13 Best Payment Processors for Shopify Stores in 2025

Shopify Payments might be the most convenient credit card processor for Shopify stores, but it’s far from perfect. Many store owners who opted for Shopify’s default processing solution have faced withheld payouts, high fees for basic features (starting from 2.4% + $0.30 per transaction), and unexpected account freezes.

And while most third-party processors offer better pricing and fewer restrictions, not all are built to support your store effectively. Poor Shopify integrations, high transaction fees, limited payment methods, and weak fraud protection can disrupt your operations and stall your growth. Finding a great fit can be quite the headache.

To make the decision easier, I researched hundreds of payment providers and found the best third-party Shopify payment gateway options in the US. Paysafe came out on top, as it integrates seamlessly with Shopify, offers industry-low fees, supports over 260 payment methods, and accepts payments from more than 120 countries. Paysafe delivers the flexibility and reliability that Shopify Payments often lacks.

You can contact Paysafe for a free quote, or keep reading to discover other top payment processors for Shopify stores in 2025.

What We Look For in the Best Payment Processors for Shopify

In my search for the best credit card processors for Shopify store owners, I prioritized features and benefits that would offer the most value and efficiency for your online business.

• Low fees and transparent pricing. Unlike Shopify Payments, most of the services I listed ensure you keep more of your earnings with low transaction and monthly fees – no hidden costs. In addition to low fees, some of our card processors also offer free equipment when you open a merchant account, which can save you money if you also sell in person.
• Fraud prevention and security. Each recommended Shopify payment gateway provides effective security measures to protect you and your customers from fraud and data breaches. Some also have robust policies in place to reduce or prevent future chargebacks, which are common among Shopify stores.
• Support for global payments. I looked for processors that support a variety of payment methods and work in multiple countries and currencies, so you can easily sell to customers worldwide.
• Seamless Shopify integration. I selected payment processors that integrate easily with Shopify (via apps or direct integration) so you won’t struggle with technical setup.
• Fast payouts. I favored processors with quick settlement times (same-day funding if possible) to maintain a healthy cash flow.

1. Paysafe: Best for Global Shopify Stores

Unlike Shopify Payments, Paysafe enables you to sell in over 120 countries and supports 45+ currencies, facilitating international transactions and improving conversion rates. Paysafe also accommodates over 260 payment methods, allowing you to offer customers familiar payment options, including local ones such as BACS, EFT, and Alipay.

Paysafe works well as a Shopify payment gateway, as it integrates seamlessly with the e-commerce platform. You can install the Paysafe app from the Shopify App Store, enter your merchant credentials, select your preferred card brands, and start accepting Shopify payments.

Paysafe offers some of the lowest credit card processing fees for Shopify merchants, especially if you sell high-ticket items or process a high volume of card transactions. With low monthly fees starting at just $7.95/month and transaction rates as low as 0.50% + $0.10, you can improve your store’s profit margins and scale more efficiently.

Features and Benefits

• Customizable checkout experience. With Paysafe Checkout, you can tailor the look and feel of your site’s checkout interface to align with your brand’s aesthetics and business needs.
• Subscription management via Vindicia. For Shopify businesses offering subscriptions, Paysafe’s partnership with Vindicia helps you manage billing, retain customers, and recover failed payments.
• PaysafeCash for cash payments. PaysafeCash allows your customers to make online payments using cash. This payment solution converts online transactions into barcodes, which customers can use to pay in cash at nearby payment points.
• Discounted access to Authorize.net. Paysafe provides access to the Authorize.net gateway and virtual terminal at a discounted rate. For a cheaper price, you can process credit card and eCheck transactions manually from any device with an internet connection.

Read our in-depth Paysafe review for more details.

2. Leaders Merchant Services: Negotiable Rates for SME Shopify Stores

Leaders Merchant Services (LMS) can work well as a Shopify payment processor, offering low monthly and markup fees. You can negotiate with LMS and conclude on a fee that suits your business. Signing up for LMS requires a monthly processing minimum of $30, which is very reasonable, even for small Shopify stores. Meanwhile, transaction fees start from as low as ~0.5% + $0.50.

LMS integrates with Authorize.net to provide a seamless connection with your Shopify store. Authorize.net provides a streamlined checkout experience by allowing customers to save their billing, payment, and shipping information for future use. It also provides a virtual terminal, allowing you to accept payments over the phone, email, or text.

Security is another area where LMS excels. It’s PCI compliant and offers advanced fraud detection and prevention. This level of security is crucial for your Shopify store, as it safeguards sensitive customer data and fosters trust with your customers. What’s more, LMS has an entire department dedicated to helping you with chargeback issues.

