Top 5 Magento payment gateways in the UK (2025)

Key takeaways

• The right payment gateway will balance what your customers want (e.g. local currencies and familiar payment methods) with what your business needs (e.g. low fees and fast payouts).

• A payment gateway that offers other finance services (e.g. multicurrency accounts and bill payments) can reduce your vendor list, saving you time and money.

• The right payment gateway is subjective, so you need to understand your business needs and customers to make the best choice.

If you operate your eCommerce site using Magento, you’ll know that your payment gateway can make or break performance.

The right payment gateway will improve your checkout conversions, user experience, and customer retention. The wrong one can cost you growth and lifetime value.

You’ve already made a solid choice in Magento. It’s the fourth most popular eComm platform in the world, processing $155 billion in transactions every year. ¹ Magento websites can be a great foundation for your growth and success.

The right choice of payment gateway can kickstart the sales that Magento is so good at delivering.

What is a Magento payment gateway?

If bricks and mortar shops have card machines, eCommerce sites have payment gateways.

A payment gateway is the secure bridge between your customer entering their payment details at checkout and you getting paid. If one of these gateways integrates with Magento, it’s a Magento payment gateway.

Payment gateways connect your customer’s payment processor (e.g. Mastercard) and your bank. They ensure a secure, accurate transfer and authorisation of their payment details. Without one, you’d have to rely on manual bank transfers and cash payments.

A quick look at the top five Magento payment gateways

You can find a detailed comparison further down the page, but here’s a super-quick explanation of the top five payment gateways we’ve chosen.

1) Airwallex

An all-in-one, unified platform that provides a payment gateway, as well as global currency accounts, FX, company spend management, and more.

2) PayPal

One of the oldest and most recognisable names in eCommerce, PayPal is by far the most prevalent ² choice for payment gateways.

3) Stripe

Stripe is the second-largest payment gateway provider.³ This platform also offers revenue automation, embedded finance, and physical terminals.

4) Square

Square is serious about business. As well as payment gateways, it even provides self-ordering kiosks and its own app for professional-level product photography.

5) Mollie

Mollie is another established name in payments, providing everything from payment gateways and subscription management to loans.

What to look for in a Magento payment gateway

Each business has unique needs. For example:

1. A business with customers in 30 countries would prefer global currencies and low FX rates.

2. A local business would prefer a gateway that offers preferred local payment methods.

They’re both making the right decision – for their business. Still, there are some universally important things to consider when choosing a payment gateway:

Integration and ease of use

How much time and effort will it take to get the gateway up and running on your Magento store? How easy is it for you and your customers to use?

Fees and their structure

Providers charge in different ways: Flat fees, percentages per-transaction, authorisation fees, platform subscriptions. They also use variable rates for domestic and international cards.

You need to know how your gateway will affect your margin before making a choice.

Security and fraud

Your payment gateway should comply with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and use multi-factor authentication methods like 3D Secure.

You’ll also want to review their chargeback policies, as the average eCommerce business faces six chargebacks for every 1,000 transactions.  Of those, they’re likely to win less than half. 

Payment methods supported

By 2030, 74% of consumer payments will be handled by non-traditional financial service providers. ⁶

Credit and debit cards remain popular, but digital wallets, crypto, Buy Now Pay Later, and eMoney institutions are all eating into their market share. Consumers have more ways to pay than ever – you need a gateway that accepts them.

Currency support

The internet is the world’s marketplace. Businesses have shifted from selling within a single postcode to shipping their products to every postcode on Earth. Taking payments in global currencies is a huge unlock for scaling in eCommerce.

Payout speed

Some payment gateways offer instant payouts, others have delays of one, two, or more days. For some businesses, that’s fine. For others, it’s a dealbreaker.

Best Magento payment gateways in the UK

Let’s take a more detailed look at the options we listed earlier and put those important features into the spotlight.

The fees we list below are for UK-based businesses.

Airwallex

Your global, end-to-end financial operations platform.

• Key features: Like-for-like settlement, multicurrency accounts, and unified finance system (including card issuance, FX, and spend management)

• Fees:

  • Domestic (UK) cards – 1.30% + £0.20

  • EEA cards – 2.40% + £0.20

  • International cards – 3.15% + £0.20

  • AMEX – 2.40% + £0.20 ⁷

• Availability: 180 countries ⁸

• Supported currencies: 130+ currencies ⁹ in 160 payment methods ¹⁰

• Security/compliance: Smart 3DS, AI fraud detection, and compliant with PCI DSS, SOC1, and SOC2 ¹¹

PayPal

One of the biggest and oldest names in payments.

• Key features: Household name, payments from all popular sources, and fraud detection based on data from over 15 billion transactions

• Fees:

  • Domestic – 1.20% + £0.30

  • EEA – 1.29% + €0.35

  • International cards – 1.99% + fixed fee, depending on currency ¹²

• Availability: 200 countries ¹³

• Supported currencies: 25 currencies ¹⁴, 18 payment methods ¹⁵

• Security/compliance: 3D Secure, PSD2, dedicated fraud and chargeback products ¹⁶

Stripe

One of the leading facilitators of the 2010s eCommerce boom.

• Key features: An established name, built for eCommerce and continues to serve it, 99.999% historical uptime ¹⁷

• Fees:

  • Domestic – 1.50% + £0.20

  • EEA – 2.50% +£0.20

  • International cards – 3.25% + £0.20 ¹⁸

• Availability: 47+ countries with local acquiring ¹⁹

• Supported currencies: 135+ currencies and payment methods ²⁰

• Security/compliance: PCI Service Provider Level 1, MFA, and PCI DSS compliant ²¹

Square

Everything payments, with one of the largest product ranges in the market.

