The Best International Payment Processors For Selling Across Borders

PaymentCloud specializes in card-not-present transactions, which includes eCommerce. The processor uses Authorize.Net (which is also on this list) for its payment gateway, which can give you a sense of what it can offer in terms of international reach.

PaymentCloud’s features include:

• Payment gateway
• Shopping cart integration
• ACH and eCheck processing
• Cryptocurrency processing
• Merchant cash advances

Because PaymentCloud is a high-risk processor, pricing is specific to the customer. However, PaymentCloud has developed a reputation for fair pricing in the high-risk niche. Just keep in mind you’re going to be paying a little bit more as a high-risk merchant.

PaymentCloud proves that high-risk merchant services don’t necessarily mean settling for less. Top-tier merchant services provider Dharma Merchant Services even refers high-risk clients that it can’t accommodate to PaymentCloud. Additionally, Dharma also refers businesses that do more than 10% of their sales internationally to PaymentCloud.

Stripe is a developer-centric payment processor that also boasts exhaustive support for foreign currencies and payment methods.

Stripe’s features include:

• Integrated payment gateway
• Checkout pages and payment links
• ACH processing
• Invoicing
• Subscription billing
• Business management tools
• Financing available to some customers
• Global tax tools

Stripe’s online transaction fees start at 2.9% + $0.30. You can read more about what it costs to use Stripe in our complete guide to Stripe pricing.

Stripe’s global reach exceeds most of its competitors. Stripe is available in 47 countries, supports 135 currencies, and supports many local payment methods, making it easy for customers to pay with their preferred method.

Stripe’s deep customization options can further work in your favor by allowing you to avoid exchange fees. For example, you can accumulate separate balances in different currencies with Stripe, which it then routes to different bank accounts. If you don’t want to do that, Stripe can still make the conversion for you, but it comes with an additional 1% fee.

At Merchant Maverick, we tend to be pretty big fans of interchange-plus pricing. It is, by far, the most transparent way to bill for payment processing, letting you know exactly where your fees are coming from and how much you’re paying for each swipe. Helcim offers interchange-plus pricing and more, making it well worth your consideration as an international processor.

Notable features include:

• Payment gateway
• Online store
• Hosted payments page
• Product and inventory manager

Helcim’s pricing decreases the higher your transaction volume is. Rates start at interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 for online transactions.

Helcim offers fully-hosted online shops with customizable templates you can use. Even better, this service comes free with your Helcim account!

Helcim’s price structure is set up to reward volume, meaning that it’s a better deal the higher your sales volume is. While this makes it great for businesses doing a lot of transactions, low-volume merchants may end up spending more than they want to. Helcim also doesn’t generally work with high-risk industries.

Corepay is geared primarily toward eCommerce with a diverse selection of payment gateways and offshore account options, as well as MOTO-only accounts for companies that exclusively need support for mail or telephone orders.

Corepay features include:

• High-risk & low-risk merchant accounts
• eCommerce specialists
• MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order) only accounts also available
• 24-48 hour account approval timeframe
• Offers NetValve proprietary payment gateway. Also integrates with Authorize.Net, NMI, Inovio, etc.
• Offers CB-ALERT anti-fraud software
• ACH processing available

Corepay has no application or account setup fees. As is typical for high-risk processors, Corepay does not disclose transaction fees and maintenance fees.

For high-risk businesses selling in the US and UK, Corepay offers a quick and easy solution for payment processing. International reach can also be expanded with your choice of payment gateways like Authorize.Net.

High-risk merchants get a bad rap in the payment processing industry and are often shunned by popular services. That said, there are payment processors that think selling a little CBD oil isn’t such a big deal. Durango Merchant Services falls into the latter category and, while it isn’t necessarily the cheapest option on the block, offers a quality service with international capabilities.

Notable features include:

• Integrated payment gateway
• High-risk merchant accounts
• Offshore merchant accounts
• Shopping cart integration
• eCheck processing
• Cryptocurrency processing

As is typical for high-risk processors, Durango Merchant Services does not publicly disclose rates. These are generally negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

Durango offers most of its customers month-to-month contracts with no early termination fees. However, certain businesses that are considered especially high-risk may be asked to sign a contract with a more extended term. Durango uses a proprietary gateway, a necessary feature for eCommerce, and includes it at no additional charge.

