The top ten best international payment gateways

More small businesses than ever are selling to customers overseas. This means accepting international payments is now a routine task for businesses, and finding a reliable international payment gateway has never been more important.

But with so many options out there, it can be hard to know which global payment gateway to choose. Ultimately, you want to use an international payment solution that’s fast and easy to use, but still super secure and guaranteed to work every time.

That’s why we’ve put in the hard work for you. We’ve sought out the ten all-time best international payment gateways - based on costs, speed, security, reliability and ease of use. 

In no particular order, here are the ten best international payment gateways you can trust to either accept international payments or transfer money overseas: 

PayPal

PayPal is one of the world’s most recognised and trusted international payment gateways. Both its free version (Payflow Link) and paid version (Payflow Pro) let you receive payments to 200+ countries and regions, and support 25 different currencies, meaning it's a real winner when it comes to global reach.

Another advantage of PayPal is its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for businesses and individuals to send and receive money across borders. Strong buyer and seller protection policies are another big plus. 

However, bear in mind that despite its reliability, Paypal isn’t the cheapest international payment gateway on the market. Each transaction will cost you $0.10, and there’s also a currency conversion fee of 2.5% and a cross border fee of 1%, which can eat into your profits significantly when you’re making a lot of international payments.

Read more: Switch from PayPal to Crezco

Crezco

If you’re looking to avoid high exchange rates and currency conversion fees, Crezco’s the international payment gateway for you.

Crezco’s international account-to-account payment platform lets you enjoy competitive rates without worrying about any hidden fees. And not only is the open banking platform affordable, it’s also powerful. You can make and accept cardless, frictionless payments to and from 180 countries, with the platform currently supporting 37 currencies. 

Plus, Crezco’s platform is super easy to use, and one of the fastest international payments platforms on the market. Crezco uses award-winning proprietary risk tools also keep your international payments as secure as they can be. 

We know we’re biased, but we’d vote ourselves the best payment gateway for small businesses and large businesses alike - particularly when it comes to transferring money abroad.

WorldPay

Worldpay is an all-in-one payment processor that lets you process credit card payments directly from your app or website, and is widely used in the UK. The solution supports payments in over 120 different currencies in 50 regions, with its global presence making it a definite top ten choice for international transactions. 

Just note that WorldPay does charge 1.5% per transaction, and it's hard to gauge exact pricing as their tailored plans can vary hugely. WorldPay’s contracts are also quite long (typically lasting three years), making it less ideal for small businesses who are looking for a degree of flexibility. 

Opayo

Previously known as SagePay, Opayo is one of the UK’s most trusted payments providers, because it’s extremely secure, reliable and has a strong track record of success. In 2019, the international payment gateway processed £40bn+ in card payments for over 50,000 online and in-store merchants, and it’s known for its strong customer service too.

Opayo offers three main pricing plans - Flex, Plus and Corporate - making it an accessible solution for both small and large businesses. 

However, like WorldPay, Opayo’s pricing structure can be a little unclear, so we’d recommend doing your research before committing to any of Opayo’s plans.

Read more: How to send money overseas

Square

Square is an end-to-end international payment gateway offering a range of point-of-sale payment solutions for businesses. It will let you accept payments from most credit and debit cards, as well as Google Pay, Apple Pay and the platform’s own Square Pay payments. 

Bear in mind that Square doesn’t offer a standalone payment gateway. But it does have some great features, like advanced security, chargeback protection and real-time sales tracking, so it’s a good choice for businesses looking to take international payments from customers online and in store.

Braintree

Braintree is an all-in-one payment processing gateway that was acquired by PayPal ten years ago, making it a good fit for ecommerce businesses (and other B2C businesses) in European markets, where PayPal is well used and well loved.

It’s also got a pretty impressive global reach, as it’s available in 45+ countries and supports nearly 150 different currencies. 

Some of Braintree’s biggest pros include its strong reporting features, fraud prevention and recurring billing functionality. 

However, it’s worth noting that Braintree does have pretty high fees (2.59% plus $0.49 per transaction) and applies an extra charge of 1% for non-US cards and transactions. 

Read more: How to work out exchange rates?

Amazon Pay

Leveraging the trust associated with the Amazon brand itself, Amazon Pay is a convenient payment option for international customers, as it lets customers pay for products using their Amazon account. 

This is a huge advantage for ecommerce stores accepting international payments, as it boosts conversion rates and reduces cart abandonment.

Amazon Pay’s API also makes it super easy to integrate with your online store, and the solution supports most credit and debit cards. 

However, this is a slightly pricier option, as Amazon Pay charges a base 2.7% per transaction with an extra cross-border fee of up to 1.5%. It’s also not a winner when it comes to global reach, as it’s only available in 18 countries and supports just 12 currencies.

Adyen

Available in 45 different countries and supporting more than 30 currencies, Adyen's all-in-one platform is especially valuable for platforms and marketplaces looking to payout to users faster in their preferred currency. 

Its fraud prevention features, ability to handle multiple payment methods and easy-to-use interface make it a great international online payment gateway for many small businesses. 

Just be aware that Adyen’s pricing structure isn’t the most transparent, and you could end up facing high extra charges when using certain payment methods. 

Checkout.com

Checkout.com is a highly scalable international payment gateway, supporting transactions in over 200 countries, over 45 local payment methods and more than 100 currencies. That’s a pretty impressive global reach!

The platform is also easy to integrate, easy to use and fairly affordable. That said, while some countries won’t face a cross-border fee, Checkout.com applies a 2% fee for most, and 3% for countries with a higher risk of fraud. 

Stripe

Last but not least, Stripe's extensive global reach and high security make it one of the best international payment gateways out there for businesses of all sizes. 

Its robust set of APIs allows for easy integration and customisation, displaying a different checkout page depending on the customer’s location. Plus, its encryption, isolated infrastructure and fraud protection features make it one of the safest ways to accept international payments. 

However, Stripe doesn’t accept all local payment methods, meaning it’s not the right choice for every business. 

Read more: Switch from Stripe to Crezco

So, which is the best international payments gateway for you?

As your online business grows, having a trustworthy global payment gateway is really important. All of the different options we've talked about here are great tools for businesses that want to simplify and streamline their international transactions. 

These international payment gateways are built on the foundation of being fast, secure, and easy to use, making sure you and your customers’ money gets where it needs to be.

If you’re looking for a trustworthy, fast, straightforward way to make or receive international payments, find out more about how Crezco can help.