Choosing a payment gateway is a decision that directly affects conversion and margins. Getting it wrong is expensive: wrong gateway → local methods unsupported → 30–60% of customers abandon at checkout. This guide provides a step-by-step methodology for four key regions.
Recommended platforms: stripe.com, paypal.com
Step 1: Identify Your Priority Countries
Start not with gateway selection but with your business geography. Build a table:
| Country | Revenue Share | Local Method #1 | Local Method #2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 30% | Sofort (60% market) | SEPA Direct Debit |
| US | 40% | Cards (90% market) | PayPal |
| Japan | 15% | Konbini (30% market) | PayPay |
| Brazil | 15% | PIX (40% market) | Boleto |
Rule: if a country represents >10% of revenue, local methods are mandatory. If <5% — cards and PayPal/Stripe are enough.
Step 2: Regional Selection
Europe (EEA + UK + Switzerland)
What you need to support:
- SEPA Direct Debit — covers 36 countries, critical for subscriptions. Fees 5–10× lower than cards
- Local bank transfers: iDEAL (Netherlands), Sofort/Giropay (Germany), Bancontact (Belgium), BLIK (Poland), Multibanco (Portugal)
- Cards: Visa/Mastercard with 3D Secure v2 (SCA compliance)
- BNPL (Klarna, AfterPay) — optional but adds +15–25% conversion for retail
Recommended gateways:
Stripe — the universal choice. Covers all EEA countries, supports 12+ local methods. Advantage: single integration, fast onboarding, Stripe Tax for VAT compliance. Drawback: blended 1.5% + €0.25 fee on cards — pricier at high volumes.
Mollie — best for businesses focused on Benelux and Germany. Flat €0.29 fee on local methods (iDEAL, Sofort, Bancontact, SEPA). At a €100 average order, that’s 0.29% instead of 1.5%. The difference is especially noticeable above €20K/month.
Adyen — for enterprise with €100K+/month volume. Interchange++ pricing: 0.5–0.9% instead of 1.5%, plus 250+ payment methods. Requires qualification.
Checkout.com — Adyen alternative for large businesses. UK company, strong in the UK and continental Europe.
Regional strategy: use Mollie for your European core (NL/BE/DE), Stripe for the rest of Europe and international customers. Two gateways means better coverage and lower fees.
North America (US, Canada, Mexico)
What you need to support:
- Cards: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover — cover 90%+ of online transactions
- PayPal — ~20% of US users prefer PayPal to cards
- ACH (US) / Interac (Canada) for B2B payments
- Apple Pay / Google Pay — +10–15% mobile conversion
- OXXO and SPEI for Mexico
Recommended gateways:
Stripe — the US standard. Full suite: Connect, Atlas, Issuing, Treasury, Terminal. Fee: 2.9% + $0.30.
Braintree (PayPal) — if a large share of users pays via PayPal. Cards + PayPal in one SDK.
Square — for omnichannel (online + offline POS).
Payoneer — for non-US residents who need a receiving account without incorporating in the US.
Don’t overcomplicate it. The US market is consolidated: Stripe + PayPal covers 98% of needs.
Asia-Pacific
What you need to support:
- Japan: Konbini (convenience store payments), PayPay, LINE Pay — cover 70% of transactions. Cards: 30%
- China: Alipay (55%), WeChat Pay (40%), UnionPay (5%). Foreign companies have difficulty connecting directly — usually go through aggregators
- Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam): GrabPay, GoPay, Dana, GCash — mobile wallets dominate. Cards: 10–20%
- India: UPI (50%+ of digital payments), cards, NetBanking
- Australia/New Zealand: cards + PayPal + AfterPay (BNPL)
- South Korea: cards (Samsung Pay ubiquitous) + KakaoPay + Naver Pay
Recommended gateways:
Stripe — covers Japan, Singapore, Australia, India, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines. Local methods included in API (Konbini, PayNow, GrabPay, UPI).
