In 2026, a payment gateway is far more than a "tech backend solution". It is the invisible infrastructure that determines an online business’s ability to scale. However, as the digital economy matures, the "one-size-fits-all" approach is fading. Today’s market is defined by a tension between two distinct strategies: Global Reach and Local Precision.

At a surface level, global PSPs like Stripe and Adyen look like the obvious choice: one integration, global coverage, and predictable APIs. But conversion data tells a more nuanced story.

In markets with strong local payment preferences, introducing a locally dominant method (such as Vipps or Quickpay in the Nordics, Montonio in the Baltics, or Foloosi in the UAE) can increase checkout conversion rates by double-digit percentages. The reason is simple: customers trust and default to familiar payment flows.

On the other hand, relying exclusively on local providers creates fragmentation, multiple contracts and settlement flows, inconsistent reporting and reconciliation, and increased engineering overhead.

The challenge for merchants lies in the math. Because fees and availability are often dependent on country, product type, and contract volume, transparency is elusive.

So, for most businesses, the real challenge is not choosing between the two, but deciding where each approach makes economic sense.

Let’s explain the terminology first. The distinction between a payment processor and a payment gateway is that the former is the service provider that facilitates the transaction, whereas the latter is the communication channel responsible for safely delivering payment data to the card networks and to the payment processor. A payment gateway, in the classic sense, is the component that securely transfers payment details/authorization data between your checkout and the payment processor/acquirer.

When we say "Stripe," for example, we think of it as a payment processor that collects and securely manages transaction data through the payment gateway it provides. Here, however, we’ll talk about gateways, i.e., what’s under the hood, making Stripe’s offer so good.

Now that we’ve explained the terminology, let’s dig a bit deeper.

Let’s cover this briefly as well.

1. Once the customer adds the items they would like to purchase, they proceed to the payment stage and provide all payment information.
2. The payment information (e.g., card details) is then encrypted and sent to the payment gateway.
3. The gateway transfers the card details to the issuing institution, which will then authorize the payment.
4. Once the issuing authority completes the required checks, it sends a message to the payment gateway indicating whether the payment was approved.
5. The payment gateway then relays the same information to the merchant, based on which the user will either see a payment confirmation page if the payment was successful or an error page if it was not.

A lot of back and forth, right? Typically, this entire process takes only a few seconds.

Choosing the right payment gateway is a crucial decision for any business operating online, as it directly impacts customer experience, operational efficiency, and financial security. When making this selection, a thorough evaluation of several key factors is essential.

🔑Security / Encryption

Encryption is vital as the information passed on to these gateways is extremely sensitive. To minimize risk and prevent fraud, you must ensure your chosen payment gateway complies with all encryption standards.

📍Location

If you have an online store in multiple countries, location is essential. Not all payment gateways provide services in every country. One such example would be Razorpay, which is only accessible to customers in India.

💰Fees / Cost

When choosing a gateway, one of the first questions is, “How much does it cost?” All gateways have their costs and fees. Some charge fixed rates, while others charge based on the value of transactions. Moreover, additional currency conversion charges and other services would be added to the total.

💳Supported Payment Methods

Finally, which payment methods are supported? Cards are table stakes, but local bank methods (e.g., iDEAL, Bancontact), wallets, and BNPL can materially impact conversion in the right markets. That’s why the best gateway is often the one that makes it easiest to offer the right mix with the least operational complexity.

As with all our best posts, we prefer to discuss some of the most popular solutions rather than rank them as best by a set of criteria and leave the decision to you.

Stripe is an API-first payments platform that, in practice, functions as a full PSP for many merchants (online payments, billing, and adjacent financial tooling). It is typically chosen for developer experience, consistent APIs, and broad ecosystem depth.

Primary regions and best use cases: Stripe supports merchant onboarding in many countries (with country-by-country availability lists) and is often a strong default for international ecommerce, subscriptions, marketplaces, and software platforms that need extensible payments and primitives.

Security and encryption: Stripe documents a security posture that includes PCI Service Provider Level 1 certification, enforced HTTPS with modern TLS (at least TLS 1.2), HSTS, encrypted transmission, and encryption at rest for card numbers with AES-256, with PANs handled in a separate card data environment and tokenized internally.

Fees: Stripe publishes country-specific pricing; a widely referenced baseline for card payments in the US is a blended rate per successful transaction (for example, 2.9% + $0.30 for online card payments), with additional fees for certain methods and international cards depending on configuration and region.

Supported payment methods: Stripe supports cards by default and a wide range of card brands—including global networks and regional card brands (examples in the Stripe documentation include Visa/Mastercard/AmEx, plus local brands such as Cartes Bancaires and Interac, depending on the account's country). It also supports wallet-style payments funded by cards (wallet handling is described in its card documentation). BNPL and local methods vary by market and Stripe account country and should be treated as configuration- and region-dependent.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Stripe integration docs here.

Adyen is an enterprise-grade PSP known for supporting large, multi-country commerce operations with a single integration and a pricing model that leans toward transparency for high-volume merchants.

Primary regions and best use cases: Adyen markets itself for global, multi-method payments across online and in-person channels, typically serving mid-market to enterprise merchants who want a single provider across multiple geographies and payment methods. 

Security and encryption: Adyen maintains detailed compliance documentation for PCI DSS requirements and explicitly references PCI DSS v4.0.1 adoption guidance, reinforcing a compliance-led security posture appropriate for enterprise payments.

Fees: Adyen’s published pricing page describes a model that includes a fixed processing fee per transaction (shown as $0.13 on the referenced page view) plus a “cost of payment method,” with card pricing often expressed as Interchange++ (interchange passed through) plus an additional percentage. The same page lists many method- and country-specific examples and explicitly notes interchange fees are variable and passed through under Interchange++ pricing.

Supported payment methods: Adyen’s pricing catalog enumerates a large set of payment methods with country-specific pricing entries (cards, local bank methods, wallets, and BNPL-type methods appear in the same price matrix, depending on region). Treat exact method availability as “by contract + by market,” because the price catalog is explicitly segmented by method and country.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Adyen integration docs here.

Vipps (via Vipps MobilePay) is a Nordic-centric payment product family strongly associated with local consumer payment behavior, making it a frequent conversion lever in Nordic checkouts. 

Primary regions and best use cases: The published pricing is presented as “Vipps for business,” and the product set is clearly designed around Nordic usage patterns (in-person and online flows) where a local wallet method can outperform generic card-only checkouts.

Security and encryption: Vipps MobilePay’s developer communications include infrastructure modernization notes that explicitly state the need to enforce modern TLS (TLS 1.2 or later) for security.

Fees: Vipps MobilePay publishes “standard business tier” pricing with per-transaction rates by product: for example, in-person “Vipps number / mobile point-of-sale” is shown as 1.75% per transaction; online payment links are 2.49% + 1 NOK; API-based payment integration/recurring payments are listed at 2.99% + 1 NOK. It also notes that enterprise/growth tiers may be available upon request.

Supported payment methods: Vipps is primarily a local wallet and payment app, not a multi-rail “everything” processor. In practice, merchants typically pair it with card processing (either via another PSP or via a checkout aggregator) when building a full-methods checkout in the Nordic region; the Vipps pricing page is explicit about “Vipps for business” products rather than positioning itself as a standalone global card acquirer.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Vipps integration docs here.

Klarna is a major BNPL and payments brand whose commercial value is often driven by conversion uplift from “pay later”-style options, with product availability and pricing varying significantly by country, merchant segment, and integration model.

Primary regions and best use cases: Klarna positions itself around easier online shopping experiences and is commonly deployed where BNPL, invoices, and installment-style options are meaningful purchase drivers (higher AOV categories, fashion, electronics, and also B2B-like invoicing patterns in some setups). Market availability is not a single universal list in the sources used here; treat it as region- and product-dependent.

Security and encryption: Klarna’s documentation for payment solutions guidelines states that Klarna is PCI DSS validated and outlines responsibility boundaries for cardholder data when merchants use Klarna shopping solutions in a compliant manner.

Fees: Unspecified in a publicly stable, globally applicable form in the accessible Klarna sources used here. In practice, Klarna merchant pricing is typically contract-based and varies by country and product (Pay Now, Pay Later, or installments). Where you consume Klarna via another PSP/checkout suite, you may see the PSP’s Klarna method pricing instead of Klarna’s direct commercial terms (which can make comparisons misleading). 

Supported payment methods: Klarna is primarily a BNPL/invoice/financing rail rather than a general-purpose card processor; card acceptance is typically a separate rail in your checkout stack. Klarna’s own guidelines and platform documentation focus on operating its shopping/payment solutions in a PCI-compliant way rather than enumerating a single “all methods” catalog like a gateway.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Klarna integration docs here.

