It has never been this easy to start an online business. Literally, anyone with an internet connection can become an entrepreneur in just a few months. There are so many paths to take, so many tools to try, and so many things to learn. But one thing tends to stay the same across all entrepreneurs. And that thing is payment processing.
In most cases, the entire digital economy is processed by a select few payment gateway platforms. King among them would be PayPal, Stripe, VISA, Escrow, Braintree, and countless others. A good payment gateway ensures that you can both collect money but also manage it. E.g. Issue refunds, reinvest your money and so forth.
Now, whether you’re an old-timer or entirely new to this whole digital selling thing — it doesn’t hurt to understand your options. Most of the bigger payment gateway platforms do provide support for WordPress. Sometimes, it’s an independent author who is creating the plugin. And, other times, it is the official brand behind the payment gateway doing so.
Either way, for this post we are focusing on the most reliable payment gateway plugins for WooCommerce and WordPress. Fair to say that WooCommerce is a clear winner in terms of diversity, but a few of these plugins are also ideal for independent sellers focusing on WordPress sales alone.
PayPal Plus (WooCommerce)
With PayPal PLUS, merchants can build a payment processing solution that doesn’t require buyers to have a PayPal account. In addition, merchants never need to direct buyers away from their websites to collect and process payment information.
So, essentially, PayPal Plus removes the need to use alternative payment processing websites. This plugin is a full-fledged solution to implementing PayPal Plus features inside your WooCommerce store.
Here are the most important benefits you’ll get:
- Express Checkout. Customers can check out from the same page with a single click. No need to go through multiple pages to process one payment.
- Additional Payment Methods. Customers can choose to pay with Direct Debit, Credit Card, PayPal Balance, or Pay Upon the Delivery of an Invoice.
- Simplified Payments. All of the said payment systems are integrated within one simplified payment process. As a result, customers don’t have to bang their heads against a wall to make a payment.
- Robust Fraud Protection. You’re guaranteed protection for unexpected chargebacks and/or reversals on purchases.
- Superb UX. PayPal developers have put in a lot of work to make PayPal Plus as seamless and dynamic as possible.
The actual plugin dashboard provides an enormous amount of settings. In the dashboard, you will be able to adjust things to make sure everything gets processed properly. All customers will get an option to choose between their preferred payment method.
Braintree (WooCommerce)
Braintree is a digital payment processor for credit cards. It is maintained by PayPal but runs as a separate entity altogether. Ultimately, you’ll want to use Braintree if you’re looking to accept different payment methods.
At the moment, Braintree provides support for PayPal, Credit Cards, Venmo, Google Pay, PayPal Credit, and Apple Pay. All of the said payment methods are unified in one system, which is Braintree. All payments are automatically protected with 3D Secure system. And, further, Braintree implements additional fraud detection tools to prevent mismanagement.
Also, unlike PayPal — you’ll be paying a flat 1% fee on all payments in USD. The only caveat is that Braintree isn’t as easy to implement as PayPal. In most cases, you’ll need an experienced developer to do all the hard work. That is, unless you’re using WooCommerce. This plugin takes cares of all the technical stuff and you only need to provide your API details.
With this plugin you also get custom pre-designed payment forms. All readily available for instant implementation. Overall, this is a great solution for startups and small businesses who are looking to accept more than one payment method.
MyCryptoCheckout
As you are probably aware already, cryptocurrencies are growing at an exponential rate. Apart from Bitcoin and Ethereum, you also have Libra which is Facebook’s attempt of trying to globalize crypto payments. This specific WordPress plugin supports more than 90+ different currencies.
It is one of the easiest ways to implement cryptocurrency payments inside your WordPress or WooCommerce site. There are no hidden fees and all payments go directly to your chosen wallet. By creating one unified address, you can actually collect payments from any cryptocurrency and have it delivered in your specific cryptocurrency wallet of choice.
The authors of this plugin let you do up to 3 sales on a free account. Sure, it’s not a lot. But if you want to upgrade, it will cost you around $59 per year. This will enable unlimited payment processing. And, also include premium support should you need it.
