Best Online Payment Gateways for UK Small Businesses

The best online payment gateway for a UK small business depends on how you sell:

• Online shop or custom website: Stripe, at 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards with no monthly fee.
• Shopify store: Shopify Payments, which avoids Shopify's extra fee for outside gateways.
• Online and in person: Square, at 1.4% + 25p for UK cards online, with card readers for in-person sales.
• Lowest card fees: Revolut Business, at 1% + 20p for UK consumer cards.
• Subscriptions and invoices: GoCardless, which collects Direct Debit payments from bank accounts.
• Customers who prefer PayPal: add PayPal Checkout alongside your main gateway.

You do not have to pick only one. A shop can use one main card gateway and add PayPal or a buy now, pay later option such as Klarna or Clearpay at checkout.

What Is an Online Payment Gateway?

An online payment gateway is the service that securely sends a customer's card or wallet payment from your website or app to the banks for approval. It encrypts the payment details, returns an approved or declined result in seconds, and passes approved payments on for settlement.

How Does an Online Payment Gateway Work?

An online card payment passes through four steps:

1. Entry: the customer enters card details or taps Apple Pay or Google Pay at checkout.
2. Encryption: the gateway encrypts the details so your website never handles the raw card number.
3. Authorisation: the gateway sends the payment to your acquiring bank, which asks the customer's card issuer to approve it. Many UK payments also need strong customer authentication, such as approval in a banking app.
4. Settlement: approved funds move to your account, usually within one to seven working days, depending on the provider.

Payment Gateway, Payment Processor and Merchant Account: What Is the Difference?

• Payment gateway: the secure link between your checkout and the payment network.
• Payment processor (acquirer): the company that moves the money between the customer's bank and yours.
• Merchant account: the account that holds card payments before they reach your business bank account.

Providers such as Stripe, Square and PayPal combine all three in one sign-up, which is why small businesses use them. Traditional providers such as Worldpay and Elavon can supply the gateway and merchant account separately, often with a contract.

UK Online Payment Gateways Compared

Fees apply to standard UK consumer cards unless stated, and were taken from UK comparison guides in October 2026. International, premium and business cards cost more with every provider.

Best Online Payment Gateways in the UK

Stripe

Stripe is the best online payment gateway for most UK online shops and custom-built websites or apps. It charges 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, with no monthly fee or contract.

• Strengths: developer-friendly APIs and ready-made plugins for WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce and most platforms. Radar uses machine learning to block fraud, Billing handles subscriptions, and Connect supports marketplaces that pay out to several sellers.
• Limits: higher fees for EEA cards (2.5% + 20p) and international cards (3.25% + 20p), and a £20 fee per dispute. Payouts can take up to seven working days for new accounts.

Square

Square suits small businesses that sell both online and in person. It charges 1.4% + 25p for UK cards online and 2.5% for non-UK cards, with no monthly fee on its free plan.

• Strengths: one account for online checkout, invoices, card readers and Square Online, its own website builder.
• Limits: fewer developer tools and integrations than Stripe for complex or custom builds.

Revolut Business

Revolut Business offers some of the lowest card fees in the UK: 1% + 20p for UK consumer cards and 2.8% + 20p for international and commercial cards.

• Strengths: low fees and next-day payouts, including weekends.
• Limits: you need a Revolut Business account, and it has fewer platform plugins than Stripe or PayPal.

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the best choice for shops built on Shopify. Fees fall as the plan rises: 2% + 25p on Basic, 1.7% + 25p on Grow and 1.5% + 25p on Advanced.

• Strengths: payments, payouts and sales reports sit in the Shopify admin, and it avoids the 2%, 1% or 0.6% extra fee Shopify charges on each plan when you use an outside gateway.
• Limits: it only works on Shopify.

Worldpay

Worldpay is one of the UK's longest-established payment companies and suits businesses with higher-value sales. Its pay-as-you-go online plan charges 1.3% + 20p for Visa and Mastercard consumer cards, with an 18-month contract.

