Compare the top 5 online payment services & systems in the US (2024)

A powerful online payment system is critical for selling services or products online. At the most basic level, this software lets you accept payments and creates a smooth checkout experience for your customers. Some payment services can even help you move into new regions and streamline your end-to-end financial operations.

In this article, we’ll discuss what you should look for in an online payment service and five payment providers in the US that may be suited for your business.

What is an online payment service?

An online payment service — also known as a payment gateway, online checkout system, or eCommerce payment system — is digital software that facilitates the transaction of funds across the Internet.

If you’re a business owner, this technology helps you accept electronic payments by acting as a bridge between customers buying your product or service and the funds being safely transferred to your bank. 

For your customers, payment services create an intuitive and straightforward shopping experience. Today’s eCommerce buyers expect checkout systems that work on any device, are easy to use, and communicate trust. In fact, 84% of mobile shoppers in the US abandon their carts, emphasizing the critical need for a streamlined and optimized checkout experience across all platforms. You can significantly reduce cart abandonment and boost customer lifetime value over time by ensuring a smooth, trustworthy payment process.

Nowadays, many payment services do more than move money safely — they act as a holistic financial partner, allowing you to enter new markets and accept global payments. Online payment systems typically include the following features:

• Multi-currency transactions

• Alternative payment methods

• Secure payments

• Payment links

• Fraud prevention

• PCI compliance

• Business accounts (unique to Airwallex)

• Automated payment workflows

• Reporting and analytics

• Integration with other software 

Top online payment service providers in the US for 2024

The US offers a wide variety of payment providers, but only a few are built to handle global transactions effectively. Here are some leading online payment providers to consider for your business:

• Airwallex for companies with global payment needs and efficient FX management

• PayPal for simplicity and widespread trust

• Shopify Payments for small to mid-sized eCommerce businesses who are using Shopify as their eCommerce platform

• Stripe for retailers looking for flexible payment solutions

• Adyen for enterprises with complex global operations and high transaction volumes

Let’s take a look at the features and fees of these payment providers. Note that gateways use two pricing models: Interchange ++ pricing and blended pricing.

Interchange ++ pricing is the most transparent pricing model. Fees are divided into three components: an interchange fee for the card issuer, a card scheme fee for the card network, and a markup for the payment gateway. However, the interchange fee varies with each transaction, which makes it difficult to forecast overall costs. On the other hand, blended pricing charges a fixed fee per transaction that covers all processing costs. This makes it easier to estimate the fees your business needs to cover.

The table below compares blended pricing fees (unless otherwise specified) for these five payment gateways.

Top features to look for in an online payment solution

Choosing the right online payment solution is a business-critical decision. The best providers are cost-effective, secure, and have features aligned with your business’s goals. Here are some features to look out for:

• Local payment methods. Accepting local payment methods is key to boosting conversions. In the US, options like Klarna, Venmo, and PayPal are widely used, while international preferences vary, such as WeChat Pay and Alipay in China or iDEAL in the Netherlands. Offering customers their preferred payment method increases trust and encourages them to complete their purchase. Ensure your payment service supports the local options for the markets you're targeting to improve success rates.

• Sales channels supported. If your eCommerce business has a brick-and-mortar store, you may prefer a payment provider offering point-of-sale (POS) terminals. This centralizes all your sales data in one system, which makes accounting, reporting, and performance tracking easier.

• Flexible integration options. A good payment provider should offer several integration methods, from no-code options to fully customizable APIs.

• Integrations with business software. Your online payment software should easily integrate with existing systems, such as your accounting software or eCommerce platform.

• Scalability. Look for a solution that can grow with you. It should handle increased transaction volumes and multiple overseas markets without significant disruptions.

• Streamlining funds management. An end-to-end payment provider can help you manage your money and streamline your operations by offering real-time visibility over cash flow, expense management, and the ability to hold multiple currencies in one account.

