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8 Best Payment Gateways of May 2025

A payment gateway allows your business to securely accept payments online. If you already use a POS system or have an e-commerce site, your best option is typically its in-house gateway.
Edited by

Ryan Lane

Last updated on May 8, 2025

Fact checked and reviewed
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Best Payment Gateways

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Helcim

5.0 

Best for Interchange-plus pricing

Monthly fee
$0.00
Learn more

on Helcim's website

Helcim

Best for Interchange-plus pricing

5.0 
Monthly fee
$0.00
Learn more

on Helcim's website

Square

5.0 

Best for Businesses selling in-person and online

Monthly fee
$0.00

Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.

Learn more

on Square's website

Square

Best for Businesses selling in-person and online

5.0 
Monthly fee
$0.00

Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.

Learn more

on Square's website

Stripe

5.0 

Best for Overall payment gateway

Monthly fee
$0.00
Learn more

on Stripe's website

Stripe

Best for Overall payment gateway

5.0 
Monthly fee
$0.00
Learn more

on Stripe's website

Finix

4.8

 

Best for Subscription pricing

Monthly fee
$79.00

and up.

Learn more

on Finix's website

Finix

Best for Subscription pricing

4.8

 
Monthly fee
$79.00

and up.

Learn more

on Finix's website

Shopify Payments

4.2 

Best for Website-building tools

Monthly fee
$39.00

Basic plan; $105 Shopify plan; $399 Advanced plan.

Learn more

on Shopify's website

Shopify Payments

Best for Website-building tools

4.2 
Monthly fee
$39.00

Basic plan; $105 Shopify plan; $399 Advanced plan.

Learn more

on Shopify's website

Clover

3.8

 

Best for Variety of POS hardware

Monthly fee
$0.00

and up.

Learn more

on Clover's website

Clover

Best for Variety of POS hardware

3.8

 
Monthly fee
$0.00

and up.

Learn more

on Clover's website

Authorize.net

Best for More complex payment needs

Payment processing fees
2.9% + $0.30

for All-in-One option.

Monthly fee
$25.00

Authorize.net

Best for More complex payment needs

Payment processing fees
2.9% + $0.30

for All-in-One option.

Monthly fee
$25.00

PayPal Braintree

4.0 

Best for Accepting PayPal and Venmo

Payment processing fees
2.89% + $0.29

credit & debit cards and digital wallets; 3.49% + 49¢ Venmo (U.S. only).

Monthly fee
$0.00

PayPal Braintree

Best for Accepting PayPal and Venmo

4.0 
Payment processing fees
2.89% + $0.29

credit & debit cards and digital wallets; 3.49% + 49¢ Venmo (U.S. only).

Monthly fee
$0.00

How do payment gateways work?

To kick off the payment process, a customer either taps, dips or swipes their card using the business’s POS hardware in person or manually enters their card information in an online checkout portal. The payment gateway captures that card data, encrypts it and electronically delivers it to the business’s payment processor. From there, information gets passed between the processor, the issuing and acquiring banks and the card network. Here’s a closer look at the process:
Hand holding a credit card.
AuthorizationAfter the card information travels through the payment gateway, the payment processor communicates a payment authorization request to the customer’s card network and, ultimately, the issuing bank to make sure the customer has enough funds to cover their purchase.
Paper documents wrapped with a ribbon that has a checkmark on it.
AuthenticationThe issuing bank makes sure the transaction isn’t fraudulent and that the cardholder is being truthful about their identity. Some authentication processes may also require the customer to input their zip code or card verification value (CVV). Once the issuing bank approves or denies the transaction, the payment processor passes the decision to the payment gateway, which notifies the customer and/or business.
A green bank that has a coin slot at the top where a hand is depositing a coin.
Settlement This last step involves the transfer of funds from the issuing bank to the acquiring bank and, finally, to the business’s account after the transaction is approved. Unlike the earlier steps, the transfer of funds doesn’t happen immediately. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for that money to be available for the business to use.

What’s the difference between a payment gateway and payment processor?

Processing transactions involves a handful of parties, including a payment gateway, payment processor, payment networks, the customer’s card-issuing bank and the business’s acquiring bank. Though they’re both involved in the process and often bundled under the same provider, payment gateways and payment processors play different roles.
After a customer taps their credit card to a reader or manually enters their card information online, the payment gateway encrypts and communicates that payment information to the payment processor. From there, the processor verifies that the transaction is legitimate and that there’s enough money in the customer’s bank account to make the purchase. After communicating the approval to the payment gateway, the payment processor then facilitates the transfer of funds from the customer’s issuing bank to the business’s acquiring bank.

Learn more about payment gateways vs. payment processors

Payment gateways kick off the card authentication process and processing companies take it from there.

Does your business need a payment gateway?

All businesses accepting card transactions need some sort of payment gateway, but they aren’t always advertised as stand-alone products. For businesses accepting in-person transactions, the credit card terminal or reader acts as the payment gateway. It’s what the customer interacts with to pass along their credit card information and complete their purchase.
For businesses accepting online transactions, payment gateways are often built right into e-commerce sites and shopping carts as part of a bundled payments service. If you built your website from scratch, however, you may need to integrate it with a stand-alone payment gateway that you can customize to match your brand.

How to choose the best payment gateway

The best payment gateway depends on the specific needs of your business. You’ll want to take into account the payment gateway’s total cost, which will include the monthly fee, transaction fees and any additional fees. Also important to consider are factors such as your business’ transaction volume, whether you require a full POS system and how much coding knowledge is needed to integrate and customize the gateway.
Last updated on May 8, 2025

Methodology

NerdWallet’s ratings of payment processing providers rewards companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including overall cost, hardware and software options, system capabilities, customer service, contract requirements and integrations. Learn more about how we rate payment processing providers.
These ratings are a guide, but fees, hardware, software and contract requirements can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
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