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Do I Need a Payment Gateway?
Payment gateways allow you to take payments in a variety of ways, most notably through an eCommerce website. While you still need a payment system in place, if you want to take payments in person, you'll need the right hardware. A card machine can enable your business to accept credit card, debit card and mobile payments, giving your customers more flexibility.
Accept a range of contactless & card payments
3 things to consider when choosing a payment gateway
A payment gateway allows you to securely take customer payments online through your ecommerce store, by phone or by email.
If you're looking to take payments face to face and over the phone as well, we can help find the right solution for your business.
We compare payment gateways from a range of providers, with contracts ranging from 1-5 years.
We'll help you find the right solution for your business.
Agreements with payment solution providers include a service level agreement (SLA) to keep your payment service running smoothly.
We help you compare SLAs, so you can decide whether you need support within business hours or 24/7.
Why compare payments gateways?
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We don't charge you to use our service to find the best payment gateway deal that meets your business requirements.
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What is a payment gateway?
If your business wants to sell products or services online, a payment gateway could be the ideal solution. Unlike a card machine, payment gateways allow you to take payments from your customers online, enabling them to securely enter their payment details such as debit and credit cards.
Payment gateways are available as a standalone solution, or they can be included as part of a complete payment service provider package, utilising card machines and merchant services.
Payment gateways use SSL to encrypt your customer's data, checking them against the details held by the bank as part of a fraud prevention process. If the payment is authorised and the cardholder is the legitimate account holder, the payment will be sent to your business bank account.
Choosing the best payment gateway provider
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Integration
A payment gateway will form an essential part of your online business, so it is important to ensure that the software is able to integrate with other payment services you use, such as a card machine.
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Security
It's essential that your business follows the strict regulations designed to protect your customer's data. At the very minimum, your payment gateway provider should offer Level 1 PCI DSS compliance. The best payment gateway services help your business implement fraud detection procedures designed to only allow legitimate customers to make payments.
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Reliability
A successful eCommerce website needs to be accessible and enable your business to take payments at any time. Some payment providers offer an uptime guarantee that gives you the reassurance that your service is as reliable as possible.
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Payment options
Typically, most customers want to pay by credit or debit card, but other payment options such as eWallets or gift vouchers are increasing in popularity. The best payment gateways and merchant service providers support multiple payment methods, giving your customers more flexibility.
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International payments
Depending on your business, you may need to accept international payments from customers outside the UK. If this is a possibility you should choose a payment gateway provider which accepts multiple currencies, with a low fee for these types of transactions.
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Reporting
Many payment gateways offer useful reporting tools as part of their packages. The best options provide real-time insight into sales, inventory and potential problems, allowing you to quickly react to changes in trends.
Which is the best payment gateway provider in the UK?
PayPal is a long-established eCommerce payment gateway provider and a great option for small businesses. Through their Payflow Gateway service, you can take payments via debit and credit card, PayPal and PayPal Credit.
PayPal also offers the ability to take payments in person via a card machine.
Continuing SagePay's reputation of providing a highly secure payment solution as Opayo by Elavon, Opayo offers flexible offline and online payment methods.
Stripe offers a full-service payment solution, which makes it one of the most popular options for businesses looking for both a payment gateway and a merchant account.
Cardstream payment gateway solution is fully customisable, which is a great option if your business is looking to create branded payment pages and receipts.
One of the easiest payment gateway options available. Amazon Pay's software design is similar to the Amazon website, so many users will be familiar with the checkout process.
As one of the leading payment processing companies, Elavon is known for providing customers with innovative online payment methods.
Offering a highly customisable payment gateway, authorize.net is an ideal payment gateway solution for tech-savvy business owners or programmers.
The Nochex payment gateway is positioned as a low-cost alternative to PayPal. With Nochex, customers don't need to log into an account to make payments.
One of the most popular payment processors in the UK, Worldpay offers a variety of flexible plans designed to suit the needs of small businesses.
Worldpay also offers the ability to take payments in person via a card machine.
In addition to an excellent reputation for providing traditional PDQ card terminals, Verifone offer Enterprise Payment Software which supports online payments.
PayPal is a long-established eCommerce payment gateway provider and a great option for small businesses. Through their Payflow Gateway service, you can take payments via debit and credit card, PayPal and PayPal Credit.
PayPal also offers the ability to take payments in person via a card machine.
Continuing SagePay's reputation of providing a highly secure payment solution as Opayo by Elavon, Opayo offers flexible offline and online payment methods.