• Fraud protection. It goes without saying that payment processors should protect your customers’ funds and data through advanced encryption, fraud prevention systems, 3D security, and ‌PCI-DSS compliance.

• Offering dispute resolution services. Good customer support is vital when managing financial transactions. Refund requests and chargebacks are typically supported by investigation and meditation processes.

• Automating supplier payments. Look for a solution that helps ensure timely supplier payments and saves finance team admin hours by easily setting up scheduled payments for recurring expenses and executing cross-border transactions. Many providers don’t offer the option to deposit earnings and use them directly for supplier payments, so keep that in mind.

How does an online payment service work?

Online payment service providers work by securely processing electronic payment transactions between buyers and sellers over the Internet. This software ensures your customers’ money moves safely from their credit card or digital wallet to your bank. Here’s how:

Note: Airwallex partners with an acquiring bank in the US rather than acting as the direct acquirer

• A customer makes an order on your business’s website. They enter their card information, which is immediately encrypted and sent to the payment gateway.

• Authorization request. The payment gateway forwards the encrypted card data to their card network, initiating an authorization request with the customer’s bank.

• Approval or decline. The card issuing bank will then approve or decline the transaction based on the customer’s remaining credit or funds.

• Order confirmation. The payment gateway receives approval from the customer's bank confirming that the payment has been authorized, then passes this message on to your business’s eCommerce platform. The payment is officially processed, and your customer receives a receipt. 

How to reduce online payment processing fees?

Fees for online payment processing can stack up quickly if you’re not careful. Between foreign transaction fees, chargebacks, and monthly subscriptions, there are a lot of costs to consider when choosing a payment provider.

Thankfully, you can make smart choices to keep within your operating budget. For enterprises with a high volume of transactions every month, choosing a supplier with a subscription model may suit. If you’re operating across multiple regions, finding a solution with no foreign transaction fees and low foreign exchange rates would likely be a priority.

Here are some ways to keep costs down: 

• Get clear on what you need (and what you don’t). Assess the volume and type of transactions your business will be processing. For fewer transactions, a fixed-rate provider might be more cost-effective, while for larger international volumes, a provider with interchange-plus pricing could offer savings.

• Find a global solution. If you have customers and suppliers around the world, you can reduce hefty transaction fees with a global provider that offers multi-currency accounts, low foreign transaction fees, and market-leading foreign exchange rates.

• Avoid long-term contracts. Look for providers that offer a pay-per-transaction model, so you only pay for the transactions you process. This lets you keep costs low when sales volumes are low and scale as your businesses grow.

• Have a robust fraud prevention setup. Businesses face chargeback fees when a customer disputes a payment, even if the dispute is resolved in their favor. The best payment service providers have real-time fraud protection that effectively identifies and blocks fraudulent transactions, reducing disputes and allowing legitimate transactions.

• Review your payment provider. Pricing can change with the economic environment, and new suppliers enter the market every year. Make sure you review your options regularly to ensure you’re getting the best deal.

What questions to ask when onboarding an online provider?

There are many online payment providers to choose from, so it’s important to ask the right questions to find a partner who suits your business needs. Ending up in a lengthy contract with a solution that isn’t right can be costly and frustrating and could damage your customer relationships.

Here’s a list of questions to ask your online payments company when you’re in the onboarding phase:

• What are your security protocols? Safe and secure payments are the core function of an online payments solution. Find out how the provider conducts KYC/AML checks, how advanced their encryption process is, and what their fraud detection capabilities are. At a minimum, they should comply with industry standards for PCI DSS.

• What payment methods are available? Offering your customers local payment methods is important and can boost your market share. Ask what payment methods they support — just well-known credit and debit cards or local options like iDEAL and alternatives such as Buy Now, Pay Later, and cryptocurrency.

• What are the costs involved? Hidden fees can quickly add up, especially if you’re moving money across borders. Ask about all the potential costs associated with the service, including transaction fees, monthly fees, setup costs, and conversion fees.

