29/07/2021

Top online payment systems in the UK

The payments industry is regularly welcoming new market players with innovative solutions. Therefore, it is worth keeping up to date with the available offerings and ensuring that your partners are the most suitable ones for your business. If you would first like to gain a broader understanding of payment systems and how they work, have a look at our previous articles.

Whether you are an established company or just setting up your own business, having a fully operational and modern payment system is fundamental. Below is a list of some of the best options in the market for UK businesses, including their features and pricing.

Stripe

Stripe is now one of the most popular online payment systems worldwide, despite having been up and running for only 12 years. The company is headquartered in both San Francisco and Dublin, and has a strong presence in the European market. It is most known for its easy-to-use features, simple platform and transparent pricing.

Stripe fees

Stripe doesn’t charge set up fees or additional hidden fees. It only charges the usual fee per payment, composed of a percentage of the transaction and a small sum. Its current fees are:

  • European cards: 1.4% + 20p per transaction
  • Non-European cards: 2.9% + 20p per transaction
  • SEPA Direct Debit: 1% + 20p (£5 cap)
SEPA payment system in Europe

Worldpay

Worldpay, now called FIS Global, handles 40% of all card transactions in the UK and it is one of the most popular companies in this country. Besides offering payment processor services, it offers a payment gateway and merchant account for all businesses, which simplifies their operations. It currently supports more than 116 currencies and also offers a Pay By Link feature.

Worldpay fees

Worldpay offers four types of pricing plans:

  • Pay As You Go: £25 setup fee + 10p per transaction (gateway fee) + authorisation fees
  • Fixed Monthly: fixed £49.99 monthly fee includes all transactions up to a certain threshold
  • Gateway Standard: monthly gateway fee of £19 + 10p per transaction
  • Gateway Advanced: monthly gateway fee of £45 + 10p per transaction

It also offers a Pay By Link feature for £9.95 per month, and PCI annual management for £29.99 per annum.

Shopify

Shopify is extremely popular for ecommerce and it offers a complete ecommerce platform for businesses. Its services include shipping tools, customer engagement support and Shopify Payments, a built-in payment processor which any business with a Shopify account can access. It offers a 14-day free trial for businesses who would like to try out its services before committing. 

Shopify fees

Note that the three plans below are significantly different, so it is worth heading to Shopify to check which plan is best suited for your business.

Basic: $29 monthly fee and 2.2% +20p per transaction (online credit card rates)

Standard: $79 monthly fee and 1.9% +20p per transaction (online credit card rates)

Advanced: $299 monthly fee and 1.6% + 20p per transaction (online credit card rates)

 

Opayo

Formerly SagePay, Opayo is another trusted payment system in the UK whose list of clients include EasyJet and Europcar. It accepts all kinds of online, card and MoTo payments and offers payment infrastructure for businesses as well. Unlike most of the other payment systems available, Opayo doesn’t charge a percentage per transaction, only a flat monthly fee for its services.

Opayo fees

Opayo offers three pricing plans:

  • Flex: £20.90 a month, includes 350 transactions per month, fraud prevention tools, online support, eInvoice and phone payments
  • Plus: £45 a month, includes 500 token purchases per month, fraud prevention by American Express SafeKey, Fast-Pass support and a range of local European payment types
  • Corporate: bespoke pricing, includes more than 3.000 transactions per month, bespoke fraud screening tools, support services and an account manager

 

 

SEPA payment system in Europe

Adyen

Adyen is a Dutch payment provider and a big name in the European payments market, with clients such as eBay, Uber and Spotify. It works as a processor, gateway and risk manager for businesses in order to unify and streamline their payment processes. It supports a wide range of payment methods and currencies, and has all the standard features of a payment system, such as fraud prevention tools and PCI compliance.

Adyen fees

Adyen charges a processing fee and payment method fee per transaction. The payment method fee varies widely, so it is worth checking Adyen’s pricing list for more detailed information. The processing fees are as follows:

  • Middle East, Europe, Africa: €0.10
  • North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific: $0.12

 

How Imburse can help

Imburse can connect you to any of online payment systems mentioned above, and any other you can think of. Through the Imburse platform, you can connect to as many payment partners and deploy as many technologies as you would like, without the hassle of single integrations. Our mission is to enable companies to easily and quickly access the technologies and tools they need to deliver best-in-class payment experiences and continue to successfully grow their business.

Enjoy the freedom of expanding your operations to anywhere in the world whilst continuing to improve customer service, acquisition and retention. If you are interesting in knowing more about what Imburse can do for your business, drop us a message below. Our team is happy to answer any questions and offer you a free demo.

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