PayPal is both a consumer wallet and a merchant payments platform; it is often selected for its brand trust, global consumer adoption, and fast deployment of PayPal wallet checkout (plus cards and local methods through “Expanded Checkout” style integrations).

Primary regions and best use cases: PayPal is widely used for cross-border ecommerce, marketplaces, and merchants that benefit from wallet-based conversion (returning PayPal users) and from offering multiple payment methods through one integration.

Security and encryption: PayPal’s developer security guidelines require TLS 1.2 or higher for communications with PayPal and frame TLS as necessary for strong encryption and PCI DSS compliance. PayPal also describes a set of security technologies (including fraud monitoring and data encryption) in its consumer security materials.

Fees: PayPal publishes merchant fee tables and pricing pages. In the cited US fee table, PayPal Checkout is shown at 3.49% + fixed fee, while “Standard Credit and Debit Card Payments” is shown at 2.99% + fixed fee (and other products differ). PayPal’s pricing page also presents “Expanded Checkout” card pricing starting points and Pay Later pricing examples.

Supported payment methods: PayPal’s developer documentation for checkout payment methods lists PayPal wallet, Pay Later, Venmo (US), cards (including major card brands), Apple Pay (US), Google Pay (US), and multiple bank redirect methods, including Bancontact, BLIK, EPS, and iDEAL, with country availability notes.

Braintree (now branded under PayPal’s enterprise payments positioning) is a developer-oriented payments stack that has historically been favored by product teams seeking flexible integrations, vaulting, and adjacency to the PayPal ecosystem.

Primary regions and best use cases: Braintree Direct is described as an end-to-end solution (merchant account provider + gateway) for web and mobile selling, with availability depending on merchant domicile in supported countries. It also supports multi-currency presentment (supporting 130+ local currencies in 44 countries, depending on account setup).

Security and encryption: Braintree is positioned as PCI-compliant in PayPal’s enterprise payments messaging and supports vaulting/tokenization-style patterns through “Braintree Vault” concepts in its developer docs (exact controls depend on integration path).

Fees: PayPal-published fee materials for Braintree list a card and third-party digital wallet transaction rate (example shown: 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction), plus additional fees for certain scenarios (e.g., chargebacks, cross-border, currency).

Supported payment methods: Braintree’s developer documentation supports major digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, and the broader Braintree documentation enumerates supported payment methods, including wallets and alternative methods depending on the product (online vs. in-person).

Square (SquareUp) is deeply associated with SMB-friendly payments and omnichannel tooling (POS + online), typically chosen when you want a combined commerce stack rather than “just” a gateway.

Primary regions and best use cases: Square’s own support materials clearly scope where its card processing is available (the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, and Spain are explicitly enumerated in one accepted-cards support article). It is often best for merchants who want a unified in-person + online solution with predictable blended pricing.

Security and encryption: Square provides platform guidance on payment security concepts such as tokenization and PCI compliance education; for practical merchant risk, the key is that Square positions itself to handle sensitive payment data in ways that reduce merchant exposure, depending on the integration.

Fees: Square publishes clear, plan-based blended rates. On the referenced US pricing page view, online payments are shown at 2.9% + $0.30 for “Online API,” while “Online” can differ by plan (e.g., 3.3% + $0.30 on the free tier in the cited pricing table). Square’s support materials also list Afterpay pricing (example shown: 6% + $0.30).

Supported payment methods: Square’s developer documentation lists wallet support by country (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and region-specific options), and it indicates Afterpay/Clearpay availability by country (e.g., supported in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US in the cited table).

Two is a B2B payments platform focused on net terms/trade-account-like experiences—the “invoice and pay later” concept adapted to modern B2B checkout, with embedded underwriting and fraud/identity workflows.

Primary regions and best use cases: Two explicitly list current solution availability for merchants in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the US, and the Netherlands in its support documentation. It’s best for B2B ecommerce, distributor portals, and workflows where purchase approval + invoice terms are buying requirements, not edge cases.

Security and encryption: Two documents API authentication via an API key (X-Api-Key) and clearly separates sandbox and production HTTPS endpoints. It also describes merchant compliance checks (AML/KYC checks) in the product documentation. These are not “PCI details” per se, but are directly relevant to a B2B credit/fraud model.

Fees: Two’s partner-facing materials describe a “typical fee structure” as revenue share per transaction (quote-based), implying negotiated commercial terms rather than a public “2.9% + $0.30” style rate card.

