Rocketspark doesn’t take any commission from any of your sales, however, each Payment Gateway has it’s own fees and features to take into consideration. Each customer will have their own preferences as well, so we recommend having a range of gateways available to increase the chances of a sale. A combination of Bank Deposit, a Credit Card Gateway, and a Buy Now Pay Later platform is a good start, however, each business will have its own needs depending on its products and its customers' spending habits.
Gateway Breakdown
eWay
eWay is an Australian/New Zealand payment gateway. They offer two types of plans, each type has multiple tiers to choose from, depending on what your business needs.
All eWay plans offer free phone and chat support, no contract terms, and enrolment in the Merchant Trust Initiative. You can sign up for an eWay account in your dashboard. Setting up eWAY payments.
Pricing
In New Zealand, eWay’s three ‘All-in-one plans’ also offer PCI-DSS level 1 security, same-day settlement, a lower transaction rate, and no refund fees. Pricing for these plans is below:
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Low (iti) Plan $0 per month 3.4% per transaction |
Medium (wawaenga) Plan $15 per month 2.95% per transaction |
High (teitei) Plan $35 per month 2.7% per transaction |
eWay also offers two ‘Gateway Plans’, which are targeted towards those businesses who already have a merchant account with their own bank, and want to continue working with them.
These plans also offer a dedicated NZ success manager and are set up-free. However, banks may charge further transaction fees.
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Budget Plan 30c per transaction 100 Free transactions per month $25 per month |
VIP Plan 15c per transaction 300 Free transactions per month $55 per month |
Additionally, Not For Profits and Charities can take advantage of the Community Plan:
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Community Plan 10c per transaction 10 Free transactions per month $15 per month |
Features
- Free phone and chat support
- No contract terms
- Enrolment in the Merchant Trust Initiative.
- PCI-DSS level 1 security (All-in-one plans only)
- Same-day settlement (All-in-one plans only)
- No refund fees (All-in-one plans only)
- Dedicated NZ success manager (Gateway Plans Only)
- Setup-free (Gateway Plans Only)
Why Choose eWaY?
eWay is great if you are a cost-focused business that just needs a credit-card gateway without too many bells and whistles, or who wants to work directly with your bank. Their fees are also some of the lowest in the industry, however, watch out for extra merchant fees when using one of their Gateway Plans.
Stripe
Stripe is a payment processor and payment gateway. They offer simple, transparent pricing, but if you have a large payment volume (around $75,000/month in sales) or a unique business model you can negotiate a custom plan for your business. See Stripe's Pricing Page for more information. You can sign up for Stripe through your Dashboard. Setting up Stripe payments.
Pricing
Stripe charges 2.7% plus a 30¢ flat fee per transaction for domestic cards and 3.7% plus a 30¢ per transaction fee.
Features
- Support for Google Pay and Apple Pay alongside standard credit cards.
- 3D Secure authentication
- Recurring subscriptions support
- Automatic 4-day rolling payout schedule
- No refund fees
- 24/7 phone, chat, and email support
- Detailed payment dashboards
- Financial reconciliation and reporting support
Stripe's full list of features can be found here.
Why Choose Stripe?
Stripe is one of the most fully-featured payment gateways, with a huge range of useful tools included out-of-the-box. If you're wanting to use Rocketspark's Recurring Subscriptions feature, Stripe is currently your only choice. Accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay through your site is also only available through Stripe. Finally, if you're turning over a large sales volume or have a unique business model, then negotiating a custom plan with Stripe may lead to big savings in payment gateway fees.
PayPal
PayPal is one of the oldest and best-known payment gateways. One of PayPal's key features is that they offer customers the option to pay for goods through their PayPal wallet, rather than having to have a debit or credit card. They offer transparent pricing, though when dealing with international currencies there can be some other hidden costs. Full pricing can be found here. You can sign up for PayPal on their website. Setting up PayPal payments.
Pricing
PayPal charges 3.4% plus a 45¢ flat fee per transaction.
Withdrawing funds to a bank account is free, unless your PayPal balance is below $150, in which case there is a withdrawal fee of $1. You must make a manual withdrawal request each time.
These fees can be reduced as your sales volume increases, though you need to apply for a reduction with PayPal.
Features
- Immediate access to funds (though clearing to a bank account takes an additional 1-2 days)
- Easy setup online
- Email, phone and live chat support from 10am to 10pm NZT Monday to Friday, and 10am to 9pm NZT Saturday and Sunday.
- Built-in features geared towards Not For Profit organisations (such as their donate now button).
- Reduced fees as sales volume increases.
Why Choose PayPal?
