Choosing a payment gateway for your online store is not something to underestimate. In today’s article, we’ll focus on how to choose a payment gateway for an e-shop, what features you can expect from it, and how to set it up in WooCommerce.
The selection of payment methods and the complexity of the checkout payment flow directly affect how many orders get completed—and therefore the success of your online store. A payment gateway is essential if you want to offer your customers card payments, but it usually provides additional options as well.
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is a technology that enables online stores to accept card payments from customers online. In the payment gateway interface, the customer enters their card details, which allows funds to be charged from their account and transferred to the merchant’s account.
Today, payment gateways are widely available for both small and large online stores. For WooCommerce stores, implementing a payment gateway via a plugin is a matter of minutes.
Benefits of a payment gateway
- Card payment via a payment gateway is popular with customers and accounts for 29% of payments accepted in e-commerce.
- Customers are guided toward immediate payment. Right after placing an order, they are prompted to pay, which reduces the number of abandoned orders.
- When paying through a payment gateway, the store receives immediate confirmation of the payment. This allows you to speed up order fulfillment.
- Payment gateways often offer additional payment methods. In one package, you get more options for customers.
How to choose a payment gateway
When deciding which payment methods to offer in your online store, remember: if customers don’t find the option that suits them, they won’t buy. That’s why you should offer multiple ways to pay. Card payments, (online) bank transfers, and cash on delivery have long been among the most popular.
When choosing a payment gateway, consider the following criteria:
- security and customer support
- available payment methods and additional features
- pricing
- compatibility with your e-commerce platform
Security is paramount for financial transactions. All payment gateways operating in the Czech Republic are therefore supervised by the Czech National Bank and should be secure. Still, it’s a good idea to check whether the company operating the payment gateway is based locally—especially for customer support contact and issue resolution.
Payment methods within a payment gateway
When it comes to available features, differences between payment gateways can be significant. The primary function is online card payment, but gateways often add extra features such as bank transfers.
Online card payment
The core function of payment gateways is card payment. Gateways typically support common card types such as MasterCard, Maestro, and Visa, but you may also encounter support for less common cards—useful especially if you sell to international customers.
Toret ČSOB
A payment gateway with support for less common payment cards
Do you need to accept payments from less common card types such as Diners Club, V Pay, or American Express? Try the ČSOB Bank payment gateway, which supports these cards.
Bank button (online bank transfer)
A popular feature of most payment gateways is the so-called bank button, which redirects the customer to their bank’s online banking with a pre-filled bank transfer that the customer only confirms. This feature combines the benefits of a traditional bank transfer (no need to enter card details) with the speed of an online payment.
Paying with a digital wallet
Digital wallets are an increasingly popular service that enables payments directly from a mobile or web app. In addition to convenience, a key reason for their growing popularity is user privacy protection. The most commonly supported wallets by payment gateways are Google Pay and Apple Pay.
Toret GP webpay
A payment gateway with a wide range of digital wallet payments
Do you want to use additional wallets beyond Apple or Google Pay? GP webpay offers a broad selection of internet wallet payments.
Recurring payments
Some payment gateways support recurring payments. This means the customer’s card is charged repeatedly for an approved amount. Such payments are essential for products sold as subscriptions.
Deferred payments
Deferred payments are not as widespread as the previous option, but they can help convince hesitant customers to purchase. Through third-party services (e.g., Twisto, PlatímPak), customers can pay for a product only after they receive and try it (usually within 14–30 days). If they return the goods, they don’t have to wait for a refund. The store typically receives the payment from the provider by the next day after the order is completed.
Installment payments
Offering installments can also act as a hook to win over customers who are hesitating. Installment sales are usually provided via a third-party service (e.g., Cofidis, Essox).
Toret Comgate
A payment gateway with a rich selection of payment methods
Need broad coverage? The Comgate payment gateway supports recurring payments for subscription sales, installment purchases, deferred payments, and payments in thirds.
