Rocketspark doesn’t take any commission from any of your sales, however, each Payment Gateway has its 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. This help guide will walk you through each of the UK payment gateways that we have to offer so that you can find the gateway/s that would for your business.
Gateway Breakdown
Stripe
Stripe is a payment processor and payment gateway. They offer simple, transparent pricing, but if you have a large payment volume (around £39,000/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 1.4% plus a 20p flat fee per transaction for European cards.
For non-European cards, Stripe charges 2.9% plus a 20p flat fee per transaction.
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
You can find the full detail of merchant fees here.
PayPal charges 2.9% plus a £0.30 flat fee per transaction.
Withdrawing funds to a bank account or a card is free when no currency conversion is involved.
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
- 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 with Windcave. This includes o establishment fee, and a single £20 monthly fee for 300 transactions, which is an average of £0.15 per transaction.
Windcave also have a Starter plan and a Business plan. A comparison of the three plans is below.
|
Rocketspark £20 monthly fee (includes 300 transactions) |
Starter £20 monthly fee (includes 350 transactions) £0.18 per additional transaction |
Business £50 monthly fee (includes 700 transactions) £0.15 per additional transaction |
Similar to Stripe and PayPal, if you're processing over £26,000/month you can negotiate custom pricing with Windcave. More pricing information can be found here.
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).
Laybuy
Laybuy is a part-payment platform that allows your customers to pay over 6 interest-free weekly payments, while you get paid upfront. You can sign up for Laybuy on their website. How to set up Laybuy - for merchants.
Pricing
Laybuy charges a 4%-10% fee per transaction. Fees are set per retailer, but this article from fablious.co.uk gives a good comparison between the different buy now pay later options.
Features
- Laybuy takes on the risk for non-payment and fraud.
- You can offer Laybuy in-store as well as online.
- The growing popularity of part-payment platforms like Laybuy can lead to increased sales.
- Allow your customers to receive the item immediately then pay off the item over 6 weeks, while you get paid upfront.
- A comprehensive data dashboard.
Why Choose Laybuy?
Part-payment platforms like Laybuy are growing in popularity and are here to stay. Offering Laybuy can be a great way to boost sales and improve your customers' experience.
Clearpay
Clearpay 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 Clearpay - for merchants.
Pricing
A flat fee plus a commission that can range between 4%-6% per transaction. Fees are set per retailer, but this article from fablious.co.uk gives a good comparison between the different buy now pay later options.
Features
- Clearpay takes on the risk for non-payment and fraud.
- You can offer Clearpay in-store as well as online.
- The growing popularity of part-payment platforms like Clearpy 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.
Why Choose Clearpay
Clearrpay is by far the most popular part-payment platform, with a huge user base across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK. Clearpay'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 | |
| Stripe | No | 1.4% + 20p per transaction | No | Dependent on bank | Foreign exchange fees apply |
| Paypal | No | 2.9% + 30p per transaction | No | No | Foreign exchange fees apply |
| Windcave | £20-£50 per month | 15p-18p per transaction | Depends on payment method and plan | Dependent on bank | No |
| Laybuy | No | 4%-10% per transaction | No | No | No |
| Clearpay | No | 4-6% per transaction | No | No | No |
| Bank Deposit | No | No |
No |
No | No |
You can make a copy of this spreadsheet and use it to roughly estimate how much each payment gateway would cost you in fees per month.