MyCryptoCheckout also gives you a donation widget that you can add to your WordPress site. This widget helps you collect crypto donations from any cryptocurrency within a single donation form. Great to add to your sidebar or at the end of your content pieces.
GoUrl Bitcoin Payments
GoUrl is an open-source WordPress plugin for adding thorough Bitcoin payment support to your site. There are no monthly fees, and transaction fees start from 0%. You don’t need to have a bank account to get started as all payments are processed digitally.
Any payments you do receive will go straight into your Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency wallet. Further, you can set prices in both USD and EUR or in other currencies, too. The plugin makes it simple to accept Bitcoin payments but also gives you the flexibility to accept other payment methods, too.
As a payment processing plugin, GoUrl’s solution adds some exciting features. Namely, the ability to set different types of payment structures. For example, customers can pay on a ‘per-product’ basis. But, also pay for individual downloads, pay per video views or pay per membership. You won’t need to stick to any one single method. As a result, you’ll get the freedom to charge in a way that’s convenient for you and your customers.
Square for WooCommerce
Square is yet another advanced and modern payment processing solution. Other than providing payment processing, Square also offers you to create an entire eCommerce store with them. But, seeing as how we’re focusing on WordPress — you’ll be able to use this plugin to use Square with your WooCommerce shop directly.
And, there are definitely limitations to live with. Such as imposed limits on the countries within which Square functions. USA, Japan, UK, Canada and Australia are on the list. But as for others, you’ll have to wait and see.
The rates are reasonable for current standards. Online payments come in at a flat 2.9% charge and a separate $0.30 processing fee. Could be better I guess, but could also be worse!
Keep in mind that to use this plugin, you’ll need to have a Square account. You’ll also need to be using WooCommerce 2.6 or higher for this plugin to work. Further, all sites are required to have a valid SSL certification.
Stripe Payments
When it comes to credit card payments — Stripe is a name that’s hard to ignore. This seemingly small company grew exponentially in the last 3 years and is now known for more than just credit card payments. They’re also specializing in providing global business access to international people. And, their content is some of the best in the industry on topics such as finance, startups, small business, etc.
But, for this post, we’re focusing strictly on their payments system. And, more specifically, the Stripe Payments plugin created by Tips and Tricks HQ. The plugin automatically integrates Stripe with your WordPress site. And you can start adding new products instantly. After a product is added, a button can be generated that you can place anywhere on the site. Customers will then have the option to purchase using their credit card directly.
As far as features go, here’s some good ones:
- Easy to configure and install. Takes a few minutes at most.
- Sell services, physical products, or digital goods. All you need to do is configure your merchant account within Stripe’s dashboard.
- Customers can get instant access to your products after a successful purchase. Same page download and all!
- Full-on customization capabilities for the Stripe buttons and forms.
- Configure emails to be sent to customers after a successful purchase.
- …and a lot more!
If you want to manage everything from a credit card perspective, then Stripe is the service to go with. They’re reliable, highly successful, and recognized amongst consumers, too.
Stripe (WooCommerce)
So, this is an official Stripe plugin created by WooCommerce developers themselves. Expect to get all the juicy features and functionality that Stripe has to offer. Also, do take note that Stripe is not available in every single country. You can do trading in most big countries across the globe, with more countries being added frequently.
This plugin in particular also supports Apple Pay and Web Payments. This means that your customers will be able to process payments using their mobile smartphones. Only supports simple and variable products for now. More support to come.
Other than that, it’s everything you’d expect from a Stripe payments plugin. At the time of writing, this one has over 500,000 downloads. So, the popularity factor is definitely there.
Skrill (WooCommerce)
You might know this platform best by its old name: Moneybookers. Since the last 5 years though, the platform is best known as Skrill. And it is still making a strong impact in the payment processing industry. To this day, Skrill is home to more than 170,000 businesses with support for more than 200 countries and 40 unique currencies.
The plugin adds support for direct credit card payments. But, consumers can also choose from their local payment gateways based on their availability. Skrill is known to support hundreds of local payment solutions worldwide. Customers can enjoy paying without having to create an account. Further, all payments are processed in real-time. It’s even possible to pay directly from a bank account.