QR payments
QR payments work by generating a QR code that the customer uses to make a bank transfer. These payments are very fast and easy, and unlike traditional bank transfers, customers usually confirm them immediately. This minimizes the risk of an unfinished payment.
Other payments
Less commonly, payment gateways may also offer methods such as meal voucher cards, cryptocurrencies, SMS payments, Paysafecard, and similar options—most likely useful only for a specific customer segment.
Additional payment gateway features
In addition to payment methods, payment gateways also provide other features that impact conversions.
A key difference between payment gateways is whether the payment takes place on the payment gateway’s page (redirect) or directly on your store’s website in a pop-up window (an inline gateway). Data shows that customers complete up to 9.3% more payments via inline gateways, making them more conversion-friendly.
Toret GoPay Inline
An inline payment gateway with a wide range of features
Do you want to use a reliable inline payment gateway with a wide selection of payment methods in your online store? Try GoPay Inline!
Conversions can also be improved by the option to retry a payment after a failure, which is definitely not a feature offered by every payment gateway. From the customer’s perspective, it significantly increases shopping comfort.
Some payment gateways also offer appearance customization to match your store’s branding. This increases trust in the payment method and reduces the risk of abandoned payments.
An important aspect is responsiveness—whether the payment gateway is adapted for different devices, not only on desktop but also on tablets and smartphones. In our selection of payment gateway plugins, you’ll find only those that are responsive.
How much does a payment gateway cost?
This is usually one of the first questions people interested in a payment gateway ask. Unfortunately, a clear-cut answer is quite difficult here. The cost of a payment gateway consists of multiple items that vary depending on provided services, the store’s turnover, promotions, and individual offers. What should you be prepared for at least roughly?
Setup fee for the gateway/account/service activation
The first potential cost is a setup fee for the gateway, account, or service activation—depending on how the provider names it. This fee can be in the low thousands (under 5,000 CZK), but it’s not unusual to have setup for free. Make sure that “free setup” is truly beneficial in the context of other fees.
Monthly fee for maintaining the payment gateway/account
Another fee is a fixed monthly amount for maintaining the gateway/account with the provider. This is typically a few hundred CZK per month—or free, often for higher-turnover stores or as part of a limited-time welcome promotion.
Transaction fee (percentage rate + fixed fee)
This is the fee you can’t avoid. For every card transaction and every (online) bank transfer through the payment gateway, a percentage rate of the paid amount is deducted—usually in the range of 1–3% depending on the provider’s offer. This rate is typically accompanied by a fixed fee per payment in the range of cents to a few CZK.
TIP: Make sure the percentage rate includes the interbank fee (MIF) as well as card scheme fees, so you’re not unpleasantly surprised by the final fee amount. Some price lists show these fees separately, while others include them directly in the base percentage rate. An overly attractive percentage rate at first glance should be a warning sign that it’s not the final fee.
The transaction fee may also differ depending on whether it’s a domestic or international payment and on the currency. You should find all of these scenarios listed in the provider’s pricing.
Fees for additional services – refunds, deferred payments, installment payments…
Additional services are often charged with a percentage rate and a fixed fee, similar to standard transactions. For deferred payments and installment payments, a third party is involved, so we recommend verifying terms such as refund conditions, etc.
Fee for transferring money to your bank account
Some payment gateway services also charge for transferring funds from the payment gateway account to your account. These are fixed amounts in the range of a few CZK to tens of CZK per transfer. Often, this service is free. Sometimes this fee depends on the currency type. Transfers in CZK may be free, while transfers in EUR may incur a fee.
Service cancellation fee
When signing a payment gateway agreement, the provider may require a time commitment. In that case, you agree to use the gateway for a certain period and may face a financial penalty for early cancellation. But even if the agreement has no commitment, a termination fee may still apply. Again, it should be clearly stated in the pricing.
Can every payment gateway be used in every online store?
Payment gateway providers naturally try to make their solutions available across as wide a range of online stores as possible. However, because there are many platforms running stores worldwide, we recommend always verifying first whether the payment gateway is compatible with your e-commerce solution.