Features and Benefits

• POS equipment for your store. Unlike Shopify Payments, which doesn’t offer any free equipment, LMS will give you free POS equipment when you sign up for a long-term contract. Also, as a certified Clover reseller, LMS lets you buy any of Clover’s advanced POS devices.
• Meet-or-beat offer. If you’re currently processing payments elsewhere, LMS guarantees to either meet or beat the pricing of your current credit card processor. If it can’t, you’ll receive a $200 gift card.
• LMS funding. If you’re looking to grow your Shopify business or you’re just starting out, LMS offers cash advances. You don’t have to put up any collateral because you can repay it through a small commission on your future Shopify sales.
• 98% approval rate. If you’ve struggled to find a payment processor due to low or no credit, give LMS a try. With one of the highest approval rates in the industry, there’s a good chance LMS will work with you.

Read our expert LMS review for more details.

3. PaymentCloud: Best for High-Risk Shopify Businesses

PaymentCloud’s 98% approval rate is great news for Shopify store owners in high-risk sectors, such as CBD or supplements, where traditional processors often decline applications. With PaymentCloud, you can expect a streamlined approval process, allowing you to start processing payments as soon as possible.

You’ll get a comprehensive suite of fraud prevention tools, including automatic fraud alerts, temporary payment halts, and chargeback protection. You’ll also get robust API capabilities to integrate PaymentCloud as a Shopify payment gateway, as well as other essential business tools like accounting software and CRM systems.

PaymentCloud offers a specialized plan for high-risk businesses, priced at 3.95% + 25¢ per transaction and a $25.00 monthly fee. While these rates are higher than standard processing fees, they reflect the increased risk associated with high-risk industries. Additionally, you can speak directly with a PaymentCloud agent and potentially negotiate more favorable fees.

Features and Benefits

• Chargeback dispute management. Through PaymentCloud’s collaboration with Chargeback Gurus, you can receive instant dispute alerts, track disputes efficiently, and access tools to analyze and prevent future chargebacks.
• Flexible online payment options. PaymentCloud enables your Shopify store to accept various payment methods, including debit and credit cards, ACH, MOTO payments, Apple Pay, and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
• Dedicated customer support rep. Upon signing up with PaymentCloud, you’re assigned a personal customer support representative who guides you through the entire onboarding process.
• Free POS equipment. For Shopify merchants with physical storefronts, PaymentCloud offers free POS equipment options, including kiosks, wireless terminals, and mobile credit card readers, tailored to your specific needs.

Check out our PaymentCloud review for more info.

4. CardX: Accept Zero-Cost Shopify Payments

CardX is a no-transaction-fee solution for Shopify owners, which lets you pass credit card fees to customers legally, resulting in 0% processing costs on those transactions. Its patented technology streamlines compliance by detecting when a customer pays with a debit card, ensuring that no surcharge is applied.

The CardX Lightbox payment gateway allows customers to complete transactions directly on your Shopify site without redirection. When customers click “Pay Now,” a secure payment form appears as an overlay, enabling them to choose their preferred payment method. This seamless checkout experience can enhance customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment rates.

With CardX, credit card transactions incur a 3.5% surcharge paid by the customer, while debit card transactions cost you 1.25% + 25¢ per transaction. You should also be aware of CardX’s monthly fees: $35 for the POS terminal and $29 for the virtual terminal/CardX Portal. While these fees are high, CardX’s transparent pricing allows you to predict and manage your expenses effectively.

Features and Benefits

• Shopify analytics and reporting. Through the CardX Portal, you can access insights into online and in-person sales, total deposit volumes, and the amount saved on credit card processing fees.
• Custom hardware. For in-person transactions, CardX provides a Verifone VX520 POS terminal equipped with EMV Quick Chip technology and CardX’s proprietary software.
• Free PCI compliance support. CardX offers assistance in achieving PCI compliance, guiding you through the necessary steps at no additional cost.
• Assistance with transparency. CardX provides you with free store signage to inform your walk-in customers about the surcharging policy.

Our comprehensive CardX review has more info on rates.

5. Stax: Best for High-Volume Shopify Stores

Stax keeps it simple with a flat monthly subscription fee and zero markup on interchange fees. While the monthly subscriptions aren’t exactly cheap, Stax’s pricing is pretty cost-effective for high-volume Shopify stores. With transaction fees as low as 10¢ + interchange (in-person) and 15¢ + interchange (online), you retain more of your store’s profits, making Stax a wise choice for scaling Shopify operations.

