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7 Best Payment Gateway Providers For Small Business In 2024
A payment gateway forms the backbone of an integrated payment system that tracks all of your transactions, including for retail and online sales.
Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law.
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Frank KehlFrank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law.
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Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
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Shannon VissersShannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
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A payment gateway for your small business is a necessary service if you want to accept online payments securely. We reviewed several payment gateway providers based on pricing, features such as security measures and in-person sales compatibility, and contract terms to help you find the best payment gateway for your small business.
A payment gateway is a necessary software service that securely uploads a customer’s payment information (credit/debit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc.) after they enter it online, encrypts it for security purposes, and sends it to your payment processor or merchant account for payment approval. If the customer has the funds in their bank account to cover the purchase, the transaction is approved and the customer’s online checkout is a success.
Payment gateways can also process direct transactions using alternate payment methods, including ACH payments, bank-issued debit cards, or even cryptocurrency.
How To Set Up A Payment Gateway
You can set up a payment gateway by signing up with a payment service provider such as Square or by signing up for a full-service merchant account with a provider like Helcim. Both types of payment service providers offer built-in payment gateways.
Note: We generally recommend payment service provider accounts for smaller businesses with lower sales volumes and merchant accounts for midsized and larger businesses because of the different payment processing structures and signup requirements. Merchant accounts are more time-consuming to sign up for but provide volume payment processing discounts to larger businesses.
The 7 Best Payment Gateways For Small Business
The best payment gateways offer a wide range of standard features, extensive customization options, and strong transaction security at an affordable price.
Pay-as-you-go pricing with no setup or monthly fees
Transparent flat-rate pricing
No long-term contracts or early termination fees
Huge API library for developers
Cons
May be expensive for high-volume merchants
Elevated risk of account holds and terminations
Why We Chose Stripe For Customization Capabilities
If your business does not take many in-person transactions and you don't need a dedicated merchant account, Stripe, a very popular payment services provider, might be the right option for you.
Stripe partners with just about every online store builder, customer relationship manager tool, accounting software, and any other mildly popular software out there to help you build your own custom software ecosystem with integrated payment features. Plus, the company offers low-code and professional developer-level tools for eCommerce payments, including a hosted payment page, UI payments platform builder, recurring billing system builder, and the ability to integrate Stripe with your own website or app to securely accept payments.
Stripe is open to merchants worldwide with numerous currency options and support for many alternative payment methods and local payment options across North America, the EU, and Asia.
Stripe Features
Stripe offers tons of features, many of which are free. Others can be added to an account for an additional per-transaction fee. Features include:
Premade online checkout form
Recurring billing and subscriptions
Invoicing
Advanced security features
Dynamic currency conversion
Far-reaching international support
International payment methods supported
Built-in eCommerce integrations
Support for cryptocurrency settlement
Related: Read our guide to recurring billing to learn more about recurring billed methods and how to implement recurring billing in a membership-based or service-based business.
Integrates with most merchant accounts, including high-risk ones
Broad support for multiple payment methods and currencies
Strong security and fraud prevention features
Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
Cons
Pricing is expensive for merchants who sign up with the company directly
High flat-rate pricing for the optional merchant account
Data portability is unusually difficult and expensive
Why We Chose Authorize.Net For Integrating With Merchant Accounts
Because Authorize.Net (now owned by Visa) is one of the oldest and best-known payment gateways in the payments industry, many merchant services providers offer the company's gateway as part of their services, and many proprietary payment gateways feature an 'Authorize.Net emulator mode' to ensure compatibility. This means you can most likely integrate Authorize.Net with an existing merchant account, including accounts for high-risk businesses.
Note: You can also sign up for a merchant account with Authorize.Net itself, which features flat-rate pricing and includes the gateway. However, we generally don't recommend this option for most businesses, as it's usually less expensive overall to obtain the Authorize.Net gateway from a third-party merchant services provider.
Authorize.Net Features
The Authorize.Net payment gateway includes all of the features you would expect from an industry-leading gateway provider, including support for credit/debit card processing, ACH and eCheck payments, and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. There’s also extensive support for international transactions and foreign currencies, as well as a host of advanced fraud protection tools to protect your account.
One word of caution: Authorize.Net is notorious for offering little support for data portability. While the company has made improvements in this area in recent years, you might still find it difficult and expensive to move your existing customer database to a different gateway provider.
