6 Best Payment Gateways for 2019

A payment gateway is a third-party service that allows merchants to collect credit card payments from customers securely. All businesses that accept non-cash payments require a reliable payment gateway, regardless of whether payment collection is done online or in-person. The best payment gateways deliver secure and reliable service, superior support, and competitive transaction processing fees.

Payment Depot is our pick for best overall payment gateway for businesses that process $10,000 or more each month. Payment Depot’s 24/7 customer service, membership pricing model, and low processing fees are a few of the reasons it tops this list of best payment gateways. Visit Payment Depot to request a quote.

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Top 6 Payment Gateways for 2019

How We Evaluated Payment Gateway Providers

As a small business owner, you need a reliable payment gateway that is flexible and suited for your unique needs, whether that be conducting business online, through mobile methods, or via a brick-and-mortar outlet—or a combination of those methods. You also want to choose the best payment gateway provider for the best price; after all, there’s no need to pay more than you have to for a secure payment gateway solution.

No doubt you’ve heard of some payment gateways on this list, while others may be unfamiliar to you. New options with creative business models are frequently coming to the market. Some of the best payment gateways are not the most used.

There are a number of payment gateway providers on the market and many excel at what they do. This is why it was extremely difficult to narrow the field to just the six best.

Given your top needs for payment gateway services, providers were evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Fees: Providers were evaluated based on the types of fees imposed and fee rates for different types of transactions. Free transparency was a key consideration.
• Ease of use and setup: Payment gateway solutions need to integrate seamlessly with other business systems and applications. Credit card payments must be reliably processed without technical glitches, such as slow processing times or system downtime.
• Sales channels served: Businesses generate sales through multiple channels, and hence, payment gateway providers need to be flexible enough to support online, mobile, and in-person payments.
• Available integrations: Most business owners need their payment gateway to integrate with top apps, such as BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommece, QuickBooks, Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, and Salesforce.
• Variety of features: Small businesses need a feature-rich payment gateway that is flexible enough to accommodate special business needs.
• Security: Gateway providers must offer secure, PCI-compliant solutions.
• Reliable and timely payouts: Businesses count on their payment gateway provider to deliver funds in a timely and reliable manner.
• Customer support: As with any business solution, exceptional customer service and responsive support are critical.
• User reviews: Customer feedback is always a key criterion in evaluating a new provider, and so we did an extensive look at customer reviews for every payment gateway provider.

Based on the above criteria, Payment Depot is our choice for the best payment gateway provider. Payment Depot offers an innovation membership solution that can save many businesses hundreds each month; the more sales you process, the greater your savings. Transparent and competitive pricing are a few reasons Payment Depot tops this list. Payment Depot is also a reliable and secure payment gateway. It’s best suited for multichannel businesses that process $10,000 or more in sales each month.

Payment Depot: Best Overall Payment Gateway

Payment Depot offers a membership pricing model, which is a relatively new way to charge for gateway services. For businesses that process $10,000 plus each month, Payment Depot may offer significant savings, all while providing the secure processing and customer support you require from a payment gateway provider.

Payment Depot Pricing

Instead of charging a flat rate for payment processing fees, with Payment Depot you enroll in a membership program that costs from $49 to $199 per month. You’ll also pay a modest flat fee per transaction ranging from 5 cents to 15 cents depending on the plan. The more you sell, the more you pay for the membership, but the less you’ll pay per actual sale processed.

With Payment Depot, you also pay credit card interchange fees, which are determined directly by card-issuing companies. Interchange fees typically range from 1.50% to 2.25%. Unlike some payment gateways, Payment Depot does not assess an upcharge on interchange fees.

Payment Depot Pricing Chart

*Per transaction

Payment Depot Features

Payment Depot is a feature-rich payment gateway provider. Its transparent fees model plus its stellar customer support make it a standout payment gateway option. You’ll find that Payment Depot offers secure, flexible, reliable payment solutions for your business needs.

Payment Depot Payment Types

With Payment Depot, you can accept all major credit and debit cards, including American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard, as well as Google Pay and Apple Pay. Processing fees for ecommerce, mobile, and in-person transactions are included in the price of membership.

Payment Depot Mobile Readers & Terminals

Payment Depot works beautifully for both online businesses and in-person sellers, or for companies that do both. Point-of-sale hardware is free of charge for all but the Basic plans. With the Premier plan, Payment Depot offers a free terminal upgrade every two years.

