Whether you’re selling online or taking payments for your services, you’re going to have to choose a payment processor. It’s one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make for your business. 

Which payment processor you use will all depend on how big your business is, and how many online transactions on average you think you’ll make a year. You should be able to find the perfect payment processor that suits your needs and the needs of your website. 

Here we’ll look at some of the best online payment processors out there and go through what exactly makes them so popular. We’ll also show you which processors work best for different-sized companies.

1. Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the simplest way to accept payments online if your site is on Shopify. 

You can accept payments instantly, and it eliminates the hassle of setting up a third-party payment provider or merchant account. 

With Shopify Payments, you’re automatically set up to accept all major payment methods as soon as you create your Shopify store.

2. WorldPay

In terms of the services that are offered to businesses, WorldPay is probably the best payment processor online right now. 

WorldPay enables customers to stay on your website while they’re purchasing your products, similar to PayPal. 

WorldPay also has what they call a ‘Virtual Terminal’. This allows you to accept secure payments over the phone while using a computer or mobile device. 

In terms of the online security element of payment processors, WorldPay is quite far ahead of its competition. They have the ability to keep all payment details safe and secure at all times.

WorldPay is also the UK’s leading payments’ provider and is used by over 300,000 small businesses. There’s no joining fee, flexible pricing plans, and 24/7 support for when your business needs it. 

Whether your business is just starting out in the world of eCommerce or it’s well established, WorldPay has options for both making it the ideal choice for any company to go with.

3. PayPal

PayPal still remains the biggest payment processor online right now and it is continuing to grow constantly. 

They’ve released their own card swipers so people can pay directly into your PayPal account even when they are in your high street store. 

Online customers are even able to purchase items without actually leaving the site. Naturally, this is very appealing to website owners that are looking to improve their bounce rate in whatever way they can.

PayPal offers a wide range of flexible solutions for your business including:

• 24/7 customer support
• Easy and quick access to your funds
• Opportunities to sell internationally
• Fully customized online payment solutions
• Free invoicing templates

PayPal makes it easy for your customers to pay online which means you’ll be able to keep them happy. PayPal is also a highly trusted payment processor among consumers. This means that they’re more likely to buy from you and buy from you again if PayPal is an option for them.

4. Stripe

Stripe is integrated into your site during the development stage. 

This means that you don’t have to spend time setting up a merchant account with another processor because it’s already integrated into your website. It also allows you to set up your own payment forms.

If you’re looking for something that will give you a little bit more control over how your payment processor works, then Stripe is a good way to go. 

However, you can only really use it if you have quite a bit of knowledge about web development yourself, or are able to get an agency to do it for you.

5. Dwolla

This payment processor has been described by many as one of the biggest rivals that payment processor giants like PayPal have to deal with. 

Dwolla is a big threat mainly because it offers multiple payment packages including a Pay-As-You-Go package. What this means is instead of paying a lump sum to use the payment processor you only pay a small fee for every transaction. There’s no annual commitment and you just pay for what you use. 

The low transaction fees are more than enough to convince some smaller businesses to use Dwolla. 

It’s an extremely handy payment processor for smaller businesses but for larger companies, Dwolla also offers two other packages, Scale and Enterprise. Each package offers different pricing and has different features to suit the size of your company. 

Some of the main benefits of using Dwolla include:

• Faster payment options
• Dedicated support
• Access to features that can help streamline your notification, reconciliation, and verification processes

6. ACH Payments

This is a good payment processor to use if you’re planning on making global transactions and you want to be able to handle everything in one place. It’s able to process payments from credit cards and mobile devices while also serving as a merchant gateway. 

The only real downside to using this system is that it doesn’t really suit small businesses that only expect to do small amounts of online business. 

If you have a big business that wants to do global transactions, however, then this system is very helpful.

7. 2CheckOut

This payment processor is both a merchant and a payment gateway. So, there is no need to sign up for additional services in order to get this up and running properly. 

This makes this processor very appealing for people who don’t have a lot of time to get their processor set up. If you’re looking for something simple and easy to deal with then this is the right choice for you.

2CheckOut also comes with the ability to accept international payments and it can also create a shopping cart feature. 

It doesn’t offer much in terms of control, but it is something nice and simple for someone who wants a payment processor set up quickly.

A few of the benefits of using 2CheckOut are:

• Moving to 2CheckOut is quick and easy
• Involves no coding making it easy to integrate into your website
• Accepts 15 languages and 87 currencies 
• It employs PCI Level 1 Compliance which is the highest level of protection against fraud and data breaches
• Easily integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento

8. Adyen

Adyen is a popular payment processor used by companies like Uber, Spotify, and eBay. It lets you accept every payment made to your company on one platform and it gives you all the tools to manage any risks and track results. 

This payment processor accepts over 250 payment methods and around 150 different currencies. It also gives you access to helpful insights which let you learn about customer behaviors. It gives you in-depth reports to help you understand what your customers are really looking for on your website. 

Adyen also has a built-in risk management tool that sorts through your data and identifies any fraud before fighting it off.

If you’d like any further information about payment processors, please feel free to get in touch with us directly today.

Check out our 91 point eCommerce conversion optimization checklist and learn how you can unlock the hidden revenue already in your eCommerce website by implementing the improvements professionals make on clients’ websites to increase sales.