Authorize.Net Pricing
$25/month gateway fee (often waived by third-party providers)
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (gateway + merchant account option)
+ $0.10/transaction (gateway-only option)
$0.10 daily batch fee
$25/incident for chargebacks (gateway + merchant account option)
Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Online and in-person payment processing
Completely free eCommerce store builder
Free POS software included
No long-term contracts or early termination fees
Cons
Account stability issues
Does not accept most high-risk industries
Limited customization options
Why We Chose Square For Multichannel Small Businesses
We love that Square is a well-known payment services provider that offers a highly affordable online store builder (a free plan is available) as well as a free POS system with distinct software features for retail, restaurant, and service-based businesses. Square also offers several card readers and POS registers at an affordable price, making it easy to sell in-store and on the go.
Square is generally one of the best POS systems with eCommerce features and includes lots of third-party integrations so you can add the Square payment gateway to third-party software.
Related: Read our Square Online review to learn more about the company's free customizable online store builder.
Square Features
Square has a massive feature set, but online sellers will mostly appreciate these features:
Free online store
Premade online checkout form
In-person, eCommerce store, social media, and online marketplace sales
Native eCommerce integrations
Some international sales and currency conversion support
Inventory management, including automated inventory tracking across all sales channels
Free invoice builder and recurring billing
Cryptocurrency processing
Related: Read our Square POS review to learn more about how you can use Square to sell online and in person, no matter what type of business you own.
Square Pricing
No application or account setup fees
$o – $79 monthly fee depending on the eCommerce plan you sign up for
Risk of account holds, terminations, and withheld funds
No brick-and-mortar payment support
Why We Chose Amazon Pay For Amazon Sellers
Amazon Pay is Amazon's payment gateway for Amazon sellers and is the logical choice for people looking to sell on the Amazon Marketplace. You can also integrate Amazon Pay payment services with your website, but you will need to have an Amazon account to use Amazon Pay on your website.
To get an Amazon Pay account, you must sign up as an Amazon merchant because most of the processing is controlled through the Amazon Seller Central dashboard.
Amazon Pay Features
With Amazon Pay, you can:
Take credit card payments while staying on your website
Collect donations
Set up recurring billing (customer must make the payment through their Amazon.com account)
Integrate with numerous third-party shopping carts such as Shopify and BigCommerce
Amazon Pay is an obvious choice for merchants who only want to sell through their Amazon Seller accounts. It’s also a nice additional option to add to your website for buyers who prefer to pay through their Amazon account.
Amazon Pay Pricing
No application or account setup fees
No monthly fees
2.9% processing fee + $0.30 authorization fee per transaction (for domestic US transactions)
Why We Chose 2Checkout (Now Verifone) For A Global Payment Gateway
We believe that 2Checkout offers very strong international processing capabilities, as it can process payments from 234 countries and territories worldwide. 2Checkout accounts come with a large set of services, but it also has higher pricing to match all the extras you’ll get.
Note: 2Checkout (now Verifone) is a payment service provider focused exclusively on online processing. As such, 2Checkout does not support in-person processing.
2Checkout (Now Verifone) Features
Depending on your plan, you’ll get some or all of the following services typically found in other gateways:
Integrates with 120+ online shopping carts
Checkout page can be hosted by 2Checkout or integrated with your website
Recurring billing
Fraud protection tools
Online store builder
2Checkout (Now Verifone) Pricing
No monthly fees
2Sell plan: 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction
2Subscribe plan: 4.5% + $0.45 per transaction
2Monetize plan: 6.0% + $0.60 per transaction
+2% cross-border fee
$15-$45/incident chargeback fee (varies by chargeback ratio)
Not great for majority low ticket size sales ($15 or less)
Flat-rate pricing may be expensive for high-volume merchants
No in-person payments capabilities
Why We Chose Braintree For The Best eCommerce Payment Options
We like that PayPal-owned Braintree Payments is a payment gateway provider offering merchant accounts and flat-rate payment processing, with an easy setup process. Braintree supports all standard forms of payment and directly integrates with PayPal and Venmo.
The company provides lower online payment processing rates than all flat-rate payment processing providers on this list and offers interchange-plus pricing for qualified merchants (read: high-volume businesses.)
Merchants in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and New Zealand can sign up for Braintree’s processing services. Payments can be accepted in over 130 currencies, including Bitcoin.
Braintree Features
The Braintree gateway comes with the following standout features:
Fraud tools
Encrypted vault for keeping payment card information
Recurring billing
Wide variety of third-party integrations, including integrations with popular eCommerce store builders, accounting software, and recurring billing platforms
Integration with PayPal, Venmo, and digital wallets such as Google Pay
Customized pricing available (over $80,000/month volume)
$15/chargeback
Note: Braintree’s 2.59% payment processing rates are way lower than Stripe and Square, which charge 2.9% per transaction. However, the $0.49 flat fee is more expensive than Stripe and Square’s $0.30, which makes Braintree more expensive for businesses with low average ticket sizes ($15 or less).
