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List of top payment gateways for 2023

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedJune 20233 min read

If you run an online store, you already know just how important the user experience is. From landing page to product layout, every piece of the puzzle should fit smoothly together to guide your customers through a seamless buying journey.

Yet while business owners focus on creating this impeccable website design, they may not be choosing the right payment gateway. Whether it’s a glitchy interface or lack of payment methods, this can lead to costly shopping cart abandonment. With the list of online payment gateway providers constantly growing, it’s often difficult to keep on top of what’s new. Read on for our list of payment gateways, chosen for affordability, popularity and features.

GoCardless

We’ll kick off our payment gateway list with GoCardless. While GoCardless isn’t a traditional payment gateway in the sense that it doesn’t process credit cards, it still offers a flexible, custom payments solution for online retailers. Collect payments directly from customers’ bank accounts on the day they’re due, using BECS direct debit to remain in full control. It’s safe, secure, and cost-effective, particularly in comparison to the high fees associated with card payments.

Earning the highest marks for customer satisfaction, GoCardless has an award-winning customer team on hand to help you with any technicalities. It also integrates seamlessly with hundreds of partners, including top invoicing software like Xero to help with payment reconciliation.

Adyen

Another contender for best payment gateway is Adyen, which offers a huge range of payment methods and global reach. This end-to-end payments and financial management solution is best suited to enterprise-level businesses, built with a modern infrastructure that connects various card networks worldwide. You can choose from over 200 payment methods, but one thing to note is that this payment gateway is card-first, meaning other methods aren’t necessarily optimized in the same way that cards are.

If you’re looking for an international payment gateway, Adyen is a good option as it’s available in countries across the globe. There are no monthly fees, but minimum invoice rates apply which is why it’s best for larger businesses.

PayPal

PayPal still makes the list of online payment gateway service providers in 2023 and shows no signs of stopping. The major benefit of PayPal is its widespread global recognition. Your customers don’t need to have a PayPal account to make card payments on your website, but if they want to pay using alternative methods they will need a PayPal wallet.

One downside to PayPal are its notoriously high fees. Although conversion rates are high, so are the costs, which can cut into your bottom line over time. PayPal also has higher payment failure rates than some other methods, whether it’s due to account restrictions or other technical issues. This causes frustration with some customers.

Stripe

Stripe is one of the best payment gateways for businesses seeking an all-in-one solution. The platform comes with a wide range of add-ons that you can mix and match to create a custom solution. However, this does mean you need a little bit of developer knowledge to integrate everything successfully.

The benefits of Stripe include broad global coverage to enable international expansion. For developers, it’s a great product with extensive client and server libraries on hand. You’ll also be able to manage invoices, subscriptions, and one-off payments – though like Adyen, Stripe is card-first by design.

Amazon Pay

Finally, no list of payment gateways in 2023 would be complete without mentioning Amazon Pay. Although it’s not currently available in Australia, it’s in multiple countries already and expanding rapidly. Specifically designed for Amazon customers, Amazon Pay lets merchants provide a smooth, easy shopping experience for their online customers. You can embed Pay with Amazon directly into your checkout. This lets customers log in with their Amazon details to choose the payment method of their choice. Features include easy website integration, automatic payments, and fraud protection.

Of course, this is only available to Amazon customers, which means you’ll need a supplemental gateway. The best course of action when it comes to choosing a payment gateway is often to select more than one. Look at our payment gateway comparison to find features your business could benefit from. By combining a direct debit solution like GoCardless with a card-first company like Stripe and a platform like Amazon Pay, you’ll ensure that you’re catering to the widest selection of customer preferences.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.