Payment Gateways Part 3: Opayo, Stripe and Worldpay

In a series of articles, we’ve been taking a look at payment gateways. After looking at PayPal in our previous one, we’ll now focus on three other options so you can weigh up the pros and cons. Today, let’s find out more about Opayo, Stripe and WorldPay

Opayo

Previously known as Sage Pay,?Opayo?is a very popular payment gateway. This is more of a traditional gateway, where the customer is asked to enter their payment details – so no quick checkout with saved cards as with PayPal.?

Opayo has a range of site integration methods, both on and off-site, and can accept deferred and recurring payments. They have a few pricing plans, with the most basic starting at ￡25p/m for 350 transactions.

Opayo claim to be “one of the UK’s most trusted payments providers, helping businesses grow and accept payments from customers.”

In 2019, they processed ￡40bn worth of card payments for more than 50,000 merchants, online and in-store.

The name change came about because they were acquired by Elavon – a big name in payments and a subsidiary of U.S. Bank.

The result? Opayo says it can now offer an even richer suite of services.

“Soon, merchants will be able to accept more payment types from customers; opening up greater opportunities to grow and creating better, more personalised experiences,” they say.

“But some important aspects of our business won’t change at all. You’ll still enjoy the five-star service reflected in our Trustpilot ratings – with our knowledgeable team just a phone call away, at any time of the day or night.”

Stripe

Stripe?may not be a name familiar to everyone, but it’s used on thousands of sites, including Deliveroo, Waitrose, and booking.com.

“Millions of businesses of all sizes – from startups to large enterprises – use Stripe's software and APIs to accept payments, send payouts, and manage their businesses online,” they say.

They have competitive transaction fees with no setup or monthly costs. It is easily integrated into WooCommerce and allows you to take Apple Pay and Google Pay as well.

The admin area is a little busy and takes a while to learn.

Stripe claim to be “the backbone for internet business”, adding: “For ambitious companies around the world, Stripe makes moving money as simple, borderless and programmable as the rest of the internet.

“Our teams are based in dozens of offices around the world, and we process hundreds of billions of pounds each year for startups to large enterprises.”

WorldPay

Another of the big names in online payments,?Worldpay?offer an onsite or offsite payment gateway integration.

It is an American payment processing company and technology provider, and was acquired and merged in June 2019 into Fidelity National Information Services (FIS).

They claim to be “a complete online payments service that gives you the ability to take payments directly from your website or app.

“Easy to integrate and easy to use, our API helps developers to create bespoke checkout forms that can be activated and ready to take payments within 24 hours.”

Prices start at ￡19 per month, and minimum contract applies.

Outside of that their fee structure is opaque and requires you to contact them.

They also offer physical card terminals, for those of you doing face to face payments.