Payment Depot Integrations

Payment Depot integrates seamlessly with popular ecommerce and point-of-sale (POS) platforms, such as BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, ShopKeep, PrestaShop, QuickBooks, NCR, and Opencart. Payment Depot also integrates with Authorize.Net, should you prefer to use Payment Depot as your payment processor and Authorize.Net as your payment gateway.

Payment Depot Customer Service

Payment Depot has a stellar reputation for offering go-the-extra-mile service and support. Payment Depot offers 24/7 phone support on all plans except Basic. Email support and an online frequently asked questions (FAQs) center is offered for all plans. Chat support and community forums are not offered.

What Payment Depot Is Missing

Because Payment Depot charges a monthly membership fee, it may be too expensive for small businesses just starting out. For new and low sales volume businesses, PayPal, Square, or Stripe are better options. Also, Payment Depot serves only U.S. businesses, so if you operate elsewhere, you won’t be able to use Payment Depot. If accepting PayPal payments is important to your business, then don’t use Payment Depot because PayPal payments are not supported.

What Users Think About Payment Depot

Payment Depot user reviews are exceptionally strong. Customers applaud Payment Depot’s customer support and transparent pricing model. Many tout savings in the hundreds and a couple even said they were saving thousands per month after switching to Payment Depot. On the downside, one customer complained he had problems processing a single charge in excess of $10,000 and was dissatisfied with Payment Depot’s support on the issue. Also, a few customers noted that they experienced software processing glitches.

Square: Best Payment Gateway for Collecting In-person Payments

Square is hands-down the best payment gateway for any business that focuses on accepting in-person payments. Both brick-and-mortar and mobile businesses, particularly retail, restaurant, and service-centric companies, will find that few payment providers offer the rich point-of-sale (POS) features Square delivers.

You can also use Square to accept payments online, and, unlike Payment Depot, you can be a low-volume seller to use Square affordably. Square also offers a free online store platform so you can build your online presence start to finish with Square. No other providers on this list offer the full suite of business management solutions that Square offers.

If your business accepts payments through multiple sales channels or just in-person, it’s wise to take a closer look at Square as a potential payment gateway provider for your business needs. If your business focuses exclusively on in-person payments, Square is likely the best payment gateway solution for you.

Square Pricing

Square pricing varies slightly according to how payments are accepted. You’ll pay a bit more for key-in payments, 3.5% plus 15 cents, and less for in-person swiped card payments, 2.75% per transaction. Square charges 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction for ecommerce payment processing. In addition, Square offers a variety of stylish and effective POS equipment, priced between $0 and $799, that allow you to collect payments anywhere.

Square Pricing Chart

Square Features

Square is a feature-rich payment gateway provider. While Square ranks second on our list of best payment gateways, when it comes to accepting credit card payments in-person, Square tops the list.

Square POS Solutions

Whether you realize it or not, you’ve probably seen Square card readers and terminals in your favorite restaurants or boutiques. Square offers a complete lineup of terminals, registers, and readers so businesses can accept credit card payments in a brick-and-mortar outlet or through a mobile selling situation, such as art markets, food trucks, and festivals.

Square POS software is easy to set up and features an intuitive order and payment flow process that works incredibly well for all types of businesses. Real-time analytics and sales reporting help you keep on top of important key performance indicators for your business. Plus, Square helps you better manage your inventory, so you won’t run out of best-selling items ever again.

Square Payment Types

Square accepts all major credit cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Obviously, since PayPal is a main competitor to Square, you cannot accept online payments using PayPal. You also can’t accept automated clearing house (ACH) or e-check payments with Square, which is a bit disappointing since these usually have lower transaction fees.

Square Integrations

Square works seamlessly with hundreds of popular apps and platforms. For example, you can connect to Peachworks, MarketMan, and Fresh KDS with Square. You can also integrate with ZohoBooks, Shopgo, Oneup, QuickBooks, Wix, Opencart, X/Y Retail, and BigCommerce.

Square Customer Service

Square’s customer service and support isn’t where this payment gateway provider shines. Square offers customer support through email, Twitter, online articles and support documentation, and through an active community forum. Square offers phone support for customers from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Be forewarned that if you don’t have ready access to your customer code number or your account becomes inactive for any reason, phone support won’t be available to you.

What Square Is Missing

As already mentioned, you can’t accept PayPal or ACH payments through Square, so that puts it at a small disadvantage. Still, overall, especially for in-person payments, Square offers a complete solution.

