Top 10 Online Payment Processors for 2024

Online payments and eCommerce transactions are ubiquitous in the modern digital economy. But they wouldn’t be possible without online payment processors who facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers. Many online payment processors have emerged over the years, and at times it can be challenging to decipher which online payment processor is best for your business. Here’s our list of the top online payment processors in 2024.

1. Stripe

Availability: 47 countries, 135+ currencies (payments)

Suitable for: Internet businesses of all sizes

Cost: Pay-as-you-go pricing: 2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction; 2.7% + $0.05 per card-present transaction; no monthly fees and no annual fees

Website: https://stripe.com/

Stripe is a software developer’s best friend when it comes to online payment processor service providers. As a customizable payment solution, Stripe enables developers to add payment functionality to the company’s products per its business needs. With Stripe, business owners can accept credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even some cryptocurrency payments in 135+ currencies. Stripe goes the extra mile to make its online payment API and documentation very easy for developers. It is rather simple to get up and running accepting credit card payments with Stripe.

Sellers can also manage their businesses online with Stripe’s tools for:

• Online credit card payments
• Online invoicing
• Subscription management and billing
• Salex tax and VAT automation
• Accounting automation and revenue recognition
• Spent management
• Fraud detection

Stripe’s suite of payment products also enables businesses to get financing and reduce checkout friction for customers. Stripe online payment solutions are definitely worth checking out if you are just getting started with online transactions.

The flexibility of Stripe, combined with reasonable fees, robust support for different payment methods, and a well-documented API makes it a favorite amongst business owners and software developers for online payments.

2. PayPal

Availability: 200+ countries

Suitable for: Small and medium businesses, enterprises, and one-person businesses (e.g., freelancers)

Cost: No set-up/maintenance fees, other fees vary by country

Websites: SMBs: https://www.paypal.com/in/business; Enterprises: https://www.paypal.com/in/enterprise

PayPal is one of the earliest and best-known online payment processors. It is available in 200+ countries and supports 100+ currencies. It also has 400+ million active users and is used by 30+ million merchants worldwide. PayPal has pre-built checkout experiences that you can embed into your website, making it somewhat easy to start accepting payments through them.

PayPal is a good option for businesses looking for a low-volume payment processor. Businesses can leverage their business tools to understand customer behaviors, detect fraud, and monitor risk across channels and markets. PayPal is integrated into many online marketplaces so sellers can increase omni-channel conversion, and also track their transactions from one place.

PayPal largely became popular as the main online payment processor for eBay. In fact, it was once owned by eBay. Many online checkout experiences that include PayPal as an option allow you to pay directly with your PayPal account. If you have a user base that tends to use PayPal for other payment transactions, the fact that they might already have a PayPal account configured with their preferred payment methods can be an advantage to using PayPal as opposed to requiring users to enter a credit card.

3. Braintree

Availability: 45+ countries, 130+ currencies

Suitable for: Businesses expanding into new markets, businesses looking to save money on online payment processing fees

Cost: Cards and digital wallets: 2.59% + $.49 per transaction; PayPal and PayPal Credit: Depends on the business PayPal account; Venmo (US only): 3.49% + $.49 per transaction; ACH Direct Debit: 0.75% per transaction

Website: https://www.braintreepayments.com/

Acquired by PayPal in 2013, Braintree’s payment platform integrates PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo (US), credit and debit cards, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options, and popular digital wallets. It thus gives business owners more options to accept payments from customers.

Braintree’s payment solutions for web and mobile create seamless payment experiences that can help drive higher conversions and improve customer brand affinity. These solutions meet industry standards for PCI compliance and enable businesses to connect with buyers in 45+ countries and access 250+ million active PayPal accounts in 200+ markets.

4. Apple Pay

Availability: 40+ countries

Suitable for: Businesses wanting to provide payment options via iOS, iPad, and watchOS apps

Cost: Free for sellers and buyers

Website: https://developer.apple.com/apple-pay/

Apple Pay is a contactless payment service for Apple devices. It supports most major credit and debit cards and Apple’s Apple Card and provides an easier, safer, and more secure payment method than cash and physical cards.

Businesses can add Apple Pay to their app or website using an Apple Pay SDK or JavaScript API. Checkouts are fast with Apple Pay since customers don’t have to search for their wallet or card. Businesses also benefit from fast checkout since they can reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions.

Apple Pay is great specifically for iOS and macOS users. With Apple Pay, you don’t have to remember your credit card number and can easily pay using preferred methods online or via mobile payments.

While Apple Pay is a great and welcomed payment provider, the fact is that many of the other online payment providers offer Apple Pay as a payment method. Thus, you might want to look at some of the other options here such as Stripe and PayPal for your main online payment service provider.

5. Google Pay

Availability: 29 countries for in-app and contactless payments

Suitable for: Businesses of any size

Cost: Free to download and use; no transaction charges

Website: https://pay.google.com/about/business/

Google Pay is a simple and secure digital payment app that enables businesses to accept online and contactless payments directly to their business bank accounts. Merchants can easily integrate Google Pay with the Google Pay API so the service will work within their online store and other sales channels.