• Strengths: hosted payment pages that keep card data off your website, fraud screening, and one account for online and in-store payments.
• Limits: a fixed contract, and set-up takes longer than Stripe or Square.

takepayments

takepayments suits small businesses that want online and in-store payments set up together with personal support. Fees are quote-based on a 12-month contract, with next-business-day payouts.

• Strengths: a no-code checkout, card machines and payment links in one package.
• Limits: no published price, so you must request a quote to compare it.

PayPal

PayPal is best added alongside a main gateway for customers who prefer to pay with their PayPal account. PayPal Checkout charges 2.9% + 30p for UK transactions.

• Strengths: a widely recognised brand at checkout, card and PayPal account payments, and PayPal Pay Later for spreading the cost.
• Limits: higher fees than Stripe, Square or Revolut for card-heavy shops.

GoCardless

GoCardless is best for subscriptions, memberships and B2B invoices paid by Direct Debit. It charges 1% + 20p per payment, capped at £4, on its standard plan.

• Strengths: lower fees than cards on larger payments, and payments are collected automatically from the customer's bank.
• Limits: bank payments take longer to clear than card payments, and it does not replace a card gateway for one-off online orders.

Opayo by Elavon

Opayo, formerly Sage Pay, has supported UK businesses since 2001 and is now part of Elavon. It suits established businesses that want a bank-backed gateway with telephone support. Pricing is quote-based.

• Strengths: fraud screening tools and real-time reporting in the dashboard.
• Limits: no published price, and older integrations had to move to new gateway URLs as Elavon updated the service.

Gateways for Larger Businesses

Adyen and Checkout.com charge interchange plus a small fee per transaction and suit high-volume or international businesses. Adyen sets a minimum monthly processing amount, so it rarely fits a small business.

How Do You Choose a Payment Gateway for Your Business?

Choose a payment gateway by matching its fees, payment methods and platform support to how and where you sell. Compare these seven points before you sign up:

1. Fees on your real sales. Work out the cost on a typical month of orders, including the fixed fee per payment. A low percentage with a 25p fixed fee can cost more on small orders than a higher percentage with a 20p fee.
2. Payment methods. UK shoppers expect debit and credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Add PayPal, buy now, pay later or open banking if your customers use them.
3. Platform support. Check the gateway has a supported plugin or app for your platform, such as Shopify, WooCommerce or Adobe Commerce, or a well-documented API for a custom website or app.
4. Payout speed. Payouts range from next day to seven working days. Faster payouts help cash flow.
5. Contract and exit terms. Stripe, Square, Revolut and PayPal have no contract. Worldpay and takepayments use 12- to 18-month contracts.
6. Fraud tools and chargebacks. Look for built-in fraud screening, 3-D Secure for strong customer authentication, and a clear chargeback fee.
7. International sales. If you sell abroad, compare fees for EEA and international cards and for currency conversion. These can be twice the UK rate.

How Much Do Payment Gateways Cost in the UK?

Most UK online payment gateways charge 1%–2.9% plus 20p–30p per UK card payment, with no monthly fee on pay-as-you-go plans. Traditional providers may add a monthly fee, a contract or a minimum charge in exchange for lower rates.

Gateway pricing has five parts.

• Transaction fee: a percentage plus a fixed amount per payment.
• International and premium card fees: higher rates for cards issued outside the UK and for business or premium cards.
• Currency conversion: an extra percentage when a customer pays in another currency.
• Chargeback fee: charged when a customer disputes a payment, often £15–£20.
• Monthly or PCI fees: some contract providers charge these; pay-as-you-go gateways usually do not.

The fixed fee matters most on small orders. On standard UK cards, the fee per payment works out as:

Card fees are a yearly running cost alongside hosting, platform plans and apps in the cost of an eCommerce website in the UK.