• Key features: Something for every business, end-to-end processing, and managed, fee-free disputes

• Fees:

  • Domestic – 1.40% + £0.25

  • Non-UK cards – 2.50% + £0.25 ²²

• Availability: Eight countries ²³

• Supported currencies: Merchant’s local currency only ²⁴

• Security/compliance: PCI compliance managed for you, proprietary tokenization scheme, and PCI DSS ²⁵

Mollie

This UK company has 20+ years in payments and wants to break through financial bureaucracy.

• Key features: Pay per transaction, localised language and payments, and business finance

• Fees:

  • Domestic – 1.20% + £0.20

  • EEA cards – 2.90% + £0.20

  • All other cards – 3.25% + £0.20 ²⁶

• Availability: 32 countries (EEA, Switzerland, and UK) ²⁷

• Supported currencies: 29 ²⁸

• Security/compliance: Central bank supervision, ISAE3402, and PCI-DSS level 1 ²⁹

Comparing the best five Magento payment gateways

All five offer APIs, SDKs, and webhooks and integrate with Magento.

Ease of use is subjective, so we’ve added each company’s TrustPilot score to reflect overall customer satisfaction.

All five providers have similar security credentials.

The best Magento payment gateways for specific use cases

Why use Airwallex as your Magento payment gateway?

Airwallex is the ultimate gateway provider for eCommerce businesses doing business at home and abroad.

We offer one of the most competitive fee structures on the market, along with international scaling built-in. Your customers across the globe can pay in their local currency and you won’t have to pay extortionate exchange fees.

If that wasn’t enough, Airwallex is a unified finance platform. We can provide everything from your multi-currency accounts to spend management and card issuance.

In one platform, Airwallex offers what once required dozens of vendors.

FAQs about Magento payment gateways

Do I need a business bank account to use a Magento payment gateway?

Yes – and a merchant account. Merchant accounts are a type of business account, specifically for handling online payments. It’s a sort of holding account, as the funds need to be kept safe while the payment is processed.

You can’t make payments directly from a merchant account, you have to wait for the funds to be automatically transferred to your business bank account. That happens when the payment is approved.

Can I use multiple payment gateways on Magento?

Yes, you can.

You might use multiple gateways to offer as many payment options as possible – including local currencies. Using multiple payment gateways also gives you a backup if one provider goes offline.

Can I charge customers in different currencies on Magento?

You can, but it depends on the payment gateway you use.

Gateways like Airwallex or Stripe allow payments in hundreds of currencies. Others only allow a few currencies or exclusively your local currency.

How do I know if a payment gateway is reliable?

There are several security protocols your payment gateway should comply with. Look for a provider that can evidence PCI DSS Compliance, SSL and TSS protocols, and multi-factor authentication processes (like 3D Secure).

It’s also a good idea to check reviews and ask for recommendations from your network.

A gateway to sales and growth 

A payment gateway is so much more than a tool for receiving payments. It’s a conversion and retention engine. It can be the difference between an abandoned cart and a new customer. It can be a partner to your business and its plans for growth.

With all that in mind, choosing your gateway provider is a decision you’ll want to get right.

There are lots of factors to consider – from costs to currencies – and only you know what your business’ needs are. This guide can be your starting point for making the best decision.

Sources and references

1. https://www.envisagedigital.co.uk/magento-market-share-statistics/

2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/895236/australia-market-share-online-payment-platforms/

3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/895236/australia-market-share-online-payment-platforms/

4. https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/chargeback-statistics-in-credit-card-processing/

5. https://www.chargeback.io/blog/chargeback-statistics

6. https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/by-2030-74-of-consumer-payments-will-be-handled-by-non-traditional-financial-service-providers/

7. https://www.airwallex.com/uk/payments/checkout

8. https://www.airwallex.com/uk/payments/checkout

9. https://www.airwallex.com/docs/payments__supported-currencies

10. https://www.airwallex.com/uk/payments/checkout

11. https://www.airwallex.com/uk/payments/checkout

12. https://www.paypal.com/uk/business/paypal-business-fees#fixed-fees-commercialtrans

13. https://www.paypal.com/c2/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide

14. https://www.paypal.com/c2/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide

15. https://developer.paypal.com/docs/checkout/payment-methods/

16. https://www.paypal.com/uk/business/operations/risk-management#chargeback-protection

17. https://stripe.com/gb

18. https://stripe.com/gb/pricing

19. https://stripe.com/gb

20. https://stripe.com/gb

21. https://docs.stripe.com/security?locale=en-GB

22. https://squareup.com/gb/en/payments/online-payments

23. https://squareup.com/help/gb/en/article/4956-international-availability#:~:text=party%20card%20payments.-,Where%20Can%20I%20Accept%20Card%20Payments%20with%20Square%3F,of%20Ireland%2C%20France%20and%20Spain.

24. https://squareup.com/help/gb/en/article/5415-can-i-accept-multiple-currencies-with-square

25. https://squareup.com/gb/en/security

26. https://www.mollie.com/gb/pricing

27. https://help.mollie.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115002116105-Can-I-use-Mollie-s-services-in-my-country

28. https://docs.mollie.com/docs/multicurrency

29. https://www.mollie.com/gb/security

30. https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-methods/overview?locale=en-GB

31. https://squareup.com/help/gb/en/article/7014-accept-payments

32. https://www.mollie.com/gb/growth/payment-methods-guide#title1

33. https://www.airwallex.com/uk/platform-api-and-embedded-finance/payouts

34. https://www.paypal.com/uk/cshelp/article/where%E2%80%99s-my-withdrawal-help456

35. https://docs.stripe.com/payouts?locale=en-GB#payout-speed

36. https://squareup.com/gb/en/payments/instant-transfers

37. https://help.mollie.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115000010065-When-do-I-receive-my-money-from-Mollie