The Best Payment Processors For Your Shopify Store
Payment processors are an integral part of any Shopify store. The days of customers entering their credit card details into a system every time they make a purchase are over. Payment processors provide greater flexibility and help buyers feel more confident when making purchases online.
Including plenty of payment processing options in your Shopify store is just one way to enhance customer experience. With Upscribe, your Shopify customers can manage their subscription and payments from one intuitive portal. Upscribe helps its users optimize CX to drive customer loyalty and business growth.
But for now, we’re all about payment processors. Let’s look at what they are, why you need them, and the best integrations for your Shopify store.
What is a Shopify Payment Processor?
A payment processor is a third party application that acts as a communicator between a customer’s bank account and a merchant’s. When a customer buys something online, the payment processor automatically requests the funds from their bank account. Once approved, the payment processor facilitates the transaction to the merchant’s bank, and then informs both parties of the transaction.
What are the Benefits of Shopify Payment Processors?
Having a variety of payment options when shopping online is a big plus-point for customers. Here’s why payment processors are great for customers and Shopify stores alike:
Quick and Easy Payments
Payment processors are quick and easy to both setup and use. They require no technical skills beyond the ability to access the internet and add your account or card details. Once it’s set up, depending on the payment processor, customers can make payments without adding their credit card details.
Greater Flexibility
Accepting different payment methods will increase your customer base. It enables greater flexibility for customers to choose their preferred way of paying. This, in turn, will increase your revenue. Only offering one or two payment methods may turn potential customers away, particularly if they don’t have immediate access to those methods.
Integration with Different Systems for a Better Business Experience
Payment processors can be integrated with different systems such as accounting, CRMs, and billing. This allows businesses to better manage their entire process, giving them a complete overview of their revenue. Furthermore, some integrations enable businesses to access and analyze data from a range of sources. This will help with forecasting, planning, and decision-making.
A Quick Word About Upscribe
Before we delve into the world of payment processors, we’re going to deviate just a little to talk about Upscribe.
Upscribe is all about optimizing CX. It provides your subscribers with a positive experience with your Shopify store to boost loyalty and reduce churn.
Top features:
- Incentives to Stay – If your customer wants to unsubscribe, Upscribe offers them incentives to stick around, like free gifts and discounts.
- Timed Payment Retry – Automatically identifies the optimum time to retry securing payments after they’ve been declined.
- Powerful Dashboard – Access critical insights into your subscribers from one powerful dashboard.
- Easy Subscription Management – Customers can easily manage their subscription with you by adding products to their orders, swapping products, or gifting orders.
Reviews
Upscribe has lots of positive reviews from happy customers.
Customers praise Upscribe’s user-friendly interface and team of experts. They also review the positive impact it has had on business growth.
Five of the Best Payment Processors
Now it’ time to check out five of the best payment processors on the market:
#1. Shopify Payments
When you launch your Shopify service, installing Shopify Payments is an essential step. Shopify’s payment processor automatically enables your store to accept all major payment methods. With it, you don’t need to integrate third-party applications because it’s all done for you.
Relevant Features
Here are Shopify Payment’s relevant features:
- Keep information and data safe with security measures like data encryption, 3D secure checkouts, and PCI-compliant servers
- Enable users to use and accept different currencies and payment methods for flexible payment options
- Purchase a Shopify card reader to process payments offline
Pricing
Shopify Payment comes with all plans. The most popular plan is the Basic, which costs $25/month. This plan is ideal for new businesses and includes fraud analysis, basic reports, and 2 staff accounts.
To scale your business with the help of professional reports and 5 staff accounts, you will need the Shopify plan for $65/month.
Pros and Cons
As with all online tools, Shopify Payments comes with its pros and cons:
Pros:
- Straight-forward pricing
- Designed with ecommerce in mind
- Accept multiple currencies
- No hidden fees, like termination fees
Cons:
- Shopify can terminate your account without warning
- Known to withhold funds
Reviews
Merchant Maverick has reviewed Shopify Payments and given it 4.5/5 stars. It describes the platform’s features, costs, and transparency as “Excellent”.
#2. PayPal
PayPal’s slogan is “Live better with PayPal”. But does it deliver?
Although it was launched in 1998, PayPal rose to popularity in 2002 after eBay purchased it. It is now a staple payment processor, and one of the most popular options out there.
When you open your Shopify store, you will automatically be given a PayPal Express Checkout account, which you can use once you’ve set up your PayPal account.
Relevant Features
Here are some top features of PayPal:
- Supports 25 currencies
- Available in more than 200 countries and regions
- Credit option for buyer
- Add funds to your PayPal account
- Send and receive invoices
Pricing
Rather than fixed payment plans, PayPal Business charges a percentage, plus a set amount, for transactions.