Durango is a registered ISO in Europe and offers international merchant accounts with currency conversion services for Canada, Panama, the UK, and most countries in the EU. These accounts also come with additional fraud prevention services.

2Checkout is an eCommerce-only payments platform with a well-developed set of tools designed to monetize digital sales.

Just be aware that 2Checkout doesn’t offer any support for card-present transactions at all, so it’s not a good solution for businesses that also engage in brick-and-mortar retail. Also, keep in mind that 2Checkout is a third-party processor, so it’s not a good fit for high-risk merchants.

Features include:

• Integrated payment gateway
• Shopping carts
• Monetization features
• Cart abandonment prevention
• Recurrent billing
• Global tax tools
• Invoicing

2Checkout transaction fees start at 3.5% + $0.35.

2Checkout has an impressive international reach, with availability in over 200 countries and the ability to process over 100 different currencies. Not too many other services can take you that far around the globe.

What’s unique about 2Checkout is its branding as a “monetization platform.” A lot of this is due to a merger a few years back between 2Checkout and a company called Avangate that specialized in selling digital goods. As a result, 2Checkout offers a lot of bells and whistles useful for optimizing the sale of digital products, such as A/B testing, cart abandonment prevention, and conversion rate optimization. Most of these are available as add-ons, so you can pick and choose what you want to pay for.

eCommerce requires both a payment processor and a payment gateway. Many payment processors offer gateway support with their service or as an add-on. In the case of Authorize.Net, it’s the reverse. It’s a payment gateway that offers optional merchant account services through its partners.

Authorize.Net’s features include:

• Standalone payment gateway
• Simple checkout
• Recurring billing
• Customer information manager
• ACH and eCheck processing

As a standalone gateway, Authorize.Net charges $0.10 per transaction and a $25/month gateway fee. These fees may vary when bundled with merchant services.

Authorize.Net can accept transactions from merchants located in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, the EU, or Australia and can handle 11 different currencies. As long as you’re based in one of those countries, you can accept payments from anywhere in the world. Currency support, however, is pegged to your region by default. So if you’re located in the US, you’d get currency support for US and Canadian dollars.

When it comes to online payments, no brand has the name recognition and reach of PayPal. While it has few unique qualities, Braintree has been owned by PayPal since 2013, so we’re grouping the two branded services into one entry.

Features include:

• Integrated payment gateway
• Native eCommerce integrations
• Online checkouts and payment links
• Pay In 4
• Cryptocurrency support
• Contextual checkout buttons
• Recurring billing
• ACH processing

Flat fee online transactions for both PayPal and Braintree start at 2.59% + $0.49. As PayPal’s fee structure has become quite complicated, learn more by reading our full breakdown of PayPal’s fees.

PayPal can process transactions in over 130 currencies from 45 countries, edging out even strong competitors, such as Stripe. Further, PayPal offers its own branded infrastructure and payment method, which is a common way to pay for things online. Businesses that can handle some coding, as well as those that prefer a merchant account, will find Braintree more to their liking. Those looking for simplicity and quick approval may prefer PayPal’s third-party processing service (the usual cautions about account stability apply).

Between the two services, you can probably find an option that works for your business, though companies that want a merchant account without a lot of tech-related hassle may not find what they’re looking for.

Adyen powers the transactions of corporate giants, such as McDonald’s, Microsoft, and eBay. As you might guess, these companies have substantial international processing needs, which Adyen can accommodate.

Adyen’s features include:

• Integrated payment gateway
• One-click checkouts
• Recurring billing
• Omnichannel sales tools
• Currency conversion

Adyen’s transaction fees vary by volume and payment method but start somewhere around interchange + 0.6% + $0.12.

One of the major selling points for Adyen is the number of payment methods it can potentially support. And unlike some other international payment processors, you can process uncommon (for the region in question) payment methods. For example, you could implement Alipay payments within North America.

GoCardless, as the name implies, is a direct debit payment solution focused on recurring and subscription payments rather than credit cards. Businesses can use ACH transactions within the US, or internationally through Wise to collect payments across borders.

Features include:

• Integrated payment gateway
• Real-time exchange rates
• Branded online checkouts
• Payment optimization
• Currency conversion

International transactions through GoCardless start at 2% + $0.25, which includes currency conversion.

GoCardless started in the UK with an eye toward international markets, and that’s where the service excels. Businesses that deal mainly in subscription services will appreciate the ability to offer their services internationally without messing around with credit cards.