Subscribing to Stax provides access to numerous advanced processing solutions, including Stax’s proprietary payment gateway and developer tools for integrating shopping carts into your site. If your Shopify store generates $ 8,000 or more in monthly revenue, you’re likely to save up to 40% on fees with Stax.

Stax enhances Shopify store management with robust analytics and inventory management features. Its unified dashboard enables you to compare product and service sales trends, providing valuable insights to inform data-driven decisions.

Features and Benefits

• Multiple POS integrations. Stax is compatible with more than 90% of third-party POS systems, giving you the flexibility to select equipment that works for your brick-and-mortar Shopify store.
• Billing and invoicing. From your Stax dashboard, you can schedule recurring billing and send your customers customized invoices and payment links via email or text.
• QuickBooks integration. Unlike Shopify Payments, which doesn’t integrate directly with QuickBooks, Stax offers bi-directional syncing so your data will seamlessly transfer between Stax and QuickBooks.
• Zapier integration. Stax integrates seamlessly with Zapier, which allows you to set up custom integrations. In addition to Shopify, you’ll also be able to connect to Slack, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Zoho Books, JotForm, and more.

For more details, check out our comprehensive Stax review.

6. Payment Depot: Ideal If You Need Outstanding Support

Payment Depot offers 24/7 technical support via phone and ticket, and it’s among the best-rated processors for merchants. It also has a dedicated risk management team working around the clock to help protect your Shopify store from chargebacks and fraud. It proactively alerts you about suspicious activity or changes in banking policies.

With Payment Depot, you can design a fully customized shopping cart tailored to your Shopify store. You can also streamline your e-commerce workflow through automated syncing with QuickBooks, Sage, and other top accounting platforms.

You should note that Payment Depot doesn’t offer same-day payouts. However, Payment Depot still clears your Shopify transactions within one business day, faster than many competitors’ 2+ day payouts.

Features and Benefits

• Fast and easy onboarding. Payment Depot can set you up to accept both online and in-person Shopify payments within 24 hours.
• Integration with major gateways. If you already use a gateway like Authorize.net or PayPal with Shopify, Payment Depot integrates with those without hassle. This means you don’t need to rebuild your checkout flow or retrain your team.
• Free Dejavoo terminals. If you operate a brick-and-mortar store alongside your Shopify site, Payment Depot offers a free Dejavoo terminal with every plan. You may also be able to negotiate for additional terminals, which can actually save you a significant amount if you have more than one checkout counter.
• Robust payment dashboard. Payment Depot’s dashboard lets you create branded invoices, send out payment links, monitor sales trends, and input payments manually – all from one place.

Learn more in our Payment Depot review.

Other Notable Payment Processors for Shopify

7. Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments allows you to manage payments, orders, and inventory from a single dashboard. You can accept major credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, and offer a seamless checkout experience without redirecting customers off-site. That said, Shopify Payments has relatively high payment processing fees (ranging between 2.4% and 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction) and is available in only 35 countries.

I should note that key features, such as checkout customization, are only available on Shopify’s highest-tier plan, which costs $2300.00/month. Shopify remains a viable option if you’re short on time and can afford to pay extra, but why settle for less? Paysafe supports over 120 markets and offers advanced checkout customization, even on its most affordable plan, priced significantly lower at $7.95/month.

8. Square Payments

Once you’ve created your Square account, you can easily integrate it with your Shopify store using Zapier. Square also lets you create a free FDIC-insured business checking account that gives you instant access to your Shopify sales proceeds.

You can sign up for a free Square account and start accepting Shopify payments on the same day, eliminating the typical delays in getting a business up and running. You should, however, take note of complaints from Square merchants about frozen accounts and unexpected account terminations – it’s essential to complete your profile thoroughly to avoid such issues.

9. Worldpay

Worldpay’s Shopify plugin (“Payments via Access Worldpay”) connects your store to Worldpay’s e-commerce gateway with just a few setup steps. You enter your credentials, choose how you want to take payments, and you’re ready to go.

Worldpay is a good choice for Shopify merchants who sell internationally, process a high volume of orders, or require extra protection against fraud. Note that payments made via the Access Worldpay app don’t support Apple Pay or Google Pay, and you can’t save cards for future use if you sell subscription products.