Lower payment processing fees for B2B/B2G transactions
Offers complete integrated payments and POS platform
No long-term contracts or monthly fees
Cons
Not available to high-risk businesses
Not cost-effective for very low-volume businesses
Why We Chose Helcim For Providing Interchange-Plus Pricing
Helcim stands out as one of the few full-service merchant account providers to offer interchange-plus pricing to all businesses without charging a monthly account fee. Interchange-plus pricing is typically the most transparent and cost-effective payment processing model, and Helcim's fees are very affordable for businesses processing at least $5,000 per month and with an average ticket size of at least $50.
Every Helcim account includes a free virtual terminal, free access to Helcim's proprietary payment gateway, a free online store builder, and free in-person POS software.
Related: Read our Helcim POS review to help you decide whether this free POS system is right for your store or mobile business.
Helcim Features
Helcim’s payment gateway includes the following key features:
PCI compliance through tokenization and encryption
Secure customer credit card information vault
Helcim Fraud Defender
Product & inventory management features
Reporting & analytics
Tipping & discount options
Cash discount program that works for invoices, payment requests, and standard transactions
Automated Level 2 and 3 card data capture (e.g. zip code, freight and duty information, commodity codes) using AI
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.
For businesses selling in person, Helcim’s proprietary Helcim Card Reader ($99) and handheld Helcim Smart Terminal ($329) POS system offer some of the most affordable processing hardware options on the market today.
The company also has an excellent reputation for customer support, which is one of the most important features to look for in a merchant services provider.
0.5% + $0.25/ACH transaction ($6.00 maximum fee per transaction)
No PCI compliance fees
No monthly minimums
$15/chargeback (refunded to you if you win a chargeback dispute)
Note: Helcim placed a custom payment processing rate calculator tool on the company’s pricing page so you can get a payment processing fee estimate before even signing up for a Helcim account.
Merchant Maverick has been researching the payment processing industry since 2009. Our writers have reviewed hundreds of credit card processors, merchant account services, and mobile payment apps, evaluating each provider carefully on several different metrics.
Weighted Rating Breakdown
Fees & Rates 35%
Contract 20%
Products & Services 15%
Sales & Advertising Transparency 15%
Customer Service 10%
User Reviews 5%
When comparing different payment processing companies and applications to one another, we consider numerous data points. Our experts start by comparing credit card processing rates, the presence of additional fees, contract length, sales practices, and the presence or absence of additional features and services, like point of sale software. Each provider is judged on its own merits and how well it stacks up to industry standards; then it is weighed against the other providers on the list.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure every company or application included meets our internal standards for quality and reputation. Any list of recommended payment processors on our site might contain a mix of standard merchant accounts, third-party payment processors, mobile payment devices, and high-risk payment processors, depending on what our expert feels is the best fit for certain scenarios or business types.
For additional details about Merchant Maverick’s review and rating processes, please refer to any or all of the following methodology pages:
There are two ways to add a payment gateway to your credit card processing system. The most common – and easiest – method is to use an integrated approach, where your merchant account and payment gateway are both provided by your merchant services provider. This method eliminates most compatibility issues and often costs less overall. However, your choice of payment gateway will be limited to whatever services your provider offers, and the gateway itself might not have a robust feature set or extensive customization options.
It’s also possible to utilize a non-integrated approach, in which you obtain your gateway and merchant account separately from different providers. This approach was more common during the early days of eCommerce when many traditional merchant account providers didn’t offer a payment gateway. While that’s no longer the case today, a non-integrated approach can still be a good choice if you need specialized gateway features that your merchant account provider doesn’t offer. Be sure to research potential compatibility issues before trying this approach. Also, be aware that getting these two separate services from different companies will usually be more expensive overall.
Regardless of which approach you use, our best advice is to focus primarily on selecting the best payment processor for your business, rather than letting your choice of payment gateway drive your decision on which merchant services provider to sign up with. The exception would be if your business has unique needs in terms of gateway features and you have the technical skills to cobble everything together on your own.
Understanding Payment Gateway Pricing
These are the three types of fees you might encounter when using a payment gateway:
Setup Fee: This is a one-time fee to set up your payment gateway on your website and connect it to your payment processor’s network. Setup fees typically run about $25-$50, although they’re being phased out industry-wide, and most providers no longer charge them.