• Do you support settlement in multiple currencies?? Beyond understanding the cost of accepting international payments, it’s also important to understand if your provider allows you to collect and hold multiple currencies or if you’ll be forced to convert all payments.

• What integrations do you offer? Most popular online payments suppliers offer integrations with major accounting, CRM, and eCommerce platforms to help streamline your operations. Pick a provider that seamlessly fits with your existing software.

• When is customer support available? It’s important you feel supported if there is an issue. Ask about response times and what kind of customer service is available, from emails to phone lines and chatbots.  

• How do you support businesses that scale quickly? It costs time and money to switch services every couple of years. Check if your new provider can help you as you scale with increased transaction volumes and the ability to operate in multiple overseas markets without significant disruptions.

• Do you offer reporting tools? Find out what kind of analytics are available with your platform and how detailed they are. These can help streamline reconciliation and accounting processes and give you valuable insights into your financial performance.

Why choose Airwallex as an online payment processing provider?

Over 100,000 companies around the world use Airwallex to securely accept customer payments, simplify their financial operations, and enter new overseas markets.  Airwallex lets you accept 160+ local payment methods in 180+ currencies on your website or via payment links. But we’re more than a payment gateway — we’re an end-to-end payments solution that helps you streamline global business operations.

With the all-in-one Business Account, you can open Global Accounts with local bank details, make low-cost international transfers, issue multi-currency debit cards, automate bill payments, and more.

Airwallex is a smart choice if you’re a digital business that needs:

• Like-for-like settlement in 10+ currencies. The like-for-like settlement enables you to settle funds from your sales into your Airwallex Wallet in the same currency you charge your customers, avoiding unnecessary FX conversions. That means you are not required to convert currencies received from your customers back to your home currency. 

• Global reach. Open accounts with local bank details in 60+ countries and 20+ currencies. Pay your suppliers and overseas employees in those same currencies without converting from USD. 

• Seamless integrations with eCommerce platforms like Shopify and accounting software like Xero. Airwallex works with your existing infrastructure and saves you time on manual tasks.  

• Gold-standard security. Safeguard funds deposited in Airwallex business accounts and customers’ payment data with end-to-end encryption, tokenization, and real-time fraud protection that’s PCI-DSS compliant.

• Efficient spend management. Get real-time visibility over cash flow, employee expenses, and bill payments in all markets where you operate.

With Airwallex, you’ll enjoy managing every aspect of your global payments and finances through one centralized platform. Experience the difference for yourself and open an Airwallex account for free. Or see how US businesses like yours use Airwallex to accept payments from overseas customers. 

FAQs about online payment services 

1. What is online payment software?

A kind of financial software that processes secure and efficient electronic payments between a customer and merchant through a range of methods.

2. What are the important factors to choose when selecting an online payment service provider?

The most important factors include transaction fees, payment methods supported, security measures, integration ease with business tools, global currency support, customer service quality, and scalability. 

3. How much does it cost to onboard an online payment solution?

Onboarding costs vary, including potential setup fees, monthly service charges, transaction fees, and currency conversion costs. Some providers offer free setup but charge for each transaction processed.

4. How safe are online payment processing services?

The most secure online payment companies offer advanced end-to-end encryption tools, transaction fraud detection, and compliance with security standards like PCI DSS to prevent unauthorized access or fraud.

5. Why are online payment services necessary? 

Online payment services streamline transactions, enable global payments, provide security against fraud, and build customer trust. They also improve business efficiency by automating financial processes and ensuring smooth operations across different markets. 

Sources

1. https://www.airwallex.com/us/pricing#Payments

2. https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

3. https://www.shopify.com/pricing

4. https://stripe.com/pricing

5. https://www.adyen.com/pricing 

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q4 2024. The information was based on our own online research, and we were not able to manually test any competitor tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only, and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed every six months. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].