There’s no question that Stripe is the media’s favorite. With its flexible solutions for almost any kind of online business, It’s safe to say that Stripe has done a lot to change the way people pay online. Stripe’s focus on empowering Internet businesses with a developer-first approach is noteworthy. However, there are certain issues with Stripe which leads to many searching for Stripe alternatives.
Why use Stripe Alternatives
There are a number of developing countries where Stripe does not work. Stripe transaction charges are also on the higher side and can significantly build up over time. Here are some key drawbacks to this payment solution:
- Account Holds & Terminations
- Unresponsive Customer Service
- No User-Friendly
- Lack of Fraud Protection
- Not suitable for high-risk industries
Stripe is a hybrid service in the online payments world. if you want just basic online credit transactions, there are plenty of great providers to choose from.
However, if you are looking for features that are comparable to Stripe’s, or maybe even a bit more targeted, we’ve put together a list of 10 payment services that you can use as Stripe alternatives, including merchant accounts and other third-party providers.
10 Best Alternatives to Stripe
PayPal Payments
PayPal probably comes to mind when most people think of online payment processors. Using this platform, you can send and receive money from almost anyone and anywhere with a few simple clicks. Merchants can accept payments on their website, on the go, in-store, in-app or send an invoice to customers via email.
This platform does offer a suite of developer tools for businesses interested in a custom setup. However, most of the chatter says they don’t match Stripe for quality. PayPal’s marketplace tools are fairly new. On the plus side, Fully scalable, PayPal Payments Pro has the capability to build custom, professional and secure eCommerce sites for online retailers of all sizes.
PayPal Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Third-Party
Supported Channels: Online, in-app, POS and mobile POS payments
Global Friendly: Yes
Pricing Model: Flat-rate
Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 for online transactions; 2.7% for swiped/dipped/tapped transactions
Suitable For Small Businesses: Yes
Pros
- Trusted by consumers
- High Security
- Excellent customer service
- Ideal for low-volume merchants
- Extensive integrations
- Good developer tools
- All-in-one payments system
Cons
- Account stability issues
- Inconsistent Customer Support
- Not suitable for high-risk industries
Braintree Payment Solutions
Having acquired by PayPal in 2013, Braintree offers vendor accounts and a payment gateway and outperforms Stripe in terms of global reach for merchants with more supported countries with a high level of customizability and multiple services available at no charge beyond processing fees.
With Braintree’s powerful suite of developer tools, you or your engineers can customize your shopping cart to the hilt and integrate it with your existing platform. This makes it ideal for developers, marketplace-style businesses and other Internet-based, tech-driven merchants.
Braintree Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Merchant
Supported Channels: Online, in-app, POS payments (through PayPal)
Global Friendly: Yes
Pricing Model: Flat-rate
Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30
Suitable For Small Businesses: Yes
Pros
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
- Excellent developer tools
- Extensive integrations
- Multi-currency options
- Excellent marketplace tools
Cons
- Not suitable for large businesses
- Long setup times for accounts
Square
Square allows businesses to receive payments using iOS and Android devices, enabling them to engage in quick and paperless transactions. Square is well-known for its ease of use, powerful feature set, transparent and affordable pricing, and overall status as a powerhouse for merchants.
Square gives many benefits, operating as a full point-of-sale. However, Square only supports credit card and mobile wallet payments and is only available to merchants in a handful of countries.
Square Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Third-party
Supported Channels: Online and POS
Global Friendly: No
Pricing Model: Flat-rate
Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30
Suitable For Small Businesses: Yes
Pros
- Easy sign-up
- No monthly fee
- Low prices
- Minimalist design
- Accept offline payments
- Allows the use of multiple devices on one account
Cons
- Lack of support
- Withheld funds and account cancellations occur
- Not suitable for large businesses
Adyen
Adyen is a merchant account provider that offers a single global platform to accept payments anywhere in the world. It can process transactions across online, mobile and in-store (POS) with over 250 payment methods and 187 currencies.
Adyen is popular due to its instant access to support and change viability, advanced working processes, and payment procedures. Its aim is to develop new technology and practices from the ground up, bypassing middlemen and old-fashioned payment methods to develop a convenient, global solution.
Adyen Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Merchant
Supported Channels: Online, in-app, POS payments
Global Friendly: Yes
Pricing Model: Blended
Processing Fees: : 0.6% + $0.12
Suitable For Small Businesses: No
Pros
- Ideal for international merchants
- Excellent marketplace tools
- Excellent customer service
- Minimalistic Design
- Ease of use
Cons
- Expensive for small businesses
- Not for beginning merchants
PayJunction
PayJunction is one of the best Stripe alternatives. It offers merchant services for credit card processing. While its business model and product offerings aren’t specifically innovative, PayJunction prides itself on its ethical billing approach and paperless payment technology.
