GatewayStripe Standard (UK cards)
1.5% + 20p
per transaction
£0
monthly fee
Setup: Self-serve
Payout: 2–7 working days
No monthly fees
Free, quick comparison
Payment gateway comparison
Compare UK payment gateways for your website or app, check transaction fees, fraud tools and integrations, then get set up in days with our free comparison.
Compare now No obligation · Takes minutes
Trusted choice
Rated 4.9 out of 5
Gateway
GatewayCheckout.com Interchange++
GatewayOpayo by Elavon Flex
GatewayWorldpay Online Payments
GatewayAdyen Interchange++
From 0.6% + 10p
per transaction
£0
monthly fee
Setup: Enterprise onboarding
Payout: Configurable
Deal tables sorted by headline rate (low to high)
Rates shown are indicative and depend on your turnover, average transaction value and business type. Final pricing is confirmed by the provider after your quote.
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is the software layer that captures your customer's card details at checkout, encrypts them and passes them securely to the acquirer for authorisation.
Some providers bundle the gateway with the merchant account so you only deal with one company and one bill. Others sell the gateway separately, which can be cheaper at high volumes but means two contracts to manage.
Why compare payment gateway providers?
Lower per-transaction fees
A 0.4% difference on £50,000 monthly online turnover is £2,400 a year straight back into the business.
Better conversion
Modern gateways support Apple Pay, Google Pay and one-click checkout, which measurably reduces basket abandonment.
Fraud tools included
3D Secure 2, tokenisation and rules-based screening should come as standard rather than a paid add-on.
What to look for in a payment gateway deal
Currencies and markets
Check which currencies settle natively and what the FX margin is on the rest.
Headline pricing
The percentage or flat fee taken from each payment. Compare on your real volumes, not the marketing rate.
Monthly and hidden fees
Check minimum monthly charges, PCI fees, gateway fees, refund charges and chargeback costs.
Settlement speed
How quickly funds reach your business account — next day makes a real difference to cashflow.
Security and compliance
PCI DSS scope, 3D Secure, tokenisation and fraud screening should be included, not bolted on.
Reporting and integrations
Links to your accounting software, EPOS or online store so takings reconcile automatically.
How does comparing payment gateway work?
Tell us your monthly online turnover, average order value and which platform your site runs on.
We match your profile to UK gateways and show the providers most likely to approve you at a competitive rate.
Choose a provider, complete a short application and pass standard KYC and anti-money-laundering checks.
Most businesses are live within 1–5 working days, and plugins mean little or no developer work for common platforms.
Do I need payment gateway?
If you take any payment through a website, app or hosted checkout, you need a gateway — it's what makes card data transmission legal and secure.
If you only take payment in person, a card machine already includes the equivalent function and a separate gateway isn't required.
Businesses invoicing by email often use a lightweight gateway with payment links rather than a full checkout build.
How do I choose the best payment gateway deal?
Compare the total cost of a full year at your real volumes: transaction percentage, fixed pence fee, monthly gateway charge, refund and chargeback costs. Then check the practical things — does it plug into your platform, does it support the currencies you sell in, and how fast is settlement.
How much could I save on payment gateway?
Online businesses switching from a bundled bank gateway to a specialist provider typically cut effective processing costs by 0.3% to 0.6%. On £250,000 of annual card turnover that's £750 to £1,500 a year, before any conversion uplift from better checkout options.
Payment guides
These guides might help.
How payment processing fees work
Interchange, scheme and acquirer fees explained — and which ones you can negotiate away…
Choosing a payment provider
What UK providers check, how long onboarding takes and when a specialist beats your bank…
PCI DSS made simple for small firms
The compliance basics every business handling payments has to meet…
FAQs
Our services are provided at no cost to you. We may receive a commission from the companies we refer you to, but this does not affect what you will pay for the product you choose.
Written by the Grow Your Business payments team · Updated 25 July 2026