Above all, Skrill has both international recognition and a steady record of being robust within the industry.
Paystack (WooCommerce)
Although Africa is still in a serious development phase, it hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs from making their mark on the industry. And Paystack is the most popular payment gateway for African businesses. As a business owner from Africa, you can use Paystack to receive payments from any part of the world, instantly.
Customers can pay in numerous different ways. Credit cards, bank account, Visa QR, GTB 737, Mobile Money, and more options coming soon! This plugin, in particular, is targeted towards merchants from Ghana and Nigeria. Make sure you understand this before getting exposed to any surprises!
Apart from all that it is a fairly easy to implement plugin. The dashboard connects nicely with your Paystack account, letting you quickly configure the optimal settings for your needs.
Barion Payment Gateway
Barion is a relatively new payment gateway, but one that’s striving for a bright future. The premise of this specific payment solution is that you get fixed %1 or less fees on all transactions. And, besides processing payments from your customers, you can do many other things.
Those things include:
- Effortless one-click payments on all purchases.
- Subscription-based payments on your services.
- Charitable donations with custom payment forms.
- Escrow-based deposits and money collection.
- Create links to custom payment pages.
Integrating Barion Smart Gateway can take as little as 5 minutes thanks to the various available integrations, plug-ins, and libraries for most of the major eCommerce platforms. This also applies to WooCommerce for which this specific plugin was made.
Simply create your Barion account, connect with this plugin and you’re good to go.
Payment Forms for Paystack
We did look at one Paystack plugin already. As for this one, it is both made by the official Paystack team, and it also gives you better flexibility with the type of forms that you can use. Overall, this plugin should require a lot less maintenance while giving you the full spectrum of all the features.
Best of all, you can implement these forms in any WordPress page or post. Just create the form and use the provided shortcode to get the job done quickly.
Authorize.net for WooCommerce
Authorize.net has been around for ages. And is best known for its secure and reliable credit card processing system. With Authorize, you can accept payments from all major credit card provides across the globe. Since security is a built-in feature, you don’t have to worry about that either.
It is pretty simple to get going and you need to configure only a minimal amount of settings. To activate it for use in WooCommerce, go to the Payment Gateways panel and select ‘Enable’ for Authorize.
Mollie Payments for WooCommerce
Mollie is a modern payment processing platform which focuses on next-gen thinking. Further, Mollie emphasizes payment speed and security above all else. Consumers should be able to pay for their purchases in as little time as possible. And Mollie makes this possible through its unique platform.
Quickly integrate all major payment methods: simply drop them into your hosted webshop with one of our free plugins and enjoy a swift payment experience. Want to add a new payment method down the line? You can simply activate them in your Dashboard with one click.
Mollie supports Credit Cards, Apple Pay, Klarna, PayPal, iDEAL, Postepay, Gift Cards, and a lot of other payment methods. In fact, you’ll find that Mollie supports a lot of indie payment methods from the European region.
So, what other features can you expect?
- Compatible with the WooCommerce Subscriptions module. Collect recurring payments with many different payment methods.
- Transparent fees and pricing modules. You get what you see. No agenda, and no hidden prices. Take it or leave it.
- Issue refunds either partially or in full depending on the situation.
- Well-trained support department. Get the support you need from truly experienced experts.
- Support for Multisite installations.
- Can be translated into other languages using the WPML plugin.
As a you can probably tell, Mollie is super advanced! This plugin alone has 50,000 users with many more spread out throughout other plugins.
Conclusion
Processing payments with WordPress or WooCommerce doesn’t have to be hard. The right plugin will make it both effortless but also highly profitable. We’re living in a time where more and more payment options are becoming available. And each is trying to solve unique problems in their given field.
PayPal, for example, is known to charge abnormal fees. And although they get points for flexibility, you’re still losing money at the end of the day. So, it’s not a surprise that business owners are looking at platforms like Stripe, Mollie, and many others as alternatives.
Hopefully, this roundup on the best payment gateway plugins has shed some light on the matter. We’d love to hear about unique payment gateway solutions from you personally. Are you using something that’s not on this list? If you are, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and we’ll take a closer look.