With ecommerce firmly established as a competitor to traditional physical stores, more and more companies are looking for ways to exploit its lucrative potential. Indeed, many companies are even skipping the physical step and going straight to an online format.
Building an online shop is one thing, but keeping all your purchases reliable and secure is quite another. That’s why most companies rely on payment integrations to do all the billing and compliance legwork for them.
In this article, we’ll review a range of ecommerce payment solutions that you can adopt to make your business a success. By taking care of the fine details, you and your team can concentrate on strategies to move forward.
All the costs outlined in our list apply to US domestic transactions. While most of the providers here accept international cards, you should expect quite a hefty percentage charge for foreign purchases.
Paypal is one of the first payment integrations that comes to mind when setting up an ecommerce website. Founded in 1999, it is still a top go-to for businesses of all types and is known for its security and efficiency in countries all over the world. Paypal works perfectly well with almost all major credit and debit cards and it accepts a huge array of foreign currencies, albeit at an extra cost.
If your business has just launched, customers will be familiar with your checkout process and might even have a bit of cash to splash in their PayPal wallet.
2.59% - 3.49% (depending on plan and purchase type) + $0.49 per transaction
2.29% + $0.90 per in-person transaction
Deserved reputation for quality
No extra charges except transaction fees
High chargeback fees
Similar to other world-renowned payment integrations on this list, Apple Pay is immediately recognizable and first-time customers feel confident purchasing. Although it is restricted to Apple users, it does have the advantage of being absolutely free to use.
Customers love it too for its ease of use, security, and cashback deals. It’s also the first thing that pops up when shopping online on an Apple device. All of this points to an essential payment integration for your website.
Free
Single-use token system secures credit card data
It’s free!
Only works with Apple devices
Amazon Pay has a great advantage of being the same as the one used on the Amazon Marketplace. Your customers are likely to be very familiar with the process, meaning a high level of trust. When you integrate the payment method, it appears as a widget within your website so customers don’t have to leave the site to make their purchase.
Ideal for small businesses, each payment comes with a 2.2% charge plus $0.30, with other taxes added on where applicable. As you grow, it allows you to trade in 80 currencies, with a selection option integrated in the widget.
2.2% + $0.30 per transaction
A familiar process for new customers
Customizable transaction widget
You need an Amazon account to receive payments
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What sets Klarna apart is the fact that it does a lot of the payment legwork for you. As a business, you can partner with Klarna and offer your customers a buy now, pay later option — ideal for big purchases where your customers don’t want to stump up the full amount immediately.
As the merchant, you offer your revenues to process the payments, which sounds a bit counter intuitive. However, its creators claim it leads to an average 44% increased conversion rate and 68% increased order volume. Whether or not the customer pays in the end, Klarna transfers the money to you.
$30 per month. $0.30 per transaction. Variable fees up to 3.79%.
A dynamic payment option that opens up new markets
Better chances of selling high-priced products
High price point for small businesses
Part of the colossal Alibaba group, Alipay works similarly to Amazon Pay in that customers can use the app to store card information and pay in physical stores. Now available for online retail, you can integrate Alipay into your checkout and start charging through the app.
It is one of the cheapest payment integrations, certainly more so than its American counterpart, but it is limited to the Chinese market. While it would be unwise to rely on Alipay for existing North American or European customers, it is a great way of breaking into China.
0.55% per transaction
The best way into the Chinese market
One of the cheapest payment methods on the list
Only available in China
Stripe has made its name as one of the most recognizable ecommerce payment solutions, which is a great advantage for fresh companies who need to build trust in their brand. It’s adaptable enough to cover ecommerce stores, subscriptions, and on-demand services, so it’s great for businesses that encompass a range of roles.
They’re also flexible in terms of presentation, with powerful customizable payment options and design to fit effortlessly into your website and more.
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Machine learning-powered fraud prevention
Custom UI toolkits
Not too many in-person features by comparison to other big-hitters
Some tools and open API require tech expertise
2Checkout gives you a bunch of analytics tools available on your dashboard so you can see your sales metrics, aligned with marketing and merchandising tools
Although the transaction pricing is set quite high — 3.5% + $0.35 for the entry-level plan — many small businesses choose 2Checkout for its security. PCI Level 1 certified, it looks at over 300 points in under three seconds to catch fraud before it affects you and your customers. They’ll also take care of VAT, compliance, and more for the same price.
