Nabeyond ltd t/a CartDNA is a CartDNA is a Shopify Payment App Development Partner
The gateway you choose shapes your conversion rate, your costs, and whether customers trust you enough to pay. Here's how to get it right — for your market, your model, and your growth stage.
A practical framework for Shopify merchants to select the right payment gateway for their business model and target markets.
Most Shopify merchants pick a payment gateway once and never revisit it. That's a costly mistake. As you scale into new markets, launch new product lines, or target customers who prefer bank transfers over credit cards, the 'good enough' gateway you started with quietly drains conversions and adds unnecessary fees.
The payment gateway you choose determines which countries you can sell to, which currencies you can accept, which local payment methods are available at checkout, and how much you pay per transaction. Get it wrong, and you're losing revenue at the most valuable part of your funnel — the moment a customer decides to pay.
Not all gateways are equal. Understanding these three categories will help you choose the right one — or the right combination — for your business.
Shopify Payments is Shopify's own gateway, powered by Stripe. It removes the additional transaction fee Shopify charges when you use a third-party gateway, making it the most cost-effective option for eligible merchants.
Stripe and PayPal are the most widely used third-party gateways for Shopify. They're available in more countries than Shopify Payments and offer powerful APIs for customisation — but they come with Shopify's additional transaction fee on top of their own processing fees.
Local Payment Service Providers specialise in regional payment methods that global gateways don't cover well. If you're selling into the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, or Belgium, adding a local PSP alongside your primary gateway can significantly increase checkout completion.
CartDNA specialises in connecting Shopify stores to local PSPs — without requiring a local business entity or bank account in each market.
| Gateway | Processing Fee | Shopify Extra Fee | Best Market Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments | 0.5–2.4% + fixed | None | US, UK, EU, AU, CA |
| Stripe | 1.5–2.9% + fixed | 0.5–2% | Global, 47+ countries |
| PayPal | 2.29–3.49% + fixed | 0.5–2% | Global, consumer trust |
| Mollie | From 1.2% (cards) | 0.5–2% | Europe (iDEAL, SEPA, Bancontact) |
| Adyen | Interchange + markup | 0.5–2% | Enterprise, global scale |
CartDNA Insight: For most growing Shopify stores, the smartest strategy is Shopify Payments as the primary gateway, with a local PSP added per market as you scale into Europe, LatAm or Asia. This minimises fees while maximising local checkout conversion.
Fee comparisons are the start — not the end — of choosing a gateway. These eight factors have a direct impact on your conversion rate, your customer experience, and your operational costs.
The wrong gateway doesn't just cost you transaction fees — it costs you customers at the most critical moment in their journey.
Rather than searching for a single 'perfect' gateway, think in layers. The best Shopify merchants use a tiered payment strategy that starts simple and scales as they grow.
If Shopify Payments is available in your country, use it first — it removes Shopify's additional transaction fee (0.5–2%) and integrates natively with your checkout. Stripe is the better choice if you're outside Shopify Payments' supported countries, need advanced API customisation, or operate in a category that Shopify Payments restricts.
Shopify charges an additional transaction fee (0.5–2% depending on your plan) every time you use a third-party payment gateway. The only way to avoid it is to use Shopify Payments as your primary gateway. If Shopify Payments isn't available in your country, this fee is unavoidable — but can be partially offset by negotiating better processing rates with your chosen gateway.
European payment preferences vary significantly by country. For the Netherlands: iDEAL is used in over 70% of online transactions. For Germany: SEPA bank transfer and Klarna are dominant. For Belgium: Bancontact. For Poland: BLIK. For France and Southern Europe: cards and PayPal. Adding these through a local PSP integration like CartDNA can reduce European cart abandonment significantly.
Yes. Shopify allows you to have one primary gateway (such as Shopify Payments or Stripe) plus additional payment methods (such as PayPal, local PSPs, and BNPL providers like Klarna). CartDNA specialises in adding local payment methods to Shopify stores as supplementary checkout options alongside your primary gateway — without disrupting your existing setup.
CartDNA helps Shopify merchants add local payment methods — iDEAL, Klarna, Bancontact, SEPA and more — to maximise checkout conversion in every market they sell into. No local bank account required.