PayJunction is not global-friendly. However, it is a pioneer in remote signature capture, allowing for unprecedented protection from chargebacks in card-not-present transactions.
PayJunction Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Merchant
Supported Channels: Online, in-app, POS payments
Global Friendly: No
Pricing Model: Interchange
Processing Fees: : Interchange + 0.75%
Suitable For Small Businesses: No
Pros
- Easy access to all functions. Transactions and reprints.
- Ease of use
- Excellent Customer service
Cons
- Expensive for low-volume businesses
- Not Global-friendly
WePay
Established in 2008 for P2P payments, WePay is a third-party payment facilitator that helps online platforms increase revenue through integrated payments processing. It supports mobile conversion with mPOS and integrations with Apple Pay and Android Pay for the Web.
Although WePay isn’t developed for merchants who want to accept payments online, it is designed to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers instead of business buying or selling anything directly.
WePay Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Third-Party
Supported Channels: Online, in-app, mPOS payments
Global Friendly: No
Pricing Model: N/A
Processing Fees:: N/A
Suitable For Small Businesses: No
Pros
- Excellent developer tools
- Great Marketplace Tools
- Chip card hardware
- No setup or application fees
Cons
- No pricing details online
- Account stability issues
Amazon Payments (Amazon Pay)
Amazon Pay is an online payment method that offers merchants and customers a trusted and familiar buying experience. It provides a means for businesses to process transactions online using the same checkout experience and the same consumer base that can be found on Amazon main site.
Amazon Pay is extremely user-friendly as all the user’s data is already stored on their Amazon account. However, when a customer completes a payment at your store using Amazon Pay, they’ll be able to access Amazon’s popular A-to-z Guarantee.
Amazon Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Merchant
Supported Channels: Online, in-app, mPOS payments
Global Friendly: No
Pricing Model: Flat
Processing Fees:: 4.0% processing fee + $0.30 authorization fee per transaction
Suitable For Small Businesses: Yes
Pros
- No early termination fee
- convenience
- Brand recognition
- Easy to use
Cons
- Expensive for high-volume merchants
- Reports of withheld funds
Authorize.Net
Launched in 1996, Authorize.Net is one of the oldest online payment portals that provides a reliable service with a fraud detection feature, simplified checkout system, support for automated recurring billing, a customer information manager, and QuickBooks support – all for free.
Essentially, Authorize.Net offers a free Virtual Point of Sale (VPOS) software and a USB-connected card reader that allows you to turn your computer into a virtual terminal.
Amazon Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Merchant
Supported Channels: Online, in-app and POS payments
Global Friendly: No
Pricing Model: Interchangeable
Processing Fees:: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction processing fee
Suitable For Small Businesses: No
Pros
- Support for multiple currencies
- Robust security and anti-fraud features
- Month-to-month billing
- No long-term contracts
Cons
- Data portability is complicated and expensive
- Pricey account setup fee
BlueSnap
Launched in 2001, BlueSnap is a payment gateway that provides an All-in-one Payment Platform designed to accelerate commerce for B2B and B2C businesses.
BlueSnap processes payments and optimizes the checkout experience like everyone else in the market, but it takes conversion rates up a level by having all the local payment methods dynamically served to the shopper depending on their IP address and all in their local language.
BlueSnap Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Third-Party
Supported Channels: Online, in-app and POS payments
Global Friendly: Yes
Pricing Model: Flat
Processing Fees:: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction processing fee
Suitable For Small Businesses: Yes
Pros
- Month-to-month contracts with no early termination fee
- No monthly account fees for merchants processing over $2,500
- Fully-featured payment gateway
Cons
- Flat-rate pricing is expensive for medium or larger-sized businesses
- $75 per month account maintenance fee for merchants processing less than $2,500
Skrill
At first glance, Skrill seems precisely like PayPal. Like PayPal, Skrill is designed to be easy to understand by people new to money transfers and digital wallets. It is also available in 200 countries and 40 currencies. So it clearly has the same global reach.
Skrill is considered one of the pioneers in the field of transactions related to online casinos, poker, sports betting and other services in the online gambling industry.
Skrill Key Facts
Merchant Account or Third-Party Processor: Third-Party
Supported Channels: Online, in-app and POS payments
Global Friendly: Yes
Pricing Model: Flat
Processing Fees::
- Digital Wallet Transactions: 1.9% + €0.29
- Quick Checkout Transactions: 1.9% + €0.29
- Chargeback Fee: €25
Suitable For Small Businesses: Yes
Pros
- Supports in-app transactions
- Integrates with third-party shopping carts
- Hosted payment page
Cons
- Account stability issues
- Expensive fees to transfer money
- Poor customer support
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