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Find a Payment Provider
Why This Matters
If customers can't pay, you don't have a business. Your payment provider needs to be reliable, secure, and support the payment methods your customers prefer.
In most markets, Stripe + PayPal covers 90% of online payments. But if you're selling internationally, check which providers support your target countries and currencies.
Transaction fees eat into your margins, so understand the pricing: typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Some providers offer lower rates for higher volumes.
What You'll Do
Set up at least one payment provider and integrate it with your store. Test a purchase to make sure everything works.
How To Do It
Comparing Payment Providers: Fees, Payout Speed, and Global Availability
This takes about 30 minutes. The wrong payment provider costs you money on every single transaction, so get this right.
1. Understand the fee structure (10 min)
- Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Payouts in 2 business days. Available in 47 countries. Best API and dashboard. The default choice for most stores.
- PayPal: 2.9% + $0.30 (varies by country). Instant access to funds in PayPal balance. Available in 200+ countries. Many customers prefer PayPal because they don't need to enter card details.
- Square: 2.6% + $0.10 online. Payouts next business day (or instant for a fee). Best if you also sell in person — unified online + POS system.
- Shopify Payments (if on Shopify): 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic plan, lower on higher tiers. No additional transaction fee (other providers add 0.5-2% on top of their fees on Shopify).
Every provider charges per transaction. Here is the real comparison:
The hidden cost: if you are on Shopify and use a non-Shopify-Payments provider, Shopify charges an extra 0.5-2% per transaction. This makes Shopify Payments almost mandatory on Shopify.
2. Check your country and currency (5 min)
Not all providers are available everywhere. Stripe is unavailable in many developing countries. PayPal has restrictions in some regions. Check the provider's website for your country before getting attached. If you sell internationally, you need a provider that supports multi-currency — Stripe and PayPal both handle this well.
3. Set up your primary + secondary provider (10 min)
Always offer at least two payment methods. The standard combination is Stripe (for cards) + PayPal (for customers who prefer it). Enable Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe — they are free to add and reduce checkout friction on mobile.
4. Test a real transaction (5 min)
Before going live, place a real order on your store using your own card. Verify that the charge appears in your payment dashboard, the order confirmation email sends, and the funds arrive in your account on schedule. Then refund yourself to test the refund flow too.
By the end of this step, you should have:
- Primary payment provider set up and integrated with your store
- A secondary payment method enabled (e.g., PayPal alongside Stripe)
- A successful test transaction completed and refunded to verify the full flow
Recommended Tools
Stripe
The developer-favorite payment processor. Clean API, great dashboard, supports 135+ currencies. Best overall choice.
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Try StripePayPal
The payment method everyone knows. Many customers prefer PayPal because they don't have to enter card details.
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Try PayPalSquare
Great if you also sell in person. Unified online + POS payments in one system.
2.6% + $0.10 per transaction
Try SquarePro Tips
- 1Always offer at least two payment options. Some customers only use PayPal; others prefer Apple Pay or cards.
- 2Enable Stripe's fraud protection — it's built in and will save you from chargebacks.
- 3Test your entire checkout flow yourself, on both desktop and mobile, before going live.