With plenty of services to choose from, how do you decide which payment processing company best meets the needs of your business or organization?

What Does a Payment Processing Company Do?

A payment processor is a company that manages transactions between a merchant and a customer. The service communicates payment information from the customer to the merchant’s dedicated bank account. As long as the appropriate funds are available, the payment is completed. Processed transactions may include payment methods such as debit cards, credit cards, and e-wallets.

A good payment processor will ensure that this process is quick, efficient, and seamless for both the customers and the merchants. When choosing a suitable payment processor, businesses and organizations must consider the user experience of their clients as well as the compatibility with their current infrastructure, types of accepted payments, chargeable fees, appropriate security standards, and PCI compliance.

With hundreds of available options, we have compiled a list of the top 10 payment processing solutions to help you out.

Our Top 10 Payment Processing Solutions

1. PayPal

Since its debut in 1998, PayPal has become one of the most widely used and recognizable payment processors. It allows payments to be processed from all over the world, operating in over 300 countries and processing money in 26 currencies.

While PayPal used to be synonymous with the online marketplace eBay, this relationship ended in 2020. eBay now uses the payment processing services of Adyen (next on our list), in an attempt to offer their users access to more competitive prices.

PayPal is PCI-compliant and can be integrated directly into a merchant’s website. Payments can be processed via a browser, mobile app, or mobile card reader. PayPal sits at the top of our list due to its popularity and accessibility, being accepted by most major retailers.

2. Adyen

Adyen, Surinamese for “start over again”, was founded in 2006 to create a modern infrastructure capable of streamlining the payment process for customers across the world. They are trusted to handle the transactions of world-leading companies, including eBay, Uber, LinkedIn, Etsy, and Microsoft. Adyen accepts over 250 payment methods and 150 currencies through a single platform. It is fully certified for standards including PSD2 SCA and PCI compliance and offers advanced fraud protection methods with AI and a rule-based risk ecosystem.

3. Stripe

With headquarters based in San Francisco and Dublin, Stripe is used by millions of businesses of all sizes to manage their payment transactions online. Stripe differs from many of its competitors as it offers a customizable payment processing solution. With powerful and easy-to-use APIs, Stripe was created with developers in mind, allowing the platform to be adapted to meet the needs of each business.

Stripe supports over 100 different currencies and payment methods and enables one-click payments, flexible invoicing, subscription billing, and mobile payments. Stripe Radar scans payments and uses machine learning to protect transactions from fraud.

4. Skrill

A popular Payment Processing tool, Skrill offers similar rates and fees to PayPal. One thing that Skrill does very well is its easy-to-use interface and quick account setup. With Skrill, users benefit from advanced fraud protection, multiple integrations, a fast and secure app allowing you to move money on the go, zero transfer fee when sending money abroad, and chargeback protection. Opening a Skrill account is free to all users. A free account allows you to use your e-wallet online, unload funds, make email transactions, use a Skrill prepaid card, and receive money from friends. Users must make at least one transaction every 12 months for this account to remain free of charge, otherwise, Skrill will charge a $5 fee.

5. WorldPay (FisGlobal)

WorldPay is the UK’s biggest Payment Processor, helping over 250,000 small and medium businesses to manage their transactions. As with PayPal, WorldPay boasts an extensive global reach, operating across the globe and supporting more than 120 currencies. WorldPay is serious about security, operating a Risk Management Mechanism to detect fraudulent activity, and allowing users to set their own advanced security standards, such as using CVC and AVS to verify payments.

One sticking point with WorldPay is that users must commit to lengthy contracts and be subject to early termination fees if these are not honored.

6. Authorize.Net

Founded in 1996, Authorize.Net has plenty of experience in providing payment processing services across the world. Over 445,000 merchants trust Authorize.Net to handle their transactions, and they process around $149 billion in payments each year.

Authorize.Net’s vast experience within this space means that the platform has formed strong partnerships with most major merchant account providers, meaning most payment types are accepted. A popular choice with online retailers, Authorize.Net provides a highly reliable and secure service. The free 24/7 support offered by Authorize.Net is award-winning and rated highly by their clients.

7. Square

Square was founded in 2009 by the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. Square allows merchants to accept online payments wherever they are by converting their mobile devices into a portable payment processor. Clients get access to Square’s custom hardware, including a contactless chip reader, magnetic stripe reader, and point of sale solutions. Customers can pay using all major credit cards, debit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay. If you are looking to use PayPal though you will be out of luck, not surprising as it is one of Square’s biggest competitors.

8. Braintree

Owned by PayPal, Braintree may be a smart option for start-up businesses with its simplistic interface and pricing structure. Braintree also claims to simplify the process of PCI compliance for its clients and provides advanced fraud protection solutions, backed by PayPal, one of the largest fintech companies. It serves over 45 different countries and can accept payments in over 130 currencies.

9. Wepay

Wepay, a JP Morgan Chase company, is an online payment processing company that delivers integrated payment solutions to Integrated Software Vendors and SaaS providers. Wepay is most suited to merchants who sell their goods or services across multiple online channels, as it is easy to implement and integrates seamlessly. Key features of Wepay include instant onboarding, risk and compliance solutions, integrated merchant account with Chase Merchant Services, a flexible API, and no monthly charges. Key shortfalls of Wepay include its inability to accept PayPal and in-store card payments.

10. 2Checkout (now Verifone)

2Checkout, acquired by Verifone in August 2020, is a PCI-compliant all-in-one platform that allows payments to be processed across more than 200 countries and territories and in 87 currencies. For this reason, it may be the best payment processing solution for businesses or organizations that process a lot of international transactions. With 2Checkout, clients can host a fully secure checkout service, set up recurring transactions, benefit from advanced fraud protection, accept multiple payment options, and integrate with over 100 online systems and carts.

Hosting Your Payment Gateway in the Cloud

Atlantic.Net has been providing security-defined services for over 30 years, take advantage of our PCI-ready Atlantic.Net cloud platform. Our systems are built from the ground up, ready for your chosen payment processor. We will work with you to achieve PCI compliance, allowing your business to expand and deliver secured card services to your clients.

We work directly with several Payment Processors, and we have recently introduced PayPal as a preferred payment method for our cloud platform. Payment gateways make your customer’s journey much easier, and our secured cloud platform is the ideal solution to host it for you.

To find out more about the solutions that we offer, contact our sales team today!