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Best Payment Gateways for SaaS
SaaS providers often need recurring billing, trials, upgrades, downgrades, failed-payment recovery and invoices... the list goes on. That's why the best payment gateways for SaaS businesses are those that are multifaceted.
A simple self-serve product may only need card checkout and subscriptions, while a more complex SaaS business may also need usage-based billing, local payment methods, tax support, customer portals and multi-currency reporting.
This guide details the features and fees of three multifaceted SaaS payment gateways in the UK, explaining the different provider models and the features and costs to compare.
Note: Wise Business offers a free Essential plan for basic spending and transferring. If you need to receive money, set up direct debits, or generate invoices, you'll pay a one-time £50 setup fee to unlock the Advanced features.
The three providers in this comparison are listed alphabetically, not in order of rank, preference or endorsement. Provider features, fees, eligibility checks, protections and timelines can vary by customer, business type, application outcome, payment method and country. Check each provider's current website and terms for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
SaaS payment gateways at a glance
| Provider | Key features | Fees and key considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Adyen | According to Adyen's online payments information, it supports 150+ currencies, 200+ local payment methods and tools for global payment optimisation.3 | According to Adyen's pricing information, pricing is tied to payment methods and business requirements. Compare implementation requirements with the value of the additional coverage.4 |
| Checkout.com | According to Checkout.com's pricing information, it offers web, in-app and recurring payments, local payment methods, a unified payments API, data and reporting, and machine-learning fraud tools. It processes payments in 150+ currencies and has domestic coverage in 45+ countries.2 | Pricing is tailored to the business profile and risk category. Checkout.com lists flat-rate and interchange++ structures, with no setup fees or account-maintenance fees; contact its team for a tailored plan.2 |
| Stripe | According to Stripe's UK pricing information, its platform offers checkout, recurring billing, invoicing, tax and fraud tools.1 | According to Stripe's UK pricing information, standard UK cards are listed at 1.5% plus 20p per transaction and EU cards at 2.5% plus 20p. Other billing, tax, dispute and currency costs can apply.1 |
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SaaS payment provider types
| Provider type | What it does | When it may suit |
|---|---|---|
| Payment service provider | Processes payments and supplies checkout and payment methods. | Early-stage or self-serve SaaS that needs cards and wallets. |
| Subscription billing platform | Manages subscriptions, invoices, proration, dunning and revenue workflows. | SaaS with complex plans, sales-led deals or finance requirements. |
| Direct Debit or bank-payment provider | Collects recurring bank payments. | B2B SaaS with larger invoices or customers who prefer bank payments. |
| Merchant of record | Takes responsibility for the sale and may manage tax, payments and compliance. | Digital businesses selling internationally that want to outsource more operational complexity. |
| Enterprise payment platform | Handles markets, payment methods, optimisation, risk and reporting at scale. | Larger SaaS businesses with global payment needs. |
Adyen
Features
Adyen is aimed at businesses with more complex payment operations. According to Adyen's online payments information, it supports 150+ currencies and 200+ local payment methods, alongside global payment, risk and reporting capabilities.3
Adyen's online-payment materials also describe website, in-app and recurring payments, local payment methods, drop-in, components and API-only integration options, plus risk and fraud optimisation tools.3 Its broad currency, local-method and reporting coverage can be relevant to a scaling SaaS business with international payment requirements.
Fees
According to Adyen's pricing information, each transaction has a fixed processing fee plus a payment-method fee, with no setup or monthly fees. The published UK pricing shows a £0.11 processing fee, while the payment-method fee depends on the method; for example, cards use interchange++ plus 0.60%, and Bacs Direct Debit is listed at £0.11 plus £0.55.4 Compare implementation effort and commercial requirements with the value of the additional coverage.
Checkout.com
Features
According to Checkout.com's pricing information, it offers online, in-app and recurring payments, local payment methods, a unified payments API, data and reporting, machine-learning fraud tools and integration options for different checkout implementations.2
Checkout.com says it processes payments in 150+ currencies and has domestic coverage in 45+ countries. Its feature set can be relevant to SaaS businesses that need online checkout, recurring payments and international payment coverage in one payment platform.2
Fees
According to Checkout.com's pricing information, pricing is tailored to the business profile and risk category. Checkout.com lists fully flat-rate and interchange++ structures, says there are no setup or account-maintenance fees, and asks businesses to get in touch for a tailored plan. It also describes transparent transaction-level visibility into card-scheme and interchange costs.2
Stripe
Features
Stripe provides a SaaS company with payments, subscriptions, invoicing and finance tools in one broad platform. According to Stripe's UK pricing information, Stripe also offers tools for recurring billing, real-time retries and automatically updated cards.1
Stripe's broad feature set can be relevant to self-serve SaaS with a technical team. Before committing, test your trial, upgrade, cancellation, refund and failed-payment journeys rather than evaluating checkout in isolation.
Fees
According to Stripe's UK pricing information, standard UK cards are listed at 1.5% plus 20p per transaction, while EU cards are listed at 2.5% plus 20p. The headline card rate is only one part of the cost: check billing, tax, currency conversion, disputes, fraud tools, payouts and any custom-price products against your expected customer and transaction mix.1
Features to compare before choosing a SaaS payment gateway
Recurring billing and subscription lifecycle
Check whether the provider supports monthly and annual plans, free trials, coupons, one-off add-ons, usage-based billing, multiple subscription items, proration and customer-led plan changes. Make sure the provider can handle the edge cases your pricing roadmap is likely to introduce.
Failed-payment recovery
Failed payments can create involuntary churn. Look for smart retries, card-account updater tools, dunning emails, payment-method update links, customer notifications and reporting that shows recovered revenue.
Ask whether retry timing can be customised, whether the system responds differently to different failure types and whether customers can update their payment details without contacting support.
Payment methods and settlement
Cards are common, but SaaS businesses may also need Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Direct Debit, SEPA, ACH, bank transfer or local payment methods. Confirm which countries customers can pay from, which currencies they can use and which currencies you can settle in.
Tax, invoicing and merchant-of-record coverage
International digital sales can involve VAT, GST or sales-tax calculations, invoice formatting, evidence collection, registration thresholds and reporting. A merchant of record may handle more of this work, while a direct processor may leave you to combine payment and tax tools.
Review this with a tax professional where appropriate, especially if you sell to consumers in several countries.
Reporting and reconciliation
Finance teams need to reconcile gross sales, processing fees, refunds, chargebacks, taxes and