What Users Think About Square

If you look at all the online user reviews for Square, you’ll see they are a bit mixed. Customers are big fans of Square’s card readers. One user wrote that Square makes it extremely convenient to use cards in unconventional settings. Other customers complimented Square’s user-friendly interface. As with all providers, you’ll also find some complaints related to dispute resolution; users tend to be upset when chargeback disputes don’t go their way. Other users mentioned that getting live support with Square can be difficult.

Stripe: Best Custom Online Payment Gateway Solution

Stripe offers affordable, effective, and secure payment gateway services for online businesses. Stripe touts that it is a “developer first” platform that excels in providing custom, developer-centric solutions. Stripe offers robust, scalable solutions for accepting and processing credit card payments online, whether you want to build a custom solution or integrate with popular ecommerce platforms, such as WooCommerce, Shopify, and BigCommerce.

Stripe Pricing & Features

You’ll pay 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction to process online credit card payments through Stripe. For automated clearing house (ACH) direct debit payments, you’ll pay 0.8%, with a maximum fee of $5 per transaction. Stripe is also a smart payment gateway solution for anyone conducting business internationally, as it accepts over 135 currencies.

Stripe Pricing & Features Chart

*This is for Stripe’s Integrated plan. Contact Stripe Sales directly for custom packages.

Stripe Features

Stripe’s robust technical features offer extreme flexibility for businesses with advanced payment gateway and payment processing needs. While Stripe now offers in-person processing solutions, where it really excels is as an ecommerce payment gateway provider. Stripe prides itself on offering a complete and scalable payment platform that can grow with you as your business grows.

Stripe Secure & Reliable Processing

Stripe offers PCI-compliant security so you know your payments are securely processed. Stripe’s uptime is 99.9999%, so you can count on Stripe to be a reliable payment gateway you can trust.

Stripe POS With Stripe Terminal

Stripe does not offer POS hardware directly, but it has introduced Stripe Terminal and precertified card readers that can help you bring together your online and offline channels via its intelligent developer tools. Stripe’s software development kits (SKDs) allow you to integrate Stripe into your mobile and web applications so you can accept in-person payments.

Stripe Customer Service

Stripe offers 24/7 support through email, phone, or chat. It also has an extensive online support center that addresses users’ most common needs and questions.

What Stripe Is Missing

While Stripe is now offering Stripe Terminal and precertified card readers, its POS offerings have a long way to go before they’ll catch up to Square, which excels at POS. Also, because Stripe is so focused on advanced, developer-driven, custom solutions, it may not be the best option for small business owners who have limited technical knowledge; PayPal is a better choice for these businesses.

What Users Think About Stripe

Stripe user reviews offer strong recommendations for this provider, which further affirms that Stripe is one of the best payment gateways available today. Users were delighted that Stripe integrates with so many third-party systems and platforms. While developers are thrilled with Stripe’s advanced best-in-class programming functionality, less advanced users report that Stripe is simple to set up with sites like Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, and Shopify.

Negative reviews for Stripe often pointed out issues with slow customer service response times. Other complaints involved dissatisfaction with Stripe’s handling of dispute resolutions, which is a common yet infrequent point of contention across all payment gateway providers.

PayPal: Best Payment Gateway for Ecommerce

If your business primarily generates sales online and you want to accept PayPal payments, then PayPal is the best payment gateway provider for you. Because PayPal is so widely known and trusted, offering PayPal as a payment option can increase conversion rates and decrease shopping cart abandonment rates. If you want to embed a checkout cart into your website or collect payments in-person, you need to sign up for PayPal Payments Pro, which costs an additional $30 per month.

PayPal Pricing & Features

As with most payment gateways, the fee you’ll pay for payment processing with PayPal varies depending on where and how you accept payments. PayPal processing fees range from 2.2% plus 30 cents to 3.5% plus 15 cents per transaction. If you plan on accepting payments in-person or want to accept payments directly on your website, you’ll want to enroll in the PayPal Payments Pro plan, which costs $30 per month.

PayPal Pricing & Features Chart

PayPal Ease of Setup & Ease of Use

PayPal is one of the easiest payment gateways to set up for ecommerce and in-person payment collection. PayPal offers an online Business Setup Center that walks you through all aspects of creating your PayPal business account and setting up payments. You can set up your account and start accepting payments in less than a day.

PayPal Payment Types

One of the biggest advantages PayPal offers is the ability to add a “Pay by PayPal” button to accept payments. The only other payment gateway on this list that allows payments through PayPal is Authorize.Net. PayPal also accepts all American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Venmo, and PayPal Credit.