In the table below, you’ll find a comparison of payment gateway features that are compatible with a WooCommerce store. Which payment gateway features are a priority for your online store?
| GoPay Inline | Comgate | GP Webpay | Fio Bank Payment Gateway | The Pay 2.0 | ČSOB Payment Gateway | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card payments | VISA, MasterCard, Maestro | Visa, Mastercard, Maestro | MasterCard, VISA, Diners Club, American Express | Visa, Mastercard, Maestro | MasterCard, Visa, Maestro and Diners Club | VISA, MasterCard, Maestro, Diners Club, V PAY, American Express |
| Bank transfers | CZ, SK, PL | CZ, SK, PL | – | – | CZ | – |
| Bank buttons | + | + | + | – | + | + |
| Digital wallets | Apple Pay, Google Pay, GoPay and PayPal | Apple Pay, Google Pay | MasterPass, MasterCard Mobile, Google Pay, Apple Pay | Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal | Apple Pay, Google Pay | Apple Pay, Google Pay |
| Recurring payments (subscriptions) | + | + | – | – | + | + |
| Deferred payments | Twisto, SkipPay | Twisto, PlatímPak | – | – | PlatímPak | SkipPay |
| Installment payments | Twisto, SkipPay | Essox, Cofidis, Home Credit | – | – | – | – |
| QR payments | – | + | + | + | + | – |
| Other payments & features | Cryptocurrency payments, paysafecard, Premium SMS, M-payments, payments in thirds | payments in thirds | Click To Pay | Click To Pay | Cryptocurrency payments | – |
| Payment on the store page (inline) | + | + | – | – | – | – |
| Payment on the gateway page (redirect) | – | + | + | + | + | + |
| Gateway visual customization | + | + | – | – | + | + |
| Retry failed payments | + | + | – | – | – | – |
| Responsiveness | + | + | + | + | + | + |
| Supported currencies | CZE, EUR, USD, GBP, PLN, HUF, RON, BGN | CZK, EUR, PLN, HUF, USD, GBP, RON, NOK, SEK | CZK, EUR, GBP, HUF, PLN, RUB, USD | CZK, EUR, USD, GBP | CZK, EUR, USD, GBP, HUF, PLN, RON, BGN | CZK, EUR, USD, GBP, PLN, HUF, NOK, SEK, RON |
| Supported languages | 19 languages | 14 languages | 27 languages | 19 languages | 25 languages | Czech |
| Company headquarters | Czechia | Czechia | Czechia | Czechia | Czechia | Czechia |
All of these payment gateways can be easily implemented in WooCommerce via payment gateway plugins. You can then manage the payment gateway settings directly from your store’s admin.
How to implement a payment gateway in a WooCommerce store
Once you’ve chosen the right payment gateway for your store, it’s time to set it up. The process is fairly straightforward and consists of the following steps:
- The first step is signing a contract with the payment gateway provider. They will then provide you with integration credentials to connect the gateway to your WooCommerce store.
- Purchase and install the plugin for the WooCommerce payment gateway according to the documentation provided for that plugin.
- Connect your store to the payment gateway step by step according to the plugin documentation. In this step, you’ll use the integration credentials from the provider and enter them into the appropriate fields in the plugin’s administration.
- Some payment gateways require test transactions. You’ll receive detailed instructions for this step in the documentation as well.
| Payment gateway | Provider registration | Payment gateway plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Comgate | Comgate | Comgate |
| GoPay Inline | GoPay Inline | GoPay Inline |
| The Pay 2.0 | The Pay 2.0 | The Pay 2.0 |
| Fio | Fio | Fio |
| ČSOB | ČSOB | ČSOB |
| GP webpay | GP webpay | GP webpay |
Pay close attention when choosing a payment gateway
A payment gateway is an essential payment option for any online store. It allows you to offer customers fast, convenient, and secure payment methods. The right payment gateway supports order completion and conversion growth, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Don’t forget to consider what your typical customer is like and which options they would appreciate.
Do you already know how to choose a payment gateway? Take a look at our selection of payment gateway plugins for WooCommerce!