10. Chase Payment Solutions

In addition to offering a payment gateway through Authorize.net, Chase Payment Solutions also has an Orbital Virtual Terminal for keyed-in Shopify transactions. Through this software, you can process sales, refunds, and voids. You can also use Orbital to manually manage payment functions, such as splitting shipments and settling marked transactions and batches.

Same-day funding with Chase is only available if you have a Chase Business Banking account, which costs $15 per month. However, if you maintain a minimum daily balance of $2,000 in your account, Chase may waive these extra costs. That said, Chase has mixed customer reviews about unexpected account closures, so I recommend reading the fine print before signing up.

11. POS Pros

POS Pros is ideal for hybrid Shopify businesses that also have brick-and-mortar stores. After an initial consultation with a POS Pros Specialist, you’re invited to try different POS solutions that fit your specific business model. This personalized approach ensures you get the right equipment for managing your in-store operations.

POS Pros uses the reliable Authorize.net as its virtual terminal and payment gateway. You’ll receive access to various features, including fraud detection and the ability to create and send digital invoices to your customers. However, I should note that POS Pros’ pricing lacks transparency, and you’ll have to pay for extras, such as a non-PCI compliance fee.

12. Stripe

Stripe supports major credit cards, digital wallets, and recurring billing while offering quick setup and robust fraud protection. Stripe’s direct integration with Shopify Payments makes it easy to manage transactions, and its global coverage helps you sell to customers worldwide. The downside is that Stripe has limited in-person payment options for brick-and-mortar Shopify stores. Additionally, you may require technical expertise to maximize the benefits of Stripe.

13. PayPal

PayPal provides your customers with an easy way to check out using their balance, bank account, or cards, eliminating the need to enter payment details. Its buyer and seller protections, as well as fast payouts, make it a solid option if you’re looking to boost conversions in your Shopify store. However, PayPal’s transaction fees are typically higher than those of some other processors, and its dispute process mostly favors buyers, which may frustrate you.

The Best Payment Processors for Shopify Will Save You Money

In summary, switching from Shopify’s default payments to a better-suited processor can save you a significant amount in fees and headaches. However, with so many Shopify Payments alternatives available, it can be challenging to determine the best fit for your online store.

Below is a recap of my top picks to help you decide. Many of these providers can reduce your payment processing costs by 20-50% compared to Shopify Payments, especially as your sales grow.

If you run a global Shopify store, Paysafe accepts over 45 currencies in more than 120 markets, making it easy to process international transactions. It’s also compatible with over 260 payment methods, allowing you to accommodate diverse customer preferences and boost conversion rates.

If you run an SME Shopify business and want a customized plan, Leaders Merchant Services (LMS) offers negotiable rates. It has initial low fees and integrates seamlessly with Authorize.net, letting you process Shopify payments over the phone, email, and text.

Meanwhile, if you run a high-risk business on Shopify, PaymentCloud has a 98% approval rate, so you have a high chance of securing payment processing with it. It also offers advanced fraud and chargeback protection, as well as a specialized plan for high-risk businesses.

FAQ

What payment processor should I use for Shopify?

The best payment processor for your Shopify store depends on your business type. Paysafe is best for international stores, as it supports a wide range of payment options and many currencies. If you sell a high-risk product like CBD, PaymentCloud is your best bet, thanks to its specialized high-risk solutions.

What is the best payment method to use for Shopify?

Credit and debit cards remain one of the most effective payment methods for Shopify, thanks to their widespread use and fast processing times. However, offering a variety of payment options will help you meet the diverse preferences of your customers. Using a top payment processor like PaymentCloud allows you to accept cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, ACH, and more.

What is the easiest payment gateway for Shopify?

The easiest payment gateway for Shopify is Authorize.net, which Paysafe gives you at a discounted rate. It integrates quickly with Shopify websites, supports multiple payment types and currencies, and offers strong fraud protection. It also handles recurring billing and mobile payments, making it simple for you to scale your store.

What’s the best payment gateway for a Shopify dropshipping store?

Authorize.net is the best payment gateway for a Shopify dropshipping store because it offers reliable fraud protection, supports international payments, and integrates easily with Shopify. I recommend using Authorize.net through a payment processor like Leaders Merchant Services because it significantly reduces costs and simplifies setup and transaction management.

What is the best payment processor for dropshipping?

Paysafe is the best payment processor for dropshipping. It supports global transactions, provides robust fraud protection, and integrates seamlessly with major e-commerce platforms, including Shopify. You also get access to multiple payment methods, including credit cards and digital wallets, which helps reduce cart abandonment.

Our list of the best e-commerce payment processors includes a broader range of payment provider options for dropshippers.