The “Pay With PayPal” Advantage

In a study conducted by ComScore and funded by PayPal, research showed that offering PayPal as a payment option can increase conversion rates by up to 44%. Given the extensive brand awareness for PayPal, along with its reputation as a highly secure way to buy anything online, offering PayPal as a payment option could give your online business a distinct advantage.

PayPal Integrations

You can integrate PayPal as a payment gateway on a number of popular ecommerce applications. For example, you can accept PayPal payments through Shopify, Squarespace, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and nearly every other existing online checkout platform.

PayPal Customer Service

PayPal offers customer support through a variety of channels. You can contact PayPal service representatives on the phone between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, or 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday and Sunday. PayPal also offers support through live chat, email support, an online Business Resource Center, a community forum, and an online resolutions center.

What PayPal Is Missing

PayPal’s advantage as an online payment method does not translate to in-person payments. As a POS solution, Square is a much stronger option in that it offers a far more robust POS software application for tracking sales and inventory. Square also has a more extensive in-person payment hardware collection.

What Users Think About PayPal

In general, user reviews for PayPal are positive. Customers agree that having the ability to accept payments through PayPal gives them an advantage over just having credit card options in their check-out process. Most agree that PayPal is easy to set up and use. Users appreciate that PayPal is versatile, simple, and secure.

All payment gateway providers have some unflattering reviews, and PayPal is no exception. Negative customer reviews tend to cite unresponsive customer support and dissatisfaction with payment dispute resolutions. Some reviewers noted that PayPal can be slow on transferring funds into their accounts.

Fattmerchant: Best Payment Gateway for High-volume Multichannel Businesses

While Fattmerchant certainly has a fun and playful logo, the company is all business when it comes to helping your business save money. Fattmerchant is one of the best payment gateways for high-volume multichannel businesses that process $30,000 or more each month.

Fattmerchant offers a subscription model, which is a lot like Payment Depot’s membership model. Unlike Payment Depot, where membership fees start at $49, subscription fees at Fattmerchant start at $99. This is why Fattmerchant is not recommended for low sales volume businesses.

Fattmerchant Membership Subscription & Transaction Fees

Fattmerchant’s subscription model can yield significant savings for businesses processing high payment volumes. There are two tiers with Fattmerchant; the first is for those processing under $500,000 annually, which costs $99 per month, and the second is for those processing over $500,000 annually, which costs $199 per month. There are four subscription levels available in each of the two tiers, and fees per transaction range from 6 cents to 15 cents.

Fattmerchant Subscription & Transaction Fees Chart

*All transaction fees also include direct cost interchange fees from credit card companies. Rates vary by type of card and the card-issuing company.

Fattmerchant Features

Fattmerchant offers a number of features that make it a top choice as a payment gateway provider for businesses that sell services or products either in-person or online—or both. Though not as well-known as some of the other providers on this list, Fattmerchant is fast becoming a top choice for businesses that want to save on payment processing costs.

Fattmerchant Ease of Setup & Ease of Use

You may experience a bit of a learning curve setting up Fattmerchant, although the Fattmerchant online support is excellent at helping you get started. Users report that the Fattmerchant dashboard is fairly intuitive. Customers are also impressed by Fattmerchant’s business analysis and sales-tracking tools.

Fattmerchant Payment Types

Fattmerchant accepts all major credit cards, including American Express, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. With Fattmerchant, you can also accept Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. In addition, ACH payment processing is available for an additional fee.

Fattmerchant Integrations

Fattmerchant integrates with dozens of popular apps and services, including popular payment gateways such as Authorize.Net, Worldpay, and TSYS. It also integrates with top POS systems, such as Aloha, Revel, Vend, and ShopKeep.

Fattmerchant Customer Service

Fattmerchant’s online chat representatives are knowledgeable and helpful. Customer support is also available through the extensive online support center, where you can also submit a support request ticket.

In addition, Fattmerchant offers 24/7 customer service and technical support on the phone. If you call outside the company’s 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time office hours, you’ll likely connect with a phone service that will forward your message to the appropriate party. Fattmerchant has a reputation for following up on inquiries within 24 hours.

What Fattmerchant Is Missing

With monthly fees ranging from $99 to $199, Fattmerchant does not have an affordable solution for low-volume sellers. These sellers are better served by PayPal, Square, or Stripe.