Supported payment methods: Two is fundamentally a BNPL/net-terms/invoice rail for B2B; it is not primarily a card gateway. In a full stack, it most often complements card and bank-transfer rails rather than replacing them.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing two. integration docs here.

Briqpay is best understood as a payment integration/orchestration layer: it helps merchants connect multiple payment providers and methods into a single integration, enabling routing, configuration, and optimization without repeatedly changing frontend checkout code.

Primary regions and best use cases: Briqpay is designed for multi-market merchants who want to manage provider selection and rollout by market/segment/product. It is especially relevant when you need redundancy (multiple PSPs), a local method strategy across countries, or systematic A/B tests of payment mixes.

Security and encryption: Briqpay publishes a security policy that outlines internal controls, including requirements for encryption on workstations (at least AES-128) and for multi-factor authentication on systems handling user data. 

Fees: Briqpay states that pricing is flexible, based on transaction volume and business needs (quote-based), and does not publish a universal card rate.

Supported payment methods: Because Briqpay is an orchestration layer, its “supported payment methods” are effectively “whatever your connected providers support.” Briqpay publishes a catalog-like view mapping various providers (e.g., Adyen, Mollie) and payment method categories.

Foloosi is a UAE-focused payments platform offering online payments and “tap to phone” style in-person acceptance, with AED-denominated pricing tiers and explicit PCI-DSS positioning. 

Primary regions and best use cases: Foloosi is clearly positioned for businesses domiciled in the UAE, with terms stating the UAE as the country of domicile and site operation. It is best suited for UAE merchants who want local pricing, local settlement expectations, and a combination of e-commerce + contactless acceptance.

Security and encryption: Foloosi’s compliance page describes at-rest encryption of card numbers using AES-256 and the separation of infrastructure used to store/decrypt/transmit card numbers; its pricing page also states it is backed by PCI-DSS compliance and “advanced encryption.”

Fees: Foloosi publishes percentage-based tiers for ecommerce (example shown: local transactions 3% / 2.5% / 1.5% depending on package; international transactions shown at 3%), plus processing fee lines in AED depending on plan. It also lists Tap-on-Phone pricing (e.g., local 1.5%, international 3%, plus AED 0.1 processing fee) and a one-time setup fee of AED 150.

Supported payment methods: Foloosi’s pricing FAQ lists card brands (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX) and wallets (Apple Pay and Samsung Pay) as supported options.

Dintero is a Nordic checkout and payments suite designed to package “the right Nordic and global methods” into a single integration, with a clear emphasis on conversion and operational simplification for the Nordics.

Primary regions and best use cases: Dintero explicitly supports merchants in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, while allowing buyers from many countries (with certain high-risk exclusions). This makes it a strong candidate for Nordic merchants who want a curated multi-method checkout without stitching providers individually.

Security and encryption: Dintero provides a PCI DSS compliance guide for merchants using Dintero, reinforcing that compliance is a shared model influenced by your integration method and how payment data is handled.

Fees: Dintero uses a hybrid model with a monthly fee (e.g., “monthly fee from 149 kr” in the early phase) plus a per-transaction Dintero fee (e.g., 1.5 kr or 1 kr depending on tier) plus a payment-method fee. Card examples shown include EU consumer cards at 2.49% + 1 kr (in the cited pricing table), with different rates for non-EU consumer cards and tier-based reductions in the “Growth phase” examples.

Supported payment methods: Dintero lists support for Visa, Mastercard, Vipps, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Swish, MobilePay, Click to Pay, Walley, and Billie (some country-specific).

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Dintero integration docs here.

Mollie is a Europe-centric PSP known for straightforward onboarding and strong support for European local payment methods, with transparent per-method pricing.

Primary regions and best use cases: Mollie’s method mix and pricing table are explicitly structured around European cards (EEA consumer vs commercial vs non-EEA) and key European bank payment rails (SEPA, etc.), making it an especially strong fit for European merchants who need iDEAL/Bancontact-style coverage without enterprise contract complexity.

Security and encryption: Mollie states it is PCI-DSS level 1 certified and describes encrypted card details; it also publishes TLS-focused operational guidance (including changes to cipher suite support) as part of its security posture.

Fees: Mollie publishes method-level blended pricing for cards, such as 1.80% + €0.25 for EEA consumer Mastercard/Visa, 2.90% + €0.25 for EEA commercial cards, and 3.25% + €0.25 for non-EEA cards, with other methods priced separately (e.g., SEPA Direct Debit €0.35).