They can also use the app to:

• Create offers for customers
• Verify buyers’ identities
• Detect fraud and hacking

Google Pay stands out for Android users and for Google Chrome users. Similarly, to Apple Pay, it has the added benefit of storing your credit cards, allowing for quick and easy checkouts online or through mobile payments.

Similarly, to Apple Pay, you are unlikely to use Google Pay as your sole online payment service provider. However, it is available as a payment method through many of the other payment processor services listed on this page.

6. Shopify

Availability: 22 countries

Suitable for: Any online business with a Shopify store

Cost: Starting at $29/month (basic version), no transaction fees for merchants (except in Austria, Belgium, and Sweden), no transaction fees for customers

Website: https://www.shopify.com/payments

Shopify is not necessarily well known for being a top online payment system. It is best known as an eCommerce platform that enables merchants to build online stores. However, it also provides a payment solution that enables online businesses to process online payments by accepting all major payment methods from their Shopify store.

Shopify Payments supports multiple local currencies for smooth checkout experiences. It also supports 3D Secure checkouts, is PCI compliant, and enables merchants to track all their orders and payments from one place.

7. Square

Availability: USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, UK, Ireland, France, Spain

Suitable for: Businesses of any size, especially ones that accept in-person payments

Cost: 2.6% + $0.1 per in-person transaction, 2.9% + $0.3 per online transaction, 3.5% + $0.15 per manually-entered transaction

Website: https://squareup.com/us/en/payments

While Square was originally known for its in-person POS systems, it has gained much popularity in the online payment space as well. Because Square is such a popular point of sales system for physical businesses, it can be a reasonable way to accept payments online for any business that has both a physical and online presence. Square allows online businesses to accept payments quickly and securely using contactless cards, ACH bank transfers, Apple Pay, or other digital wallets. Companies can also use Square to:

• Add pickup and delivery options
• Sell through social media
• Integrate their online store or mobile app with Square’s online payment service
• Send Invoices

Square also supports BNPL payments where the customer pays in installments but the merchant gets paid in full immediately.

8. Verifone (formerly 2Checkout)

Availability: 234 countries, 130+ currencies

Suitable for: Businesses selling physical or digital goods online

Cost: No setup fee, transaction fees starting at 3.5% + $0.35 cents per online transaction; additional 2% payment transaction fee in some countries

Website: https://www.2checkout.com/global-payments/

Verifone is a modular monetization platform for businesses selling physical or digital goods online. It offers global payment processing, so businesses can accept payments from anywhere while giving shoppers a localized buying experience.

The customizable platform offers multiple modules for:

• Global payments
• Digital eCommerce
• Subscription billing
• Global tax
• Partner sales
• Risk management and compliance
• Reporting and analytics

Verifone is an old player in online payments, similar to PayPal. 2Checkout was originally founded in 2006 and has been operating in online payment processing since.

9. Amazon Pay

Availability: 170+ countries

Suitable for: Any business

Cost: Cost to merchants: $0.59 per web/mobile transaction, $0.79 per Alexa transaction; $0.1 additional online payment processing fee for cross-border orders; 0 costs for customers

Website: https://pay.amazon.com/what-is-amazon-pay

Amazon Pay offers a simple way for buyers to pay by voice with Alexa and manage their payment methods on Amazon.com. Merchants can add Amazon Pay to online stores through a single interface and omni-channel APIs to provide customers with a fast, familiar checkout experience.

Amazon Pay supports pre-orders and recurring payments so buyers can easily start subscriptions, pay recurring bills, and make future purchases. The platform provides advanced fraud protection and charge-back controls that help businesses reduce bad debt and lower costs.

While Amazon Pay remains promising, it is not as big of a leader in online payments as its competitors Apple and Google. Additionally, Amazon has struggled with certain benefits of Amazon Pay such as being able to utilize Alexa for online payments.

10. Adyen

Availability: Europe, Australia, USA, Brazil, Canada, Singapore

Suitable for: Digital, retail, mobility, F&B, hospitality, and subscription businesses

Cost: €0.10 + payment method-specific fee per transaction; no monthly fees, annual fees, or setup fees

Website: https://www.adyen.com/

Adyen is an end-to-end online payment platform that supports many payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and in-person/local payments. With Adyen, sellers can accept online payments on any device or channel to increase conversions and sales.

Adyen’s unified commerce capabilities allow merchants to connect their online and in-store payment data. The Adyen platform is powered by Machine Learning technology to protect businesses from fraud and provide customer-friendly authentication – without impacting real transactions.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this overview of popular online payment platforms was useful. Want to add online payment capabilities to your site or app? Not sure which payment processors to choose? At Flatirons Development we have a team of experts that are familiar with the pros and cons of different online payment systems. Contact Flatirons Development and we’ll help you make the best possible choice – for your business and customers.