PayPal has been around for a long time, and as a result, they've built up a large customer base and a lot of trust. If you're a business turning over a large amount of revenue each month their fee reductions may be worthwhile. Additionally, if you're a business with a lot of international customers, PayPal is one of the simplest ways to accept payments from other currencies.
Windcave (formerly Payment Express)
Windcave (formerly Payment Express/DPS) is a payment gateway that offers a wide variety of payment options. You can apply for a Windcave account through your Dashboard. Setting up Windcave / Payment Express / DPS payments.
Pricing
Rocketspark has negotiated special pricing for Windcave. A new account will incur a one-time $50+GST establishment fee, and then two available plans:
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Rocket Micro $15 monthly fee 50¢ per transaction fee |
Rocket Starter $30 monthly fee (which includes 100 transactions) 30¢ per transaction fee |
Windcave's standard plans also require a one-time $99 establishment fee. The following providers are then offered at a monthly fee of $30.00 plus the rates below:
| Visa and Mastercard (standard) | 2.30% + 30¢ |
| Account2Account | 1.20% (capped at $3.00) |
| Alipay | 1.75% + 30¢ |
| Amex | (Service fee varies) + 30¢ |
| Apple Pay | (Service fee varies) + 30¢ |
| Diners | 3.00% + 30¢ |
| Discover | 3.00% + 30¢ |
| JCB | (Service fee varies) + 30¢ |
| Oxipay | (Service fee varies) + 30¢ |
| PayPal | (Service fee varies) + 30¢ |
| WeChat Pay | 1.75% + 30¢ |
| UnionPay | 2.80% + 30¢ |
Similar to Stripe and PayPal, if you're processing over $50,000/month you can negotiate custom pricing with Windcave.
Features
- Daily settlement (T+1)
- Service fees billed in arrears
- 3D Secure chargeback protection
- Dedicated account management and 24/7 support
- Payline access for real-time monitoring and management.
- PCI compliant security
- A huge range of payment options for your customers
- Integration with EFTPOS for retail
- Bulk transaction processing
Why Choose Windcave?
Windcave is a great one-stop-shop if you have a physical presence as well as an eCommerce site due to their integrated EFTPOS solutions. The range of payments Windcave offers is also a huge draw, particularly for those doing business in China (with their UnionPay and Alipay integrations).
Afterpay
Afterpay is a part-payment platform that allows your customers to pay over 4 fortnightly payments while you get paid upfront. You can sign up for Afterpay on their website. How to set up Afterpay - for merchants.
Pricing
A flat fee (generally around 50¢) plus a commission that can range between 4%-6% per transaction. Fees are set per retailer, but this article from interest.co.nz gives a good indication of how much you can expect to pay.
Features
- Afterpay takes on the risk for non-payment and fraud.
- You can offer Afterpay in-store as well as online.
- The growing popularity of part-payment platforms like Afterpay can lead to increased sales.
- Allow your customers to receive the item immediately then pay off the item over 4 fortnightly payments, while you get paid upfront.
- Payments can be made through Afterpay for items up to $1500 (any excess will need to be paid at the same time as the first payment).
Why Choose Afterpay
Afterpay is by far the most popular part-payment platform, with a huge user base across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK. Afterpay's strong name recognition can help increase the volume and value of your sales. Buy Now Pay Later platforms are here to stay, so it's worthwhile considering them for your business.
Bank Deposit
Bank Deposits have no charge, however, orders will need to be manually marked as paid in Rocketspark and some banks may have their own fees. Additionally, payments take a while to clear, so your customers may have to wait longer until you've received payment.
Quick Comparison
| Subscription Fee? | Transaction Fee? | Merchant Fee to Bank? | Transfer fee to Bank? | Other costs | |
| eWay | Between $0-$55/month | 2.7%-3.4% per transaction | Yes, with Gateway Plans | Dependent on bank | No |
| Stripe | No | 2.7% + 30¢ per transaction | No | Dependent on bank | Foreign exchange fees apply |
| Paypal | No | 3.4% + 45¢ per transaction | No | Yes, $1.00 below $150.00, free above $150.00 | Foreign exchange fees apply |
| Windcave | $15-$30/month | 30¢-50¢ per transaction | 1.75%-3.00% (depending on payment method) | Dependent on bank | $99 set-up fee, one-time ($50 with Rocketspark plans) |
| Afterpay | No | 4-6% + 30¢ per transaction | No | No | No |
| Bank Deposit | No | No |
No |
No | No |
You can download this spreadsheet and use it to roughly estimate how much each payment gateway would cost you in fees per month.