See the image below for more pricing breakdowns.
Pros and Cons
Here are some pros and cons of using PayPal Business:
Pros:
- Easy to use, implement, and integrate into your systems
- Comprehensive solution
- ‘Reminder’ to remind someone to pay you
- Process payment online and offline
- Reputable, long-standing company
Cons:
- Has the power to block and freeze your account and balance
- International exchanges can get expensive
- Customer support is lacking
Reviews
PayPal has an impressive 4.7/5 stars on GetApp. It has been reviewed by 23.8k users. A common praising point among reviewers is its ease of use and value for money.
#3. Stripe
Strike is a payment processor that offers banking-as-a-service. It provides an all-in-one platform aimed at businesses wanting a robust solution for all their online payment processes. Shopify stores can take credit and debit card payments for products, and also manage regular subscription payments.
Relevant Features
Here are Stripe’s relevant features:
- Machine Learning technology
- Build custom web checkout flows
- Accounting automation tools
- In-person terminal payments
Pricing
With Stripe, you can choose the Integrated plan or customize your own to suit your business. They work on a pay-as-you go basis, charging users per transaction.
Card transactions, for example, cost users 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. There are no setup fees or monthly fees to pay.
Pros and Cons
Let’s look at some pros and cons of Stripe:
Pros:
- Lots of features in one place
- User-friendly UI
- Accounting options for easy tax and revenue management
- Integrates with Shopify and invoicing software
- Instant payout options
Cons:
- Fees can mount up quickly
- Extensive list of features can be a bit overwhelming
- Customer support could be better
Reviews
Stripe has 2.8K reviews on GetApp and an impressive 4.7/5 star rating. There are 2.1K 5 star reviews!
#4. Amazon Pay
Amazon customers can use Amazon Pay whenever they see it, whether that’s on your Shopify store or any other online marketplace. Customers simply click on the button to be taken to the Amazon payment portal. Their payment information on their Amazon accounts is used to complete purchases.
Relevant Features
Here are some reasons to consider using Amazon Pay:
- Amazon’s A-Z guarantee for customer peace of mind
- Installment options for customers
- Customers don’t need to create an account to buy from you
Pricing
Amazon charges businesses domestic processing fees and authorization fees for transactions.
Transactions processed through Alexa for real-world products and services cost 4% plus $0.30. Web and mobile transactions are slightly lower at 2.9% per transaction plus $0.30.
Pros and Cons
Here are some pros and cons of Amazon Pay:
Pros:
- Quick transactions
- Convenient checkout with no need to input card details or address to place orders
- Users get cashback and other incentives
- Easily integrate into your checkout process
- Enable recurring payments for subscriptions
- Well-known and trusted company
Cons:
- Not as feature-packed as other options
- Loading can be slow at peak times
- Not as widely-used as some alternatives
Reviews
GetApp reviewers rate Amazon Pay 4.6/5 stars. It has just 70 reviews but 50 of these are 5 stars.
#5. Klarna
Klarna provides customers with a smooth experience, enabling them to pay for their goods or services in just one click. It’s well-known for its instalment plans. This is a good payment processing option for Shopify store owners wanting to offer customers extra payment flexibility.
Relevant Features
Let’s look at Klarna’s top features:
- Klarna’s credit option boosts expenditure by 41%
- Browser extension for quick purchases
- Customer insights and analytics
Pricing
Klarna does not have any joining fees. Rather, it charges per transaction, which is a common theme among payment processors.
The precise costs depend on the size of your business. Klarna will discuss fees with you during onboarding.
Pros and Cons
It’s time for some Klarna pros and cons:
Pros:
- Great payment flexibility options
- Lots of ways to connect with customers and drive sales
- No interest credit
- Integrate into your marketing strategy
- Zero-fraud liability
Cons:
- Bad customer support
- Not enough helpful information on its website
- No pricing displayed on its website
- Lack of transparency
Reviews
Unfortunately, Klarna has only 3.4 stars out of 5 on review platform G2. This is made up of just 45 reviews. Reviews point out the lack of customer support and payments not going through.
Conclusion
The world of payment processors might seem like a minefield if you’re new to it. However, it’s worth carefully considering which ones are right for your Shopify business and your subscribers. Perhaps you want a complete payment-management system like Stripe, or maybe you prefer to opt for the classic PayPal.
Whichever payment processes you choose, consider pairing it with Upscribe; the platform designed to help you grow and retain your subscribers. Schedule an Upscribe demo today.
