Online payment gateways

UK online card payments for websites and ecommerce

If your customer is on your website at the point of payment, you need a payment gateway, not a card terminal. The gateway captures card details on a hosted page (Stripe Checkout, Adyen Drop-in) or directly on your site (Stripe Elements, Adyen Components) and passes them to your acquirer. This page covers the UK gateway landscape, including the high-risk online verticals that mainstream acquirers won't underwrite.

Omnichannel acquirers (already reviewed)

These acquirers run both card terminals (in-person) and online gateways (card-not-present). If you sell both ways, one of these is usually the right call: one statement, one reconciliation, one chargeback workflow.

Square Terminal

4.1/5

Square Terminal is the strongest all-in-one no-contract terminal for UK retail and hospitality looking for software-rich POS without a monthly fee. Tighter integration with Square's wider stack (online store, invoices, payroll) than competitors.

Stripe Reader S700

4/5

Stripe Reader S700 is the strongest UK terminal for businesses already running on Stripe online. Tight integration with Stripe Connect, Billing and Tax. Hardware is solid; the case for it is the developer ecosystem rather than the rate.

Tide Card Reader

3.8/5

Tide Card Reader is the in-app card-acceptance product for Tide Business banking customers. Cheapest mainstream UK rate at 1.5% per transaction. Best fit if you already bank with Tide; less compelling otherwise because the ecosystem-lock-in has no upside outside the Tide stack.

Revolut Card Reader

3.7/5

Revolut Card Reader is part of the Revolut Business stack. Headline rate is among the cheapest in the UK SMB market, but conditional on holding a Revolut Business subscription. Best fit for Revolut Business users with international payment flow; less compelling as a standalone choice.

Adyen for Platforms

4/5

Adyen is the enterprise-grade acquirer used by larger UK merchants and platforms (Just Eat, Deliveroo, Booking.com, Klarna). Premium pricing transparency and global coverage; not a small-SMB product. Worth knowing about because larger UK SMBs sometimes need to consider it.

Online-led high-risk verticals

Most online gambling, crypto, dating, subscription and adult businesses fall outside mainstream UK acquirer underwriting. They need specialist high-risk acquirers with explicit risk-aware approvals, higher rates, and rolling-reserve arrangements. We cover the panel that engages with each.

Adult industry merchant accounts UK

Card networks treat adult content and services as the highest-chargeback-risk vertical outside gambling. Mainstream acquirers decline categorically.

Gambling merchant accounts UK

Heaviest regulated vertical with the most complex chargeback and fraud profile. Card networks impose specific MCC codes and processing rules.

Health supplements merchant accounts UK

Subscription billing and weight-loss claims drive high chargeback rates. Card networks watch this vertical closely.

Crypto-adjacent merchant accounts UK

Card networks treat crypto purchases as the highest-fraud-risk vertical alongside gambling. Mainstream UK acquirers decline categorically. Specialist acquirers exist but pricing is high and reserves substantial.

Subscription-billing merchant accounts UK

Subscription chargeback rates run materially above one-off retail. "I cancelled but you charged me" disputes are the dominant chargeback reason. Card schemes scrutinise this vertical closely.

Dating site merchant accounts UK

Subscription-billing chargeback rates run high on dating verticals. Catfishing complaints, dispute-rate spikes around Valentine's, and consent-capture complexity drive acquirer caution.

UK online payment gateway reviews

Each gateway page covers UK pricing, SCA / 3D Secure 2 handling, setup complexity, pros, cons, and competitors. Hands-on test is in progress for several; structural reviews are live.

Stripe Checkout

Stripe

The standard UK hosted-checkout payment gateway. SCA-aware, subscription-ready, Connect-ready.

Read review →

Adyen Web

Adyen

Enterprise omnichannel gateway with bespoke pricing. Strong for mid-market and up.

Read review →

Shopify Payments

Shopify

Native checkout for Shopify stores. Stripe-powered, discounted rates for Shopify merchants.

Read review →

Square Online

Square

Square ecommerce builder plus payment processing. Bundled with Square Terminal for omnichannel SMBs.

Read review →

GoCardless

GoCardless

Bank-to-bank direct debit, not card. Lower fee for recurring B2B and subscription billing.

Read review →

PayPal Checkout

PayPal

Mainstream UK consumer wallet. Buy Now Pay Later, abandoned-cart recovery, higher rates.

Read review →

Opayo (formerly Sage Pay)

Elavon

UK-specific gateway popular with established SMBs and mid-market. Owned by Elavon.

Read review →

Mollie

Mollie

European-headquartered gateway. Strong Klarna, iDEAL, Bancontact for cross-border UK ecommerce.

Read review →

What changes when payment moves online

Card-not-present pricing
Online transactions carry higher interchange than in-person. Expect 0.3% to 0.7% more than the same acquirer's POS rate, before scheme fees and gateway markup.
Chargeback exposure rises sharply
Card-not-present transactions sit on the merchant for fraud. Friendly fraud and "item not received" disputes are common. Most UK gateways charge £15 to £35 per chargeback regardless of outcome.
3D Secure 2 (SCA) is mandatory
UK and EEA card payments require Strong Customer Authentication on most online transactions. Gateways handle the challenge flow automatically but conversion drops 2 to 5 percentage points when SCA is triggered.
Settlement schedule differs
Online acquirers often hold reserves and settle on rolling schedules for new accounts. Stripe defaults to 7 days for new merchants. Adyen schedules are bespoke. Reserve and settlement terms matter more online than they do in person.
PCI compliance is different
In-person you can usually claim SAQ-B (hardware-only). Online you typically need SAQ-A or SAQ-A-EP, with quarterly scans for the latter. Hosted-checkout gateways minimise scope; self-hosted forms increase it.

Last reviewed: 11 May 2026.