10 best payment methods for a website in 2021

For some businesses, PayPal isn’t delivering what they need from a payment processor. The payments app has large fees for chargebacks and doesn’t provide the level of seller protection many businesses are looking for.

Even worse, it doesn’t provide the most frictionless payment experience, which can be a distraction for consumers trying to make a purchase on your site.

Thankfully, there are plenty of PayPal alternatives on the market that businesses can use to send and receive payments efficiently and safely.

But which one is right for your business?

In this article, i’ll outline the top PayPal alternatives that you should take a look at and start using to accept payments from eager shoppers looking to place orders on your site.

Which Payment Processor Is Right for My Business?

In today’s society, consumers are seeking frictionless payment gateways with immediate results.

Payment processors have ushered in a new modern approach to the traditional online transactions to make purchases easier and more accessible.

Basic Features of Payment Processors

Before we get into the specifics of each individual gateway, it’s important to understand what are the basic features offered by most payment processors.

Most payment processors offer:

Online payment portals or links.
Direct deposit bank transfer.
Mobile payment compatibility.
Currency conversion.
Merchant account dashboards.

As you evaluate payment platform options, consider what is most important for your website. There are so many on the market, and a lot of them offer features that overlap.

By understanding what sets each of them apart, you will be able to evaluate and choose the payment provider that’s right for your business.

What Is PayPal’s Biggest Competitor?

Physical cash is the biggest PayPal competitor, according to the company. PayPal is trying to get consumers to perform more cashless, online transactions.

Other companies with large market share like Square, Shopify Payments, and Apple Pay could also be considered direct competitors.

Unlike cash, however, PayPal and other payment gateways make it easy to make transactions on popular ecommerce sites and online marketplaces like eBay.

10 best payment methods for a website in 2021

The heavy lifting and research have already been done for you. i’ve compiled a list of the best PayPal alternatives available with the key features and, most importantly, their fees. Browse through them all to the specific one you want to review:

1) FastSpring.
2) Amazon Pay.
2) Stripe.
4) Google Pay.
5) WePay.
6) Apple Pay.
7) 2Checkout.
8) Authorize.Net.
9) TransferWise.
10) Payline.

1) FastSpring is an ecommerce payment solution that touts its ability to increase conversions by focusing on localized payment processing.

FastSpring currently accepts over 20 unique currencies through popular payment methods in 15 different languages. The checkout language will automatically update based on the shopper’s location.

In addition, FastSpring is a PCI Level 1 Service Provider—the highest security rating available.

One of FastSpring’s most important features is its ability to process payments more efficiently. Unlike some payment processors, FastSpring will reroute transactions automatically to other participating banks and try the transaction again if the first one fails.

FastSpring offers both a fixed fee model with 8.9% flat fee per transaction or a variable model that adds a fee based on 5.9% of the total transaction + $0.95.

2) Amazon Pay streamlines payments by enabling Amazon account holders to seamlessly check out on your site. Payments that are processed through Amazon Pay are granted the “A to Z Guarantee”, ensuring optimal delivery and condition of your purchases.

Since Amazon Pay requires consumers to have an Amazon account, customers are verified before buying. This process, along with its fraud detection services, helps decrease the number of issues you’ll have at checkout.

Amazon Pay is known for its one-click ordering interface, making its ease-of-use a competitive advantage.

Amazon Pay charges 2.9% + $0.30 for each domestic US transaction.

3) Stripe is a comprehensive platform for every aspect of the payment process. Business owners can customize customer payment experiences, evaluate optimization opportunities, review fraud alerts, reconcile vendors, and execute reports.

Stripe offers numerous integrations, including ones with QuickBooks and NetSuite, to connect your payment method directly to your accounting ledger.

Stripe considers itself the “payments infrastructure for the internet.” Companies of all sizes use Stripe to manage transactions and make payments with ease.

Stripe offers a lot of flexibility for business owners. They can integrate Stripe into their storefront and accept global transactions by adding only one integration to their site. Some competitors require multiple integrations for each country you want to do business in. All processing takes place on a local level and card numbers and keys are encrypted and stored separately for security.

Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Make sure to read our Stripe vs PayPal in-depth comparison.

4) Google Pay is a contactless payment method that’s used by millions of stores around the world. The processor uses an encrypted number for customers in place of their credit card number. This increases security and opens up a handful of new ways to conduct transactions.

Consumers can send and receive money via email address or phone number. Businesses can use Google Pay as another way for customers to check out in their online store.

Plus, businesses can take advantage of Google Pay’s integration with the Passes app. This enables them to promote loyalty programs, offers, gift cards directly in the Passes app. They can also target consumers with location-based notifications.

Google Pay doesn’t charge any merchant fees but does charge standard credit card fees.

5) WePay processes payments for businesses and integrates with many of the software programs they are already using. Chase Bank acquired WePay in 2017.

WePay offers businesses same-day deposits and the ability to integrate payment information with other reports you are currently running.

WePay can be easily added to your site with just a few lines of code. In addition, businesses can use its physical terminals and mobile card readers for in-person payments.

WePay offers business safeguards including loss protection and contractor management features for your employee payroll.

WePay charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

6) Apple Pay enables businesses to collect cashless payments from customers who have an Apple device. In addition to purchasing items with Apple Pay, users can send and receive money, making this a near-ubiquitous way to execute your transactions.

Apple Pay is intuitive for users. They can pay online in merely one click or pay with their iPhone or Apple watch in your store. It’s compatible with Touch ID on a Mac, increasing the ease and efficiency of their purchase.

Businesses can run transactions exclusively through Apple Pay or they can use it in conjunction with other payment types. In addition, merchants can enable their rewards program to use and populate directly through Apple Pay.

Apple Pay is compatible with most card issuers and payment providers. There is no fee passed on to businesses.

7) 2Checkout is a “monetization platform” that makes it easier to send and accept payments from customers, suppliers, and vendors all around the world.

2Checkout offers subscription billing, shopping cart templates, custom checkout fields, and integrations with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce.

The processor also offers financial and tax support, including the ability to manage sales tax in the United States. It can even calculate and pay your taxes for you.

With its international processing capability, 2Checkout provides guidance to ensure you’re adhering to finance regulations and laws in various countries.

2Checkout charges 3.5% + $0.35 per transaction.

8) Authorize.Net processes payments online, on mobile, and in-stores to ensure every customer can purchase without friction. Visa acquired Authorize.Net in 2010.

Authorize.Net focuses on the ease of the transaction for the consumer. It offers a simple, customizable “Buy Now” button for one-time payments.

Authorize.Net accepts a variety of payment options, including debit cards, credit cards, and digital payments.

It provides fraud filters, allowing businesses to set certain rules (i.e. limiting the number of transactions, shipping vs. billing address inconsistencies, etc.) that will flag an order for review.

In addition, it offers customizable invoicing templates with automatic reminders that can be triggered after a certain amount of time or specific event.

Authorize.Net charges $25/month + 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction

9) TransferWise is a payment service that prides itself on offering the real exchange rate for currencies across country lines.

TransferWise’s core competitive advantage is its ability to calculate a real, current exchange rate. In most cases, this has been up to 19X cheaper than the one offered by PayPal.

TransferWise also offers a handful of features including the ability for merchants to pay/send invoices automatically and receive money with no fees attached.

The processor integrates with Xero accounting software for easy bookkeeping as well as a handful of other software.

TransferWise for Business charges a $31 set-up fee + $1.40 Transaction Fee + Currency Exchange Fee

10) Payline offers flexible payment solutions for in-person, online, and mobile payments.

Some of Payline’s most popular features include its custom invoicing, recurring billing features, ACH payments, and custom payment pages.

It integrates with a handful of point of sale (POS) systems, Shopping Carts, QuickBooks, and card readers. Payline doesn’t charge any cancelation fees, and its transaction fees are lower than PayPal.

Payline charges $10/month for its virtual terminal + 2.25% transaction fee