) vs. embedded (stays on your site). Embedded converts better.
• International support — which countries and currencies are supported
• Fraud protection — built-in tools to detect and block fraudulent transactions
• Payout speed — how quickly funds reach your bank account

Stripe — Best Overall

Stripe is the gold standard for online payment processing. It offers a clean embedded checkout, excellent developer tools, competitive pricing, and support for virtually every payment method and currency.

Fees: 1.5% + €0.25 (Europe), 2.9% + $0.30 (US) per transaction

Best for: Most online stores, especially those wanting flexibility and developer control

Standout: Stripe Radar fraud protection, Stripe Link for one-click checkout, excellent international support

PayPal — Best for Trust and Reach

PayPal is the most recognised payment brand in the world. Many customers — especially older demographics — specifically look for the PayPal logo before completing a purchase. Offering PayPal alongside your primary gateway can meaningfully increase conversion rates for these customers.

Fees: 2.99% + fixed fee per transaction (varies by country)

Best for: Complementary gateway alongside Stripe; stores selling to older demographics

Standout: Customer trust, PayPal Pay Later (BNPL), strong buyer protection that reassures hesitant shoppers

Mollie — Best for European Stores

Mollie is purpose-built for European commerce. It natively supports iDEAL (Netherlands), Bancontact (Belgium), SOFORT, Giropay, and all the local payment methods that European customers prefer. If you're selling primarily in Europe, Mollie's local payment method coverage is unmatched.

Fees: No monthly fees; per-transaction rates vary by payment method

Best for: European stores, especially those targeting Netherlands, Belgium, and DACH markets

Standout: Local European payment methods, transparent pricing, no monthly fees

Klarna — Best for Buy Now Pay Later

Klarna isn't a full payment gateway, but adding it alongside your primary processor can significantly increase average order value. BNPL options typically increase conversion for higher-ticket items by removing the price barrier — customers pay in instalments rather than upfront.

Fees: Merchant fees vary; Klarna earns from consumer interest on instalment plans

Best for: Fashion, furniture, electronics — any category where cart size is high enough to benefit from split payments

Standout: Massive consumer awareness in Europe, proven AOV uplift for higher-priced products

Square — Best for Omnichannel (Online + Physical)

If you sell both online and in-person — at markets, pop-ups, or a physical store — Square's unified commerce platform is worth considering. It manages inventory, sales data, and customer records across both channels in one system.

Fees: 2.6% + $0.10 (in-person), 2.9% + $0.30 (online)

Best for: Merchants selling both online and at physical locations

Standout: Unified inventory management, free POS hardware for basic setups, strong reporting

How to Set Up Multiple Gateways

Many successful stores use two gateways: a primary processor (Stripe or Mollie) for card payments, and a secondary option (PayPal or Klarna) for customers who prefer those methods. This maximises coverage without adding significant complexity.

Most modern e-commerce platforms make adding multiple gateways straightforward through their payment settings. Test the complete checkout flow for each gateway before going live. If you're setting up a new store, our step-by-step launch checklist includes payment setup as part of the process.

The Checkout Experience Matters as Much as the Gateway

Even the best payment gateway won't save a poorly designed checkout. Research from the Baymard Institute shows that nearly 70% of online carts are abandoned — and a significant portion of those abandonment reasons relate directly to the checkout experience. Common checkout mistakes that cost conversions:

• Requiring account creation before purchase
• Too many form fields (ask only for what you absolutely need)
• No visible trust signals (SSL badge, accepted payment icons, return policy)
• Redirecting to an external payment page without clear branding
• No address autofill or saved card options

Optimise the checkout experience alongside your gateway choice. The combination of a trusted, fast payment processor and a frictionless checkout is what drives high conversion rates. For a deeper look at why customers leave at checkout and how to fix it, see our guide on reducing cart abandonment.

Shipping and Payment: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Payment processing and shipping are the two biggest operational decisions for a new online store, and they're closely connected. Unexpected shipping costs at checkout are one of the top reasons for cart abandonment — which means your shipping strategy directly affects how well your payment gateway performs. Transparent pricing, clear delivery expectations, and a smooth handoff from payment to fulfilment are what separate stores that convert from stores that lose customers at the last step. Our complete guide to shipping covers the operational side in detail.