Making money online takes more than a store. Customers want flexible payment options, or you’ll be another domain with a catchy name, but no sales. We found Stax is the best payment method provider for most web stores. It’s perfect for small businesses getting started, yet powerful enough to handle the needs a medium-to-large business may have.  

The Best Ecommerce Payment Method for Most

Stax logo

Stax

Best for Most

No matter if your business is new, small, or global, Stax is your best payment methods provider. Accept any kind of payment, from in-person card swipes to mobile and text payments. Plans start at $99 with no transaction markup.

Stax makes accepting payments online a breeze for small business owners. Why? Because any way your visitors want to pay, they can. 

Online, mobile, and even in-person payments are available to your business, so you make purchasing convenient for local customers and far-flung online buyers alike. Plus, the integrations Stax offers are top of the line, including the ability to customize your ecommerce site’s shopping cart for a better user experience. 

The Best Ecommerce Payment Method Options to Consider:

  1. Stax – Best for most
  2. PayPal – Best for offering payment plans
  3. PayCafe – Best protection from fraud
  4. Helcim – Best payment method provider with no monthly fees
  5. Stripe – Best for customizable, adaptable payment methods

When It Makes Sense to Invest In a Ecommerce Payment Method

If you want a safe and secure way to let visitors pay for your products or services, a digital payment method service is the best way to make that happen. It’s instant and one of the safest ways to pay for things today. 

The good news is there are free and paid options, so you can make the best choice for you and your bottom line. For example, PayPal and Stripe offer free services, but you might have to pay a higher fee for processing. 

Make the decision that’s best for your sustained growth. You may start basic, but then upgrade when you have consistent money coming in to justify a new monthly expense. 

Bottom line, finding the right ecommerce payment method is crucial to keeping your customers handy. 

Fortunately, we’ve found the best ones you can use on this list. Let’s look at them a bit closer, and help you put your best foot forward for your customers and your business. 

#1 – Stax — Best for Most

Stax logo

Stax

Best for Most

No matter if your business is new, small, or global, Stax is your best payment methods provider. Accept any kind of payment, from in-person card swipes to mobile and text payments. Plans start at $99 with no transaction markup.

Stax makes getting your money online simple. You get everything you need to accept payments for your ecommerce store without wondering if you are missing anything. 

Plus, they offer features that you might not expect, like customizable invoicing. Include links in your invoices for an easy payment path.

Stax lets you set up recurring payments and subscriptions, too, so you don’t have to chase money every month.

Finding the weak spots in your revenue is also easy with powerful reporting features that let you spot trends. Focus on your financial health while also eliminating the wasted energy of looking through multiple platforms to get a clear view of your data.

Pricing is crazy simple too, because there are no hidden fees or contracts to worry about. Stax has a commitment to pricing transparency. The price you see is the price you pay. 

There are three plans. The Growth plan is $99, and comes with free surcharging capability, a free terminal and mobile reader, quick payment and backup processing, and base level dashboards and analytics. 

The higher tier plans give you all you get from the Growth plan, plus extras. For example, the popular Pro plan ($159) includes text-to-pay capability and enhanced dashboards.

If you’re a large business doing more than $5 million in yearly payments, you can get a custom plan that meets your needs, engineered for you. 

To sum things up, Stax is best for most ecommerce SMBs and its option for larger operations is great, too. You get pricing that is clear and a provider that is focused on helping you make the most money you can.

And you get key features and reporting not included with other providers, alongside an adaptable way to take payments. Get started with Stax, and you’ll never look anywhere else. 

#2 – PayPal — Best for Offering Payment Plans

PayPal logo

PayPal

Best for Payment Plans

The most recognizable name in online payment processing is also one of the most flexible. With PayPal, you can offer shoppers Pay in 4 payment plans, use of PayPal credit, one-click purchasing, and much more.

PayPal is the timeless online payment method everyone knows about. It’s easy to use and trusted. It also allows you to offer four-payment plans on your ecommerce store through PayPal’s Pay in 4 feature. 

What’s this mean for your growth and customer satisfaction? 

If you can gain a customer now because they can pay a quarter of the full price and spread the rest over three payments, would you take it? Instead of losing the sale and causing an abandoned cart, you can gain a customer and possibly more business in the future. 