2Checkout has three membership tiers:
2SELL: 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction
2SUBSCRIBE: 4.5% + $0.45 per transaction
2MONETIZE: 6% + $0.60 per transaction
PCI Level 1 anti-fraud security certified
Great user dashboard
Customer service isn’t the best
Pricing is comparatively high
Stax is one of the most flexible payment integrations on the market, with plans for small business, large business, and SaaS platforms. All plans come with at least $500,000 in annual processing and they throw in a free terminal or mobile reader, although most other terminals and POS systems are compatible. The entry-level plan also comes with a dashboard and analytics feature to help you track customer behavior and take advantage of patterns.
Stax integrates with all payment methods and you can include it in your ecommerce site even if you have no coding skills.
Stax for small businesses has three membership tiers with no transaction fees:
Growth: $99 per month
Pro: $159 per month
Ultimate: $199 per month
Flat fee allows for easy budgeting
Many different plans for every kind of business
High starting price
Like Stax, Payment Depot follows the per-month model, rather than the per-transaction approach. You can therefore set up your payment integrations according to your expected annual revenue and sidestep any unexpected monthly costs.
This is a great option for small businesses who need to keep a close eye on their outgoings. However, it’s wise to do your calculations — if you’re bringing in less than $25,000 a month, you might be better off on a per-transaction percentage plan. The more you earn, the better this deal is for you, and if you expect to receive more than $500,000 per year, Payment Depot will offer a custom quote.Starter: $59 per month
Starter Plus: $79 per month
Growth: $99 per month
Transparent per-month payments
Three levels for companies at different stages
Can be expensive for low-revenue companies
Founded in 2017, PayCafe is relatively late to the game, but came with a serious set of fraud and chargeback protections. Using machine learning algorithms, they analyze every transaction and notify you of any potential dirty work. For any other hiccups, you’ve got a constant customer service line available, so you can keep your business going at all times.
That forward-looking focus extends to accepted payments too. Aside from credit cards, PayPal, and direct deposits, you can also receive cryptocurrencies. All your transactions appear in detailed reporting software to give you insights that will help you improve in the future.
From 2.49% per transaction
Great 24/7 customer service
Excellent fraud protection
Pricing is not super-transparent
Square is excellent for brick-and-mortar companies looking to incorporate online sales. There are a variety of ways to receive payment, with apps as well as physical devices.
Both online and offline, It is compatible with all card types with no change in cost — even for American Express. You can track all your payments and customers within the app with complex analytics and reporting to help you improve. Squareup payment integrations connect to your ecommerce website to allow for payments and sending out invoices.
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Extra support for low-volume sellers
Free magstripe reader and point-of-sale app
Only available through the Square app
Helcim is another of those online payment integrations that works just as well in your physical store. You get all the hardware for in-person sales as well as easy integrations into your website.
It’s friendly to businesses on a budget with no hidden fees and a unique pricing structure. They work out charges based on your monthly sales and the price of your average transaction, which gives smaller businesses a fair deal as they get things started. That said, it’s still best for companies dealing with around $25,000 to $50,000 per month.
0.5% + $0.25 to 0.2% + $0.10
Low, fair pricing structure
Great for online and physical stores
Some customers find the UX tricky
Another giant among online payment integrations, Payoneer excels at cross-currency payments with localized receiving accounts that cut out a bunch of extra costs usually associated with international payments.
It isn’t great for standard ecommerce stores, as it doesn’t work for online payments. That said, if your business works more on invoices and bank transfers, it’s ideal. For example, companies with suppliers around the world can make their payments without losing chunks of cash in fees.
$29.95 per year and up to 2% per transaction
Easy bank transfers to national and international accounts
Great for businesses with suppliers
Does not work with online payments, only bank transfers
Unsuitable for standard ecommerce websites
PaymentCloud is another super-secure payment management system that has found a niche in the market — working with higher-risk businesses. Companies working with cannabis-related products, debt consolidation, adult products, or alcohol can be seen as toxic to some payment integrations. But PaymentCloud’s focus on fraud, compliance, and chargeback protection makes them somewhat fearless in this regard.
It is simple to integrate into almost any ecommerce website and works with instant payments, invoices, and subscriptions. PaymentCloud also provides a shopping cart feature, but you can use your own cart if needed.
Fully customized depending on the business
Incredibly secure
Great for medium to high-risk businesses
Complicated fee system
Whichever of the payment methods you decide to work with, having a website that can integrate them is absolutely essential. Lucky for you, Bitrix24 comes with integrations for online shop users, invoice payments, online store payments, and a whole host of other payment features to streamline your entire payment process.
Not only that, it connects seamlessly to a powerful inbuilt CRM to store all your customer details and behavior. So if you’re looking to launch your own ecommerce store, look no further and give Bitrix24 a go today.