Stripe holds a significant position in the online payments market and has done a lot to change the way people make digital transactions. Many businesses shifted to the online marketplace from the physical, especially in the previous year that witnessed the biggest pandemics in over 100 years. Hence, there is a huge demand for processing more online payments made via debit and credit cards.
While Stripe indeed has gained popularity for offering powerful tools for customized online checkouts, subscription management, billing, etc., it has its own shortcomings. For example, since it comes with a develop-first interface, some technically challenged users may find it difficult to navigate. Moreover, it comes with several transaction fees, which small businesses may find quite overwhelming.
Since online shopping is expected to be here for some time, businesses should focus on providing their consumers with more flexible, convenient, secure, and faster payment solutions. Here are some of the best alternatives of Stripe you can try to help your business grow faster.
Host Merchant Services
Host Merchant Services offers innovative payment solutions in areas like eCommerce, virtual terminals, wireless, restaurant, retail, and many others. HMS boasts about providing convenient and flexible merchant account services and credit card processing solutions for businesses of any shape and size.
With Host Merchant Services, you can get the right payment processing system that suits your business and your consumers’ unique needs. The solution even lets you enjoy customized credit card processing solutions for eCommerce payment processing, POS, mobile payments, EMV terminals, etc.
HMS offers a strong customer support service and has transparent interchange-plus pricing structures. There are no additional charges or hidden costs with Host Merchant Services, like equipment leases, account closure charges, rigid contracts, PCI and EMV compliance fees, and other such unnecessary charges.
Besides, it explains everything to the users so that they can make informed decisions. For instance, if a certain rate structure doesn’t suit your business, the HMS team will admit that and explain the expectations you may have.
Melio
Being one of the best Stripe alternatives, Melio is a comprehensive payments solution that is packed with all the features that businesses need to pay their suppliers, vendors, distributors, and other stakeholders. Additionally, Melio helps merchants to pay their utility bills, rents, insurance, advertising, etc., thus helping them manage their expenses in one place.
Melio simplifies the entire payment process, be it for recurring or one-time payments, and enables you to make payments on time via credit or debit cards and bank transfer. The best thing about Melio is that it allows users to schedule due dates of all payments, thus preventing missed payment deadlines.
You can even create pay-links and send them to your customers to hasten the payment process. The received funds are processed online and are transferred to your bank account within 1-3 days without requiring any transaction fee. You can also set up several permissions and roles to approve payments, thus preventing fraud attempts.
2CheckOut
2CheckOut is one of the best competitors of Stripe as it works well for various merchant accounts worldwide. This payment gateway allows merchants to receive instant payments online via debit and credit cards from numerous nations.
If you are looking for a Stripe alternative that adapts well to various payment methods, multi-currencies, and multiple languages, 2CheckOut is a good choice, especially because it has numerous benefits for both buyers and sellers.
Among its features include eCommerce integration, recurring billing, account updater, PCI security standards, customized checkout options and subscription plans, and many more. The platform also makes way for secured transactions, thus preventing fraudulent practices.
Square
Square is a popular name in the payment processing industry and works well for small businesses. It works as an efficient POS platform and is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Square is extremely easy to use and setup, and comes with drag and drop features for seamless operation.
Among the features of this digital payments solution include invoice tracking, real-time inventory management, discounts and refunds, email marketing, reporting and analytics, Square API, employee management, customer profiles and feedback, and so on. Square also comes with a robust customer support system, which is available 24/7 to address all your issues and queries.
Shopify Payments
If you own a Shopify store, you would be required to integrate with a payment processing service provider because Shopify Payments is already embedded within your account. Shopify allows businesses to operate globally using a host of payment options, such as PayPal.
You can manage your customers’ shipping and billing information at a centralized place, and hence, there’s no need to retype them for every transaction, allowing faster checkout processes. The top features offered by Shopify Payments are instant payments, secure checkouts, supports local currencies, payment and order tracking with real-time dashboard updates, payment data encryption, PCI data compliance, and many others.
Adyen
Adyen is another popular payment gateway that accepts debit and credit cards from mobile, in-store, and online payments. The platform’s unique features enable merchants to boost sales, provide hassle-free and faster checkouts, reduce card fraud, and so on.
The features of Adyen include remote store management, global outreach, card validation, data driving, one-click recurring payments, risk management, and reporting and analytics. The solution also allows users to have a quick overview of their transactions, thus helping them make data-driven decisions.
PayPal
PayPal is a world-famous online payment solution that allows merchants to scale up their payment processing system and accept payments securely. It comes with some of the best-in-class payment security and data encryption technologies that protect your consumers’ sensitive data.
Besides, PayPal lets users register their credit cards, eliminating the hassles of retyping card details and passwords on every transaction, thus ensuring a smoother checkout process. It has options for customized invoicing, third-party integrations, and pre-built templates to facilitate faster and seamless payments across the globe.
Some of the best features of PayPal include express checkout, online invoicing, shopping cart, online payments, barcode scanning, inventory tracking, virtual terminal, and many others. Users can even get discounts with selected retailers with PayPal, and it is one of the best solutions for vendors seeking discounted rates.
Conclusion
We hope the above list of Stripe alternatives helps your business grow and boost your customer engagement rates. However, before opting for any particular solution, do measure your long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness.