The internet has totally transformed almost every area of our modern lives, but nowhere is this transformation as noticeable or as obvious as in the world of business.
Today, with nothing more than a laptop and an internet connection (and maybe $50, if not less) literally ANYONE can get set up a global business, selling products and services to customers all over the world. The old rules and barriers of entry to business have melted thanks to technology ushered in by the internet, and new opportunities have popped up that never existed before.
To capitalize on these opportunities, however, smart and savvy business owners – particularly in the web hosting industry – have had to find the right payment processors and payment gateways for their operations.
Traditional merchant accounts aren’t as flexible as new online payment gateways are, aren’t optimized for these kinds of services, and generally add a lot of unnecessary expense, overhead, and hidden fees to the equation.
Finding the best payment gateway for your web hosting company can be a bit of an uphill battle for nonobvious reasons – not the least of which is the fact that there are so many different choices to sift through!
That’s why we’ve put together this quick guide to help you find a payment gateway that can be trusted, a payment gateway your customers will be comfortable with, and a payment gateway that can be effortlessly integrated into your web hosting company as it exists right now rather than having to build a new solution from the ground up.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a New Payment Processor:
There are dozens and dozens of different features that may or may not interest you as a web hosting company, but the most important things you should look for in your new payment processor include:
• The reputation of this processor has online
• The stability and reliability of the payment gateway
• The speed of implementation afforded with that choice
• The ease of integrating your banking details with this payment gateway
• The security offered to your customers
• The total cost you’ll incur using these payment gateways…
… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Below we break down the 10 best online payment gateways you have to pick and choose from today. All of these options are worthy contenders, and we are sure that at least one of them will suit your needs right down to the ground. The list is in no particular order and we use quite a few of these providers ourselves and have highlighted where necessary.
Let’s dig right in!
1. PayPal:
PayPal is the undisputed king of the ring when it comes to online payment gateways, and for good reason.
Practically synonymous with online business, PayPal was one of the earliest payment gateways to take off with the birth of e-commerce today is trusted by almost everyone that handles any kind of transaction online – buying or selling.
Research shows that businesses get a whopping 88.7% conversion rate when they use PayPal, demonstrating just how much trust that this company has with consumers. Even if you aren’t going to use PayPal as your main payment gateway it should certainly be an option for your customers if they want to go that route. Needless to say, we use PayPal ourselves at Host4Geeks and roughly process about 30% of our payments through PayPal.
Setting up an account is surprisingly easy and you can start accepting payments almost instantly after signup.
PayPal can get a little bit expensive as a business owner (every domestic transaction will be charged 2.9% plus a $0.30 transaction fee on top) but the flexibility, security, and confidence it offers are unparalleled.
Transaction Fees: 2.9% + $0.30
WHMCS Integration: Yes, officially supported by WHMCS.
2. Stripe:
Stripe, the billion-dollar unicorn based out of San Franciso and started by brothers John and Patrick Collison is one of the newest companies in this list and at the same time, one of the largest. It has quickly become the default choice for payment processing for most startups and online businesses in countries where it offers its services.
Started as a payment processing company designed to support e-commerce and subscription-based businesses first and foremost, Stripe has a much slicker interface on the front-end and the backend. We are a fan of their UI / UX. The company now offers an entire range of payment products and services suited for almost every business type.
Secure, infinitely customizable, and effortless to set up, it’s not hard to fall in love with everything Stripe has to offer. It follows the same per transaction payment fees as PayPal. We use Stripe as our primary payment processor and process 60% of our payments through them.
Transaction Fees: 2.9% + $0.30
WHMCS Integration: Yes, officially supported by WHMCS.
3. BlueSnap:
BlueSnap was founded in 2001 and formerly known as Plimus, although the company has had a troubling past with a class-action lawsuit against it being filed in 2012. BlueSnap was one of the first payment processing company that made it big in the digital e-commerce space. Their primary customers were software sellers, ebooks, and other digital content sellers on the web.
It’s hard to imagine a more flexible or robust online payment processor than this one. Offering the ability to accept more than 100 different currencies from around the world, integrating with more than 100 payment processors or shopping carts as well as accounting software solutions, and providing full chargeback management and fraud prevention solutions, BlueSnap is well worth a closer look. While their interface does seem a bit dated and old, we had a pleasant onboarding experience and have been using them as an alternative payment gateway and process about 4% of our payments through BlueSnap.
Transaction Fees: 2.0% + $0.30
WHMCS Integration: Yes, third-party paid module.
4. 2Checkout:
After being acquired by Avangate in 2017, 2Checkout has undergone a significant change and upgrade. Although, account stability and accounts being shut down frequently does still continue to be a problem with 2CO. If you are a high-risk seller, these guys are not a provider for you.
Accessibility is the name of the game when it comes to 2Checkout, being accessible in almost every country in the world and processing almost every currency in the world. 2Checkout has made payment processing available to everyone, literally.
Easily integrating into your Content Management System (CMS) or plugging into the API for your online backend, it’s not hard to get up and running with 2Checkout or to tweak it to fit your specific needs perfectly. With 15 different language options, 87 different currency options, and an API that ties tightly into hundreds of different applications, shopping carts, and other programs, 2Checkout is steady and reliable.
All of this does not come cheap though, in fact, they are the most expensive processor in this list with a whopping 3.5% and 30 cents transaction fees.
Transaction Fees: 3.5% + $0.30
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official WHMCS integration.
5. PayUMoney:
Based out of India, and processing payments for Indian businesses only, if you’re going to be conducting business in this part of the world it’s not a bad idea to use PayUMoney.
It’s not going to win you all that much extra business in the Western world, but in India (one of the largest economies on the planet and growing by leaps and bounds every day) having PayUMoney handling your online web hosting transactions is a significant competitive advantage your competitors might not be aware of or taking advantage of. Offering almost every payment method available in India coupled with a low transaction fee and neat end-user interface, PayUmoney is a no-brainer for all new online businesses.
Cheap, flexible, and stable (with the easy ability to integrate into 20+ shopping carts and e-commerce platforms), PayUMoney is a solid payment processor with a bit more of a niche focus.
Transaction Fees: 2%
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official PayUMoney Module for WHMCS.
6. Razorpay:
Razorpay, often touted as the Stripe of India, (which is not a bad thing at all) is another online payment processor set up in India, and the biggest rival to the payment processor we just highlighted above, this particular organization was set up in 2014 and makes digital transactions about a simple and as straightforward as can be.
Not only can you accept all major credit cards and debit cards with Razorpay, but you’re also going to be able to handle net banking, UPI, and digital wallet transactions as well. Tight integration through its API can extend the capabilities of Razorpay significantly, making it a smart move for those that want to do business with an online payment processor that partnered with MasterCard in 2016.
Our Indian brand Host4Geeks India uses RazorPay as their primary payment processor of choice and we have heard only great things with them. A fantastic UI/UX experience along with a seamless and hassle-free signup process that is fully paperless and some of the cheapest transaction fees, we did not find a reason to not recommend Razorpay. They are also the only payment gateway to offer recurring subscription billing in India.
Transaction Fees: 1.75%
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official RazorPay Module for WHMCS.
7. Authorize.net:
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Authorize.net is probably the grandad when it comes to online payment processors, based out of Utah founded in 1996 these guys have been processing payments before many of us even got access to the internet. They were later acquired by Visa in 2010. Authorize.net is perfect for medium to large scale and is especially effective when you want to set up recurring business transactions (like you will when charging monthly for web hosting solutions). Many smaller businesses steer away from Authorize.net due to the confusing pricing model and a fixed money fee in addition to per transaction fees.
One of the coolest things about Authorize.net is that it offers the ability to accept physical checks and mobile payments through the online interface or mobile interface you can use once you become a member with this platform. Providing full PCI compliance, custom checkout pages, and an advanced fraud detection service (all of which are free of charge), it’s tough to argue with the advanced feature set available through Authorize.net when stacked up against the competition.
Transaction Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 + $25 Monthly Fees.
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official integration by WHMCS.
8. WorldPay:
WorldPay is based out of the United Kingdom but has laid the foundation for truly global commerce with its online payment gateway tools.
Perfect for startups and smaller businesses that are scaling rapidly, the neat feature that WorldPay brings to the table is the ability to “pay-as-you-go” without having to spend a lot of money on a digital merchant account or payment processor when your cash flow isn’t quite as predictable as you’d like.
More than 300 different ways to pay are possible through WorldPay, opening up a world (quite literally) of customers that you might not have had access to otherwise. All major credit cards, mobile wallet options, crypto-currency, and more can be processed through this platform.
Transaction Fees: 2.75% + $0.20
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official integration by WHMCS.
9. BitPay:
If you are going to be accepting BitCoin or other cryptocurrencies through your web hosting platform, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than BitPay.
First founded in 2011 as one of the initial payment processors making cryptocurrency available for transactions, this company has grown by leaps and bounds and has become the go-to solution for those that want to accept BitCoin and BitCoin Cash for their products or services.
It’s not a bad idea to accept crypto currencies right now, particularly with the potential of swinging value these assets have to offer. Sure, you may not be able to take the rocket to the moon that crypto had over the last two years – but even if crypto goes up by 50% or more over the next few years it’s a good idea to have BitPay integrated into your payment options. We process our BitCoin payments through BitPay.
Transaction Fees: 1%
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official BitPay Module for WHMCS.
10. CoinPayments:
While the payment processor above is perfect for those that want to accept BitCoin or BitCoin Cash, if you’d like to accept almost all other crypto currency options – of which there are more than 900 – you want to have this particular payment set up ready to rock and roll.
CoinPayments is now accepting more than 990 different “altCoins”, variations of crypto currency just like BitCoin. You’ll be able to handle transactions from those that are using these kinds of coins with no difficulty at all but will also be able to use the API provided through CoinPayments to plug into most CMS, e-commerce, and payment shopping cart platforms out there right now.
This probably isn’t the only payment gateway you’ll want to have on your website, but it’s not a bad idea to include this option to make sure that you are converting all customers possible.
Transaction Fees: 0.50%
WHMCS Integration: Yes, official CoinPayments Module for WHMCS.