Supported payment methods: Mollie provides a payment methods catalog emphasizing cards, wallets, and a broad set of local European methods; the catalog is intended to help merchants assemble the right mix per market. BNPL options can also be integrated (for example, Klarna via Mollie is explicitly marketed as an option).

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Mollie integration docs here.

Quickpay is a Scandinavian-rooted payment service provider/gateway product that combines a subscription-style gateway fee model with support for local Scandinavian methods and cards, and it sits within a broader European payments ecosystem (noting its acquisition by Unzer). 

Primary regions and best use cases: Quickpay is commonly used by merchants who want a straightforward gateway with strong Scandinavian payment method support (e.g., cards and MobilePay-like options) and who are comfortable with the separation between gateway and acquiring across many configurations.

Security and encryption: Quickpay’s helpdesk explicitly describes SSL/TLS encryption for communications with acquirers and between customer and server, positioning encrypted transmission as a core safety mechanism.

Fees: Quickpay’s EU pricing page shows a monthly fee (EUR 7/month) and a gateway fee (EUR 0.10/transaction), with acquiring/card processing fees shown separately (example shown: “from 1.35% (min. EUR 0.10) + EUR 0.03” for Visa/Mastercard through a Quickpay merchant account).

Supported payment methods: Quickpay’s payment methods materials emphasize acceptance of multiple methods (cards and wallets) and include a technical appendix enumerating many supported payment method identifiers (including card brands and local methods).

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Quickpay integration docs here.

Montonio is a Baltic/Nordic-region-focused provider that combines bank payments and cards (and “pay later”) in a product designed to improve local conversion while remaining lightweight to integrate.

Primary regions and best use cases: Montonio’s positioning and supported methods emphasize Northern and Eastern European local rails—particularly bank payments—and it is frequently a strong fit where bank payments are culturally preferred, and card fees are not the only optimization goal.

Security and encryption: Montonio describes PCI DSS compliance and encrypted transactions in its integration messaging, and it has publicly communicated its achievement of PCI DSS Level 1 certification (external audits) in company communications.

Fees: Montonio publishes a pricing table including card pricing (example shown for EU-issued consumer cards: 1.29% + €0.20), bank payments (€0.05), refundable bank payments (€0.15), and “Pay Later” (2.49%), with additional pricing for payment links (e.g., €10/month per store in the payment links FAQ context).

Supported payment methods: Montonio lists support for card payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay, bank payments, BLIK, and pay-later options, positioning this mix as a conversion-oriented local+global bundle.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Montonio integration docs here.

Razorpay is a leading India-first PSP, typically selected for teams that need deep compatibility with India’s online payment landscape and local method mix.

Primary regions and best use cases: Razorpay is best positioned for merchant businesses operating in India (including domestic method mix expectations) and is especially common for startups, SMBs, and platforms where local payment breadth matters as much as card acceptance.

Security and encryption: Razorpay publishes security-oriented materials emphasizing PCI DSS-aligned handling of card data and secure integrations; treat the concrete details as dependent on the product path (hosted checkout vs direct API integration).

Fees: Rates vary by payment method, card type (domestic vs international), and plan. Typical rates should be read directly from its official pricing page and treated as India-specific unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Supported payment methods: Razorpay positions its gateway to provide broad coverage across India (including cards and key local payment methods). Specific method availability is documented in its payment methods documentation and product pages.

💎📝If you are on Crystallize, check the existing Razorpay integration docs here.

The honest answer is: you shouldn’t be choosing one.

The real shift in 2026 isn’t which payment gateway wins; it’s how you design your payment strategy.

Global PSPs like Stripe and Adyen optimize for simplicity and speed to market. They are excellent starting points. But as soon as you scale across markets, that simplicity becomes a constraint—conversion drops, fees compound, and local expectations break your “one-size” setup.

Regional champions outperform because they understand customers better. But stitching them together manually introduces operational complexity that most teams underestimate.

That’s where modern commerce architecture changes the game.

The most effective teams today don’t bet on a single provider. They build payment flexibility into their stack:

• Global PSP for baseline coverage
• Local methods layered in where conversion matters
• BNPL and B2B rails added, where they drive revenue
• Orchestration or composable backends to manage it all

Because payments are no longer a feature. They’re a growth lever. And the companies that treat them that way, measuring, testing, and adapting per market, are the ones that win.