What Users Think About Fattmerchant

The lion’s share of user reviews for Fattmerchant are extremely positive. Customers appreciate that Fattmerchant makes processing credit cards simple and straightforward. Many say Fattmerchant is significantly cheaper than their previous payment gateway provider. As for negative reviews, some customers find Fattmerchant’s sales representatives to be too pushy. A few reported disputes over chargebacks where the dispute resolution did not land in their favor; this happens from time to time with all payment gateway providers.

Authorize.Net: Best When Connected to a Merchant Account

Authorize.Net was founded in 1996, which makes it the most-established payment gateway provider on this list. Created by Jeff Knowles, the company has been acquired many times throughout the years by different parties. Today, Authorize.Net is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa.

Authorize.Net offers two different solutions. The first is as a pure payment gateway provider that connects to a traditional merchant account, and the second is an all-in-one solution as both a payment gateway provider and a payment processor.

While Authorize.Net’s all-in-one rates are competitive with other all-in-one providers like Stripe, PayPal, and Square, you’ll likely save money by using Authorize.Net strictly as a payment gateway with your own merchant account. As always, though, it’s best to examine multiple options to find the best solution for your unique business needs.

Authorize.Net Pricing

Authorize.Net offers three payment gateway solutions. The All-in-One option charges $25 per month plus 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. The Payment Gateway Only option charges $25 per month plus 10 cents per transaction, plus a 10 cent daily batch fee and an interchange fee. Enterprise solutions are also available for those processing more than $500,000 per year; contact Authorize.Net directly for details.

Authorize.Net Pricing Chart

*With the Gateway Only option, you will pay relevant credit card interchange fees, which vary by credit card company.

Authorize.Net Features

If you’re looking for a payment gateway provider that offers feature-rich solutions, Authorize.Net checks all the boxes for what you need most. Straightforward setup, easy-to-use interface, and secure service are all reasons that Authorize.Net made this list of best payment gateways.

Authorize.Net Ease of Setup & Ease of Use

Authorize.Net is a provider that’s easy to implement and easy to use. Beginners and experienced business users alike find the Authorize.Net platform to be both simple and straightforward.

Authorize.Net Payment Types

Authorize.Net lets you accept more types of payments than any other payment gateway provider on this list. You can accept payments from Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and JCB. You can also accept Apple Pay, Chase Pay, Visa checks, and e-checks.

Also, Authorize.Net joins PayPal as the only two providers on this list of best payment gateways that let you accept PayPal. As discussed, this can offer you a significant advantage if you’re an online business with an audience that is partial to paying with PayPal.

Authorize.Net Integrations

As a pure payment gateway solution, Authorize.Net integrates with a number of solutions, including Fattmerchant and Payment Depot. You’re not limited to just those, though. Authorize.Net integrates hundreds of solutions, including every top ecommerce platform, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

Authorize.Net Customer Service

Authorize.Net maintains a solid reputation for responsive customer support. It has an extensive online Support Center, and service reps are available 24/7 to answer questions via phone, email, or support request tickets.

What Authorize.Net Is Missing

Authorize.Net’s monthly fees take it out of contention for the top all-in-one solution. Also, for in-person payments, Square remains king of the payment gateway providers.

What Users Think About Authorize.Net

Overall, user reviews for Authorize.Net are quite good. Many feel Authorize.Net is the easiest way to accept payments for client services. One customer noted that the payment failure rate is minuscule compared to other providers, which was a big business advantage for him. Users also feel customer support reps are knowledgeable and easy to access. On the downside, some users wish Authorize.Net made it clearer as to why certain transactions are declined. Others feel that the Authorize.Net interface and reporting features are a bit lacking.

One important note to make about Authorize.Net is that it allows others to resell its services. Some of these resellers do not have the same high-quality reputation that Authorize.Net enjoys. Often negative reviews about Authorize.Net are actually misdirected complaints that should be attributed to resellers.

Alternative Payment Gateway Providers

Bottom Line

When choosing a payment gateway solution, you must consider how your company conducts business—online, in-person, or a mix of both—and your unique business needs. Each provider on this list of best payment gateway solutions offers distinct advantages to different types of businesses. Simply match your unique requirements to the gateway provider’s top strengths.

Payment Depot is our choice for best payment gateway because its membership pricing model can lead to significant savings for companies that process $10,000 or more in sales each month. Suitable for both ecommerce and in-person payment processing, you’ll find Payment Depot is a secure, reliable, and cost-effective solution. Visit Payment Depot now.

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