Payment processing in Europe is more complex than in single-market regions. You need to support diverse local payment methods, comply with PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication requirements, handle multiple currencies, and navigate varying consumer preferences across countries. Choosing the right payment gateway directly impacts your conversion rates and operational costs.
Key European Payment Gateways
Stripe is the developer favourite for good reason. Its API documentation is exceptional, integration is straightforward, and it supports card payments, SEPA Direct Debit, iDEAL, Bancontact, and dozens of other European payment methods. Stripe's pricing is transparent at 1.5% + 0.25 EUR for European cards, with no monthly fees. For most startups and mid-market businesses, Stripe is the default choice.
Adyen is the enterprise choice, powering payments for brands like Spotify, Uber, and H&M. It offers a single platform for online, in-store, and mobile payments with sophisticated risk management. Adyen's pricing model (interchange++ ) is more cost-effective at high volumes but requires negotiation and minimum processing commitments.
Mollie is a European-born gateway that excels in the Benelux, DACH, and Nordic regions. It offers the easiest onboarding process, supports local payment methods natively, and charges no monthly fees. Mollie is an excellent choice for businesses primarily serving continental European markets.
Local Payment Methods Matter
In Europe, credit cards are not the dominant payment method in many markets. Ignoring local preferences means losing sales:
- Netherlands: iDEAL accounts for over 60% of online payments. Not offering it effectively excludes you from the Dutch market.
- Germany: SEPA Direct Debit, Giropay, and Klarna (pay later) are widely preferred over credit cards. Germans are famously cautious about credit.
- Poland: BLIK is the dominant mobile payment method, used by over 60% of online shoppers.
- Nordics: Swish (Sweden), Vipps (Norway), and MobilePay (Denmark) are essential mobile wallet options.
PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication
The EU's Payment Services Directive 2 requires Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) for most online payments. This means two-factor authentication via 3D Secure 2 (3DS2). Your payment gateway must handle the SCA flow seamlessly — redirecting customers to their bank's authentication, handling exemptions for low-value transactions, and managing the increased friction without tanking conversion rates.
Modern gateways like Stripe and Adyen handle SCA intelligently, requesting exemptions where possible and applying risk-based authentication to minimise unnecessary friction. Older or poorly configured gateways force authentication on every transaction, which can increase checkout abandonment by 10-20%.
Integration Strategy
For most European eCommerce businesses, we recommend starting with Stripe or Mollie for their ease of integration and transparent pricing, then evaluating Adyen as you scale beyond 10,000 transactions per month. Whichever gateway you choose, ensure it supports the local payment methods of your target markets, handles SCA correctly, and provides clear reporting for reconciliation. At Born Digital, we integrate payment gateways as part of our eCommerce builds, ensuring the checkout flow is optimised for European consumers from day one.