Which Payment Gateways are best for Woocommerce?

When considering the development of an e-commerce website – whether it’s a redesign or starting from scratch – it’s really important to carefully consider the payment gateway you wish to use.

As you know, it’s paramount that the checkout process on your e-commerce site is easy for the user – the last thing you want is to have your customer add products to their basket for them to then give up due to a difficult or cumbersome checkout process.

So, how do you ensure that your checkout process is easy and enables conversions?

Firstly the design should be such that the customer is solely focused in on completing their order. This can be done by removing the main header navigation so they don’t get distracted and start visiting other pages on your site. You can also make the checkout a one-step process, because the fewer steps your checkout process has, the less friction, meaning the customer is more likely to complete their order.

Along with all of the above, the payment gateway you choose can also affect your order volume.

 

So which e-commerce payment gateways are best for Woocommerce?

Our developers have put their heads together and curated a short list to help you with your decision;

 

1. Stripe

Stripe is “The BEST payment gateway out there” according to our developers. They can’t recommend it enough.

Not only is this payment gateway a free plugin for Woocommerce, Stripe is also considered one of the most developer friendly payment gateways around, offering an easy integration method with a simple sign up and set up process.

The plugin is also frequently updated, which means the folks at Stripe are always adding support for the newest technologies and worldwide payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, as well as the Payments Request API.

Accepting payments with Apple Pay and Google Pay is huge nowadays, as both services make it super-simple for users to checkout in record quick time. This means more orders for your e-commerce store!

Another benefit is that Stripe also has a really friendly user interface when it comes to you managing your account and also for your customers when they are making a payment.

It also allows your customers to pay with most major debit/credit cards with only a very small transaction fee.

In most instances, Stripe is always a payment gateway we recommend.

Pros

Cons

Accept payments from anywhere Globally – as it works for more than 100 currencies Works with all major credit cards Utilises a user-friendly interface Enables Apple Pay and Google Payment Request API – so your user can simply click one button to pay for their product The plugin is free It’s developer friendly as the setup, signup and integration is very simple. If a user returns to a shop which they’ve shopped at before, this payment gateway saves all of their card details.

You must have basic coding and WordPress knowledge in order to install the plugin There’s a small transaction fee to consider

 

2. PayPal

This is probably the most popular payment gateway out there. Not only is it very easy to sign up, but most people who shop online already have their own PayPal account. The fact the vast majority of your customers are going to trust paying through PayPal means this payment gateway has a big draw.

The PayPal plugin for Woocommerce is also accommodating as your customer has the option to either use their PayPal balance, or pay using their card, so there is added flexibility there.

This plugin is free, but there are slightly higher payment transaction fees than that of Stripe.

Pros

Cons

Credibility and trust generated by using this popular payment gateway The plugin is free Offers flexibility to pay on either your Paypal account or card Probably the easiest payment to use as the setup is quick and simple Accept payments from anywhere Globally – as it works for more than 100 currencies Works with all major credit cards They have a card reader, so you can make payments in person – all you need is an internet connection

There’s a higher transaction fee than Stripe’s You must have basic coding and WordPress knowledge in order to install the plugin

 

3. GoCardless

GoCardless the cheapest transaction fee of the three payment gateways we’d recommend, being a mere 1%, with a max payment fee of £2.

As the name suggests, it allows online businesses to accept payments via bank transfer and direct debit, so this wouldn’t be suitable for an e-commerce business just selling product, it’s geared up for subscription-based businesses.

The GoCardless payment gateway plugin for Woocommerce also enables you to set up subscriptions – whether it’s weekly, monthly, semi-annually, or annually. The only downside of this payment gateway is that although the payment fee is low, the plugin itself costs $79.

As this plugin only uses direct debit as a payment gateway, it wouldn’t be suitable for e-commerce websites, but mainly for subscriptions to a service.

Pros

Cons

Credibility and trust generated by using this popular payment gateway The plugin is free Offers flexibility to pay on either your Paypal account or card Probably the easiest payment to use as the setup is quick and simple Accept payments from anywhere Globally – as it works for more than 100 currencies Works with all major credit cards They have a card reader, so you can make payments in person – all you need is an internet connection

As it’s a direct debit payment gateway, it wouldn’t be used for buying e-commerce products, but mainly for subscriptions to a service Slow activation of your account – it can take around 3 days to verify who you are You must have basic coding and WordPress knowledge in order to install the plugin There’s a small transaction free – but significantly lower than that of PayPal

 

Transaction Fees Outlined:

Here’s a quick look in detail at how the transaction fees for each stack up against each other:

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Stripe:

Transaction Fees	Stripe
Transaction Fee for European Credit and Debit Cards	1.4% + 20p
Transaction Fee for Non-European Credit and Debit Cards	2.9% + 20p
Transaction Fee for SEPA Direct Debit	1% + 20p (£5 cap)

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Paypal:

Transaction Fees	Paypal
Transaction Fee if your monthly sales are up to £1500	3.4% + 20p
Transaction Fee if your monthly sales are between £1500.01 – £6000	2.9% + 20p
Transaction Fee if your monthly sales are between £6000.01 – £15000	2.4% + 20p
Transaction Fee if your monthly sales are between £15000.01 – £55000	1.9% + 20p
Transaction Fee if your monthly sales are above £55000	Varies – must call 0800 358 7929 for pricing

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GoCardless:

Transaction Fees	GoCardless
Transaction Fee for Direct Debit	1% per transaction, capped at £2, minimum 20p

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Other payment gateways for Woocommerce

The payment gateways mentioned above are the ones we love working with and would recommend. Having said that though, Woocommerce does integrate with many of the much larger gateways out there. Here’s a quick look at some of the other large payment gateways we’ve also worked with:

World Pay

One of the most popular payment gateways, WorldPay is often used when the business takes payments within their physical store as well as online.

BarclayCard

Take payments and also subscriptions with the BarclayCard gateway for Woocommerce. This is a third party integration so it’s not well documented, but it works.

SagePay

As with WorldPay, SagePay handles the payment process for you, meaning it’s got you covered security wise. Again popular for businesses who accept card payments within their shop as well as online.

 

To Conclude:

As we mentioned, it’s really important to choose the right payment gateway for your customers, as getting this choice wrong can greatly affect your conversion rate.

You need to have a mixture of a low transaction fee, plenty of familiar options and a name your customers recognise and trust.

For this reason, we usually recommend PayPal and Stripe, due to PayPal being a globally recognised service and Stripe allowing customers to checkout in lightning quick time using third-party services like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

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