What is the Best Payment Gateway to Use for eCommerce Transactions?
Here are all the best payment gateways for your eCommerce site and how to choose the right one for your business.
Updated November 6, 2024.
The most popular payment gateway for eCommerce brands is Paypal. It is available in 203 countries and supports all prominent credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Citibank, American Express, and more. It’s also available on most online marketplaces.
If you want to do dropshipping you will need to open a Business Paypal account. Next in popularity is Stripe, which services only 25 countries, but has a WooCommerce and a Facebook Marketplace integration as well.
Other payment gateways include:
What to look for in a payment gateway
Here are a few factors you should consider before choosing your payment gateway.
Platform integration
First, make sure that the payment gateway integrates with the specific eCommerce platform that you are using. Also, check that the particular payment gateway services the country that you are selling from (for merchants outside the US). Shopify is one of the most versatile which is why there are more Shopify stores than all the other platforms combined.
Fees
Make sure that there are no hidden fees and that you select the payment gateway with the best deal for you. Every one of them has a different commission structure and fee structure, so make sure you pick the right one.
Security
Finally, make sure that the payment gateway that you pick is secure and safe for your customers. You shouldn't have a problem with the most popular names out there but if you are using a smaller less-known payment software then definitely make sure that everything is on the up and up.
Billing
Each payment gateway has different payment and billing practices. Make sure that your payment gateway integrates well with your bank and your particular merchant account.
Ensure effective transactions
Make sure that the payment gateway that you choose doesn’t interfere with the user experience. Make sure that it is optimized, doesn’t ask for both a billing and a shipping address automatically, and doesn’t ask the user to jump through any unnecessary hoops.
Test different devices
Make sure that your payment gateway works on all the various devices that your consumers use to purchase your product. If you are using a major payment gateway like Shopify or Bigcommerce’s checkout processes then you’re fine but if you are using one of the smaller guys then you should definitely check how mobile-friendly they are.