PayPal is also the leader in one-click purchasing. Store visitors can pay from their bank account, confirm proper authentication, and make their purchase all without taking a credit card out of their wallet or purse. 

That means faster sales for you. 

Beyond that, PayPal offers a bevy of convenience to shoppers that will also help boost your sales. PayPal users can pay with rewards, via a QR code, using PayPal Credit, and more. The platform also supports over 100 internationally recognized currencies. 

Best of all, it’s a free way to begin accepting payments for your business. Yes, you have no upfront costs to install PayPal on your online store. 

That’s great for low-volume businesses who want an option that can scale with them if sales start climbing to new heights. 
If you want a fast and friendly way to pay that people already trust, PayPal is a sure thing.

#3 – PayCafe — Best Protection from Fraud

PayCafe logo

PayCafe

Best Fraud Protection

Get iron-clad fraud protection for your online payments. PayCafe uses an algorithm to scan payments against a vast library of threats so it can stop bad payments from ever messing with your ecommerce viability.

PayCafe is all about protecting you from fraud and chargebacks, which can be a big problem when accepting payments online. 

Clearly, because there is no face-to face-transaction, you don’t know who is buying from you or if they are using their own credit card or not. 

That’s why PayCafe created a complex algorithm to combat the web crooks of today. It checks every potential payment against thousands of data points to stop fraudulent payments in their tracks, before it can ever harm your business or bottom line.

And, of course, PayCafe also offers a full suite of payment options to make taking online payments easy. Customers can use credit cards, e-checks, and even cryptocurrency on your web stores. 

They also make measuring performance simple with integrated shopping carts that track each purchase and abandonment. That feeds into custom dashboards and purchase insights that are available any time. Plus, you’ll even get alerted by the platform if something needs your attention. 

For pricing, reach out to PayCafe’s sales team. General pricing is not described on their website. 

Fraud is a big problem with online purchases and PayCafe has made it their priority to protect your web store from it. Get a provider that ensures protection for you and your visitors by starting with PayCafe today

#4 – Helcim — Best Payment Method Provider with No Monthly Fees

Helcim logo

Helcim

Best for No Monthly Fees

Did you even know you could get a payment method provider without paying monthly fees or locking yourself in with a contract? Helcim stands out in this category because all you’ll have to pay is interchange fees; nothing more. And you’ll pay less on interchange, too, the more you sell each month.

Ever feel like every business wants to upsell you something? Why can’t you just get what you need at a reasonable price?

Helcim gets you. 

That’s why you get everything your ecommerce business needs to accept payments and thrive online without having to worry about contracts, user fees, deposit fees, or even monthly fees. 

You don’t have to pick among plans to get the features you need. You get it all. And the plan is free. All you pay is interchange.

And, the more you process the more you save. Fees start at 0.5% + 25 cents for online payments when you do less than $25,000 per month. But if you’re lucky enough to pull in ten times that in a month, for example, you’ll only pay 0.35% + 15 cents.

With Helcim, you get debit and credit card payment integration, plus support for subscriptions and recurring payments for easy repeat billing. 

You can also accept donations and registrations, and enable online food ordering if you’re running a food service. 

And if you’re not sure what platform to use for creating your online store. Helcim actually allows you to create your online store using their platform. It’s a nice site builder that requires no coding, expensive programming, or plugins. Plus, that’s free, too. 

Helcim also makes in-person and mobile payments super simple, if you decide you want to take your ecommerce business offline for some extra revenue opportunities. Interchange rates start even lower than for online payments but also go lower with more monthly revenue.

Helcim is the best contract-free option for accepting payments on the internet, bar none.

#5 – Stripe — Best for Customizable, Adaptable Payment Methods

Stripe logo

Stripe

Best for Customized Needs

Stripe makes it easy to mold their payment processing to fit your business. With easy access to the Stripe API, you can build (or have built for you) a

Stripe is a developer-friendly payment method provider, which means that if you want to customize your payment processing for your online marketplace, startup, or international corporation, they have the tools to make that happen. 

What Stripe does to remove the complexity out of customization is the partnership app they offer. If you don’t have a developer, you can easily use the partner app to get started, which provides setup with no coding required.