How Do You Add a Payment Gateway to Your Website or App?

You add a payment gateway by installing the gateway's plugin on your eCommerce platform, or by connecting your custom website or app to the gateway's API. Either way, you then switch on payment methods, test payments in the gateway's test mode, and go live. A gateway is one part of the eCommerce web development process, alongside the platform, product data and testing.

Adding a Gateway on Shopify, WooCommerce or Adobe Commerce

• Shopify: turn on Shopify Payments in the store settings, or add another provider from Shopify's list of supported gateways. Shopify charges an extra fee on outside gateways, one of the cost differences in how the main eCommerce platforms compare.
• WooCommerce: install the gateway's official WordPress plugin, such as WooCommerce Stripe, PayPal Payments or Square, and enter your account keys.
• Adobe Commerce (Magento): install the gateway's extension or use a built-in integration, then configure it in the admin panel.

Adding a Gateway to a Custom Website or App

A custom website or app connects to the gateway's API. Developers usually choose between two checkout types:

• Hosted or embedded checkout: the gateway supplies the payment page or secure card fields, so card numbers never touch your servers. This keeps your PCI DSS work to a minimum and suits most businesses.
• Fully custom checkout: you design every screen while the gateway still tokenises the card details. It gives full control of the design but needs more development and testing.

The build also needs webhooks, which are messages the gateway sends to your system when a payment succeeds, fails or is refunded. They keep order status, stock and emails in step with payments.

Mobile apps take payments through the same gateways using their mobile SDKs, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Physical goods sold in an app use these gateways, not Apple or Google in-app purchase, as explained in eCommerce app development.

What to Test Before Going Live

• successful, declined and refunded payments in test mode
• strong customer authentication (3-D Secure) prompts on phones and desktops
• Apple Pay and Google Pay on real devices
• order confirmation emails and stock updates triggered by webhooks
• what happens when a customer closes the page mid-payment

Intelivita builds eCommerce websites with the payment gateway connected and tested as part of the project.

FAQs

Which is the best payment gateway in the UK?

Stripe is the best all-round online payment gateway for most UK small businesses, because it has no monthly fee, low UK card fees and plugins for most platforms. Shopify stores should use Shopify Payments, and businesses selling in person as well should compare Square.

What is the cheapest way to take card payments online in the UK?

Revolut Business has some of the lowest published online card fees in the UK, at 1% + 20p for UK consumer cards. For regular payments, Direct Debit through GoCardless costs 1% + 20p capped at £4, which is cheaper than cards on larger amounts.

Is PayPal an online payment gateway?

Yes. PayPal works as an online payment gateway: it accepts card payments and PayPal account payments on your website and handles the processing. Many shops add PayPal Checkout alongside a main card gateway such as Stripe or Square.

Is there a free online payment gateway?

No gateway is free to use. Stripe, Square, Revolut Business and PayPal have no set-up or monthly fee, but each charges a fee on every payment.

Do I need a merchant account to accept online payments?

Not with all-in-one providers. Stripe, Square, PayPal and Revolut Business include the merchant account. Traditional providers such as Worldpay and Elavon may set one up as part of a contract.

How long do payment gateway payouts take?

Payouts take from one to seven working days, depending on the provider and your account history. Revolut Business and Worldpay offer next-day payouts; Stripe can take longer for new accounts.

Can I use more than one payment gateway?

Yes. Most eCommerce platforms let you run several gateways at once, for example Stripe for cards and PayPal for PayPal accounts. Each gateway charges its own fees.

Is a payment gateway safe?

Yes, when it is PCI DSS compliant. Regulated UK gateways encrypt card details, support 3-D Secure for strong customer authentication and screen payments for fraud. Using a hosted or embedded checkout keeps card numbers off your own website.

Add the Right Payment Gateway to Your Website or App

Tell us how you sell, which platform you use and where your customers are. We will recommend a gateway, connect it to your website or app, and test every payment journey before launch.

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