A Payment Gateway is required to collect money online
And you have two options
- Pay upfront for installation, a monthly fee, and many other charges including a % fee. Examples include Realex Payments, Sage Pay Ireland, there are more, but we're simply not bothered with them.
- In our view, PayPal or Stripe are the only options.
Why PayPal or Stripe?
- No upfront fees. You only pay when you make a sale.
- Easy to implement coding. Each Payment Gateway in option 1 is specific so it costs more to have each coded into your website. Most Online Shops use either PayPal or Stripe so its a heck of a lot easier to have them coded into your Online Shop.
- No third parties. With option 1, you will need a Payment Gateway, a bank such as AIB or BoI and Merchant Services such as AIB Merchant Services. You can pay out a lot of fees up front and monthly before you even make a sale. With PayPal or Stripe, you simply require an email address and bank account.
- With option 1, you still pay a % of each sale.
- PayPal & Stripe are trusted brands, helping to grow your sales.
- You can easily integrate either of the two so that the customers card payment details are entered into your online shop, rather than the PayPal or Stripe websites.
PayPal & Stripe Fees
PayPal charge 2.3% + 30 cent per transaction. Stripe charge 2.9% + 25 cent is similar although they have reduced their fees in Ireland. So Stripe are cheaper, but not as known / trusted as PayPal.