You can use the Stripe API to get set up in minutes, not days or weeks. This is crucial for your larger operations that have needs beyond simple payment processing. 

Customize your recurring payment plans or even your checkout process. It’s simple to beautify your checkout cart with the Stripe UI toolkit. 

Stripe accepts all major credit cards, Visa, Mastercard, Visa, and Discover. They also accept JCB (Japan) and UnionPay (China). You can even allow customers to pay with Masterpass, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa Checkout, and ACH transfers. 

Can you see how stripe makes it easy to become an international juggernaut in no time at all?

Is there a lot to digest using Stripe? Yes—there’s a lot to learn and there are hundreds of features and applications, so it’s not for you if you want a simple platform to start using with no learning curve. 

But when you do figure things out, your online store will be converting like a machine and leaving competitors with less powerful platforms in the dust.

The even better news is the customer support you get with Stripe. They have been in the business a long time, so they have seen all the issues you can run into and know how to solve any problem you face. 

Reach out to representatives 24/7 via phone, email, or live chat. 

If you want to accept ecommerce payments with a platform that you can shape to any need of yours, Stripe is the clear winner.

Methodology for Choosing the Best Ecommerce Payment Method 

When we set out to create a resource that answers all your pressing questions about where to find the best payment methods for ecommerce, we wanted it to be simple while also giving you actionable steps on how to recognize which one is best for you. 

Our methodology is simple, but it’s also the most beneficial way to look at making a decision in this critical part of surviving the online business arena. 

Are Things Easy To Understand?

You should never be confused about what you get, how much you pay, and where to find help when your business needs it. The providers we researched and selected are the top five out of the smorgasbord of provider options available online. 

When you are looking through options, ask yourself the tough questions about your business and the needs you have. 

If the provider can’t answer those questions in a way you understand, then move on. 

Our purpose isn’t to get you to click and buy just to find problems. Our focus is to remove the obstacles in your path. 

Understanding how you can accept payments and use features that best deliver the results you want is our only concern. The options on this list will do that. 

How Do Pricing and Transaction Fees Really Work?

Credit card transaction fees can get out of hand really fast if you don’t understand how they really work. Some providers offer a transaction pricing model, while some ask for a monthly payment upfront and then add fees on top of that. 

Some plans have a limit on how much money you can make on a monthly or yearly limit. You want to look at all of the finer details before you make a decision. 

One provider on this list makes things very transparent and actually lowers transaction fees based on volume. 

Another charges by a full percentage of what you take in overall per month. 

Math and taxes are not the most exciting topics (depending on who you ask) but it’s part of this making-money-online thing, so you need to really wrap your head around this part. 

The best way to do this is to grab a cup of your favorite beverage, then sit down and read the terms on the site. 

If you’re confused, call, email, or chat with the sales team. But don’t get into an agreement—regardless of it’s free with no contract—until you know what you will be responsible for. 

All this pricing affects how much you can charge for a service or product you deliver, so take your time. 

Is Scalability On Your Radar?

If you are just starting out, you’re probably not considering growth just yet. 

Is that a mistake? That depends. 

If this is a side hustle and you’re just doing it for some extra cash, then maybe not. But if this is going to be your livelihood, you want to see what the benefits will be if you start bringing in loads of cash and if the provider can handle the next stage. 

What if you want to switch later to a new provider—will that be difficult? It may be, depending on what kind of contract your old provider has you on and whether there’s a learning curve for the platform you’d like to jump to.

If you’re looking to grow, ask yourself upfront if going with a provider that can grow with you is important. If you’re already established and are looking to expand to a large business then you know where to start. 

Overall, scalability is an important factor to consider no matter where you’re starting from. 

Stax logo

Stax

Best for Most

No matter if your business is new, small, or global, Stax is your best payment methods provider. Accept any kind of payment, from in-person card swipes to mobile and text payments. Plans start at $99 with no transaction markup.

Summary

Now you are armed with the knowledge of the best payment methods for ecommerce on the internet. 

We think Stax is the best option for most businesses. It offers the right blend of scalability, cost-effectiveness, and convenience for a lot of you.

But, there is a whole wide world of payment method providers out there. The guide is here for you to bookmark, use now, use later, or share with others, so you can be assured in making the right call for your ecommerce outfit.  


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