Monthly Gateway Fee: Most providers charge a monthly subscription fee for the use of their gateway (usually around $25/month). However, it’s becoming increasingly common for merchant services providers to not charge this fee if you use one of their gateways.
Per-Transaction Processing Fee: Many providers will charge an extra fee of $0.05-$0.10 per transaction for every sale processed over the gateway. You’ll usually see these fees if you take a non-integrated approach and get your gateway and processing services from different providers.
Many of these additional fees for using a gateway stem from the fact that eCommerce as we think of it today has only been around for a few decades, and there were many more security concerns back in the early days.
With integrated payment systems processing even in-person transactions over a gateway, there’s little reason today to charge extra for using one. At the same time, gateway providers have to charge you something for using their product, even if that cost is bundled in with your regular merchant services.
Also, card-not-present transactions are always going to incur higher interchange fees due to the limited options available to authenticate the buyer’s identity.
Do Free Payment Gateways Exist?
With the caveat that nothing is ever truly free in the payments processing industry, it is possible to get a payment gateway for your business without having to pay any of the additional fees listed above.
For small business owners looking to get access to a payment gateway for as little as possible, the best option is to sign up with a payment service provider (PSP) such as Stripe or Square, both of which are profiled above. PSPs typically operate on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no setup fees, monthly gateway fees, or additional per-transaction charges.
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.
Per-transaction processing fees are also becoming less common. However, you can expect to have to pay them if you integrate a third-party gateway into your account instead of using the one offered by your merchant services provider.
6 Essential Features For Payment Gateways
At its core, a payment gateway is not an overly complicated piece of software. All it has to do is securely transmit payment information between your eCommerce website and your payment processor’s network. While you don’t need a gateway if you only process in-person transactions, it’s becoming increasingly common to process all transactions over a gateway as part of an integrated payments system that handles both online and card-present payments.
Most modern gateways come bundled with additional services and features. Below, we list a few that we consider fairly crucial when searching for the best payment gateway for your online business.
Security Features
Strong security features are the most important thing to look for in a payment gateway. At a minimum, your gateway should use end-to-end encryption and be fully PCI-compliant. Other security features to look for include tokenization support, AVS checks, and CCV checks. You should also seriously consider optional security features such as fraud analytics software (e.g., 3D Secure) and data breach insurance.
Support For Multiple Payment Methods
The more options you can give your customers to pay you with, the more likely they are to make a purchase. Your gateway should support as many payment methods as possible, including not only debit and credit cards, but also ACH transfers, digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay or Google Pay), and local payment methods such as Alipay. Some payment gateways now also support cryptocurrency payments.
Multi-Currency Support
eCommerce websites tend to have customers from all over the world, and they all want to pay using the method most convenient to them. Be aware that you’ll have to pay an additional currency conversion fee for international transactions. Our guide to international merchant services offers more detailed information and several recommendations.
Recurring Billing Support
If you sell your services via a monthly subscription, you’ll need support for recurring billing. While this was traditionally a paid optional feature, it’s increasingly included as a standard feature with most payment gateways today.
Data Portability
If your customer payment data isn’t portable, it can be very hard for you to leave your payment processor for a competitor. Be sure to inquire about the ease and expense of exporting your customer data if you switch processors before you sign up with one.
APIs & Developer Tools
Ideally, you want your payment gateway to be able to connect smoothly to other software tools, such as those for inventory tracking, customer data management, bookkeeping, and more. This is why having a robust list of APIs and developer tools matters.
What Is The Best Payment Gateway Provider For Your Small Business?
One way to determine which payment gateway provider is best for your business is to examine what your business needs are today. Then, consider how those needs might expand as your business grows.
With payment gateways, you might want to find one that offers the flexibility you’ll need at the particular stage your business is at. If you’re still new, consider using a pay-as-you-go service to stay flexible. But if you have an established business, and know which features you’ll need and which features you’ll never use, it makes sense to focus on the payment gateways that provide the features you need for the best price. Always keep data portability in mind, though, so you can take your business elsewhere if that becomes necessary.
How much does it cost to set up a payment gateway?
It costs $0-$50 to set up a payment gateway initially. However, most providers do not charge a setup fee anymore and instead charge monthly or per-transaction fees.
What is the cheapest payment gateway?
The cheapest payment gateway depends on your business size. Square is the cheapest for smaller businesses, while Helcim is the cheapest for larger businesses.
Which is the best payment gateway for high-risk business?
The best high-risk merchant account providers, which include PaymentCloud, National Processing, Durango, Corepay, Host Merchant Services, Soar Payments, and Easy Pay Direct, all have great payment gateway options built into their merchant accounts.
Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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