The payment gateway is the part of your store shoppers trust with their card details — and the part that quietly skims a percentage off every sale. Choose well and checkout feels effortless while fees stay sensible. Choose badly and you'll either lose shoppers at the final step or hand over more than you need to. Here's how the main UK options stack up.
What a payment gateway actually does
A gateway securely captures card details, talks to the banks, and moves money into your account. It also shields you from most of the security and compliance burden of handling card data yourself. The differences between providers come down to fees, which payment methods they support, how the checkout feels, and how easily they fit your platform.
Stripe: the developer favourite
Stripe powers a huge share of modern UK stores. It offers a smooth, on-site checkout (shoppers never leave your shop), supports Apple Pay, Google Pay and many local methods, and integrates cleanly with almost every platform. Standard UK pricing sits around 1.5% plus 20p for UK cards, rising for international ones.
Stripe suits stores that want a slick branded checkout and flexibility. If you need a custom integration, an experienced web development team can wire Stripe into your store exactly how you want it.
PayPal: instant trust
PayPal's strength is recognition. Millions of UK shoppers already have an account and trust the brand, which can lift conversion — especially for newer stores that haven't yet earned trust of their own. Fees are broadly comparable to Stripe, around 2.9% plus a fixed fee for many transactions.
The trade-offs are a checkout that can redirect shoppers off your site and occasional account holds. Most stores offer PayPal alongside card payments rather than instead of them.
The other options worth knowing
- GoCardless — built for recurring direct debit payments, ideal for subscriptions and invoicing rather than one-off retail.
- Worldpay / Opayo — established UK processors, common with larger or more traditional merchants.
- Klarna / Clearpay — buy-now-pay-later options that can lift average order value, though they carry their own merchant fees.
- Apple Pay & Google Pay — not gateways themselves but fast wallet options you should enable through Stripe or your processor.
How to choose your mix
Start with your customers and your products. For everyday retail, a card processor like Stripe plus PayPal covers most shoppers comfortably. If you sell subscriptions, add a direct-debit option. If your basket values are high, buy-now-pay-later can lift conversion. Always check the small print on international card fees if you sell abroad — our guide to international ecommerce covers currency and VAT considerations.
Don't overlook the checkout experience
Fees matter, but so does friction. A gateway that keeps shoppers on your site, supports one-tap wallets, and loads instantly will often earn back any small fee difference through higher conversion. Test your checkout on a real phone — that's where most UK shoppers buy.
If you're not sure which gateways suit your store, or your current setup is costing you sales, browse vetted UK specialists in our ecommerce developers directory and ask for a payments and checkout review.