PingPong Payments — Chinese payment gateway for cross-border e-commerce. Specializes in payouts from Amazon, Shopify, and AliExpress to China and Asia. 1% fee — cheaper than Payoneer for Asian markets.
2Checkout (Verifone) — coverage in 200+ countries, including complex Asian markets. Drawback: 3.5% + $0.35 fee.
Payoneer — for receiving payouts from Asian marketplaces (Rakuten, Shopee, Lazada).
Strategy: Stripe for core Asian markets + Payoneer for marketplace payouts. Separate solution for China (Alipay/WeChat Pay via an aggregator like 2Checkout or a local provider).
Latin America
What you need to support:
- Brazil: PIX (40% market, instant transfers), Boleto (payment slips, 15%), cards (35%)
- Mexico: OXXO (cash at convenience stores, 30%), SPEI (interbank, 20%), cards (40%)
- Argentina: cards (50%) + Mercado Pago (30%)
- Colombia/Chile/Peru: cards + PSE (Colombia), Servipag (Chile)
Recommended gateways:
Stripe — covers Brazil and Mexico. PIX, Boleto, OXXO — out of the box. Drawback: high fees (4.99% in Brazil).
EBANX — Brazilian gateway for Latin America. Fees from 2.5%, supports 100+ methods across 15 LatAm countries. Integrates with Stripe as an additional payment method.
Mercado Pago — Mercado Libre’s payment system. Dominant in Argentina, strong in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia. If you sell on Mercado Libre — essential.
Payoneer — for receiving payouts from Latin American marketplaces.
Strategy: Stripe as primary gateway + EBANX for deep local coverage (especially Brazil).
Step 3: Legal and Tax Considerations
Merchant of Record (MoR) vs Payment Gateway.
If you want taxes (VAT, GST, sales tax) and compliance handled by the payment system — choose MoR: Paddle, LemonSqueezy, Gumroad, FastSpring. They legally become the seller to the end customer.
If you have legal entities in your sales countries and are ready to manage tax accounting yourself — payment gateway: Stripe, Mollie, Adyen, Braintree. MoR fees are typically 5% + $0.50 vs 1.5% + €0.25 for payment gateways. The break-even point is around $50K/year: beyond that, it’s cheaper to open a legal entity and switch to a gateway.
Data residency. India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia require payment data to be stored within the country. Verify that your gateway supports local data centers.
Step 4: Integration and Technical Requirements
Choose a gateway with native integration for your stack:
- WooCommerce: Mollie (official plugin), Stripe (official)
- Shopify: Shopify Payments (Stripe under the hood), Mollie (via Shopify Payments)
- Magento: Stripe (official), Adyen (official)
- Custom SaaS: Stripe (best API), Adyen (enterprise), Airwallex (FX + payments)
Check SDKs for your programming language. All major gateways support Python, JS/TS, PHP, Java, Go, Ruby.
Step 5: Partner Programs (Additional Revenue)
If you run a content project about SaaS/business, consider partner programs:
| Gateway | Rate | Type | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | $500/merchant + 0.05% | Referral | Open (PartnerStack) |
| Mollie | €50–100/merchant | Referral | Open |
| Payoneer | $25/user + $1,000 B2B | Referral | Open |
| Airwallex | 20% revenue | Revenue share | By application |
| Adyen | Individual | Revenue share | Closed |
Priority for affiliate marketing: Stripe > Payoneer > Mollie — based on payout size and program openness.
Final Selection Checklist
- Identified top 3 countries by revenue
- Checked local methods for each country
- Chose between MoR and payment gateway (break-even ~$50K/year)
- Verified integration with my CMS/platform
- Calculated fees on monthly volume
- Checked data residency requirements
- Evaluated partner program (if relevant)
- Connected at least 2 gateways for redundancy (optional)
A single payment gateway is a single point of failure. Redundancy: 80% of transactions through the primary gateway, 20% through the backup. If the primary fails — switch all traffic to the backup via DNS or a feature flag. Payment infrastructure must be redundant by definition.