Stripe offers a full-service payment solution, which makes it one of the most popular options for businesses looking for both a payment gateway and a merchant account.
Cardstream payment gateway solution is fully customisable, which is a great option if your business is looking to create branded payment pages and receipts.
One of the easiest payment gateway options available. Amazon Pay's software design is similar to the Amazon website, so many users will be familiar with the checkout process.
As one of the leading payment processing companies, Elavon is known for providing customers with innovative online payment methods.
Offering a highly customisable payment gateway, authorize.net is an ideal payment gateway solution for tech-savvy business owners or programmers.
The Nochex payment gateway is positioned as a low-cost alternative to PayPal. With Nochex, customers don't need to log into an account to make payments.
One of the most popular payment processors in the UK, Worldpay offers a variety of flexible plans designed to suit the needs of small businesses.
Worldpay also offers the ability to take payments in person via a card machine.
In addition to an excellent reputation for providing traditional PDQ card terminals, Verifone offer Enterprise Payment Software which supports online payments.
We compare payment gateways with the top providers
Frequently asked questions
Payment gateways are the virtual equivalent of a card machine, they work by encrypting and transferring payment information during an online or offline transaction. The payment gateway checks to see whether the payment should be authorised or declined. If the transaction is authorised the payment moves from the payment gateway to the merchant account, before finally settling into the merchant's bank.
There are two main payment options available. Which is best for your business depends on the service you require. It is possible to choose a basic payment gateway or a complete payment service provider, which offers both a payment gateway and a card machine. Both can be integrated with a card machine to allow you to take payments in person.
The cheapest payment gateway will charge the lowest set-up and monthly fees, and transaction charges. It is important to compare these separate costs to find the most competitive deal. Depending on the type of business you operate, a provider charging more for a monthly fee with lower transaction charges may save you money if you process lots of transactions. In comparison, if you are a smaller business, a lower monthly fee and more expensive transaction charges may work out to be more cost-effective.
The difference between a gateway and a virtual terminal is the way the card details are processed. A virtual terminal requires the merchant to enter the customer's card details into the terminal, whereas a payment gateway asks for the customer to enter their own card details. Typically, a payment gateway is used for online transactions, whereas a virtual terminal is used for transactions face-to-face or over the telephone.
Payment gateway fees can vary significantly between providers, with some charging fees based on the whole service provided and others charging separate fees for the merchant account and the payment gateway. Payment gateway providers generally charge monthly fees, with additional charges for various optional services. In addition, your business will need to pay transaction fees, which may be a set amount per transaction, alongside a charge based on a percentage of each transaction.
To create a payment gateway you typically need a UK bank account, a website and an email address. Depending on the gateway provider you choose, you may also need to answer some questions about your business. The simple payment service providers offer a merchant account as part of their package, however, if you also need to open a merchant account you may need to show sales projections and a business plan.
There are several payment types which you can process with a virtual terminal, as the software allows you to turn your tablet, smartphone or computer into a point-of-sale connection. This means you can process card payments over the phone or in person, simply enter the card details that your customer provides along with the verification checks and the transaction will be processed.
Yes, gateways are secure, with the best payment gateways making it possible for merchants to implement the highest levels of security. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is guidance designed to help merchants and financial payment processors provide secure payment solutions. For example, a gateway is designed to ensure that all data is encrypted when transferred to the payment processor for authorisation, meaning it cannot be stolen and used for fraud.
Yes, you can set up recurring payments with some payment gateways. This will enable your business to accept automatic payments at regular times, using a customer's card details.
Yes, you can process international payments with some payment gateway providers. If your business operates within global markets, the best payment gateway will be the one which offers the lowest fees for the currencies you accept.
Yes, it is possible to integrate with existing systems, although there are some restrictions which vary between providers. If you already have systems in place such as an eCommerce website, it is important to choose a payment gateway which offers integration into your chosen platform, such as WordPress, Woocommerce or Shopify.
There are some gateways which are easy to use, in comparison to the more complicated platforms. For example, PayPal and Amazon both offer payment gateways with systems which are more likely to be familiar to your customers. This may result in a more seamless payment experience and a reduction in the number of shopping carts which are abandoned.
Collecting payments from customers via a payment gateway will offer your business a simple, secure payment processing method. However, there are some differences between providers. It's important to compare the options available to ensure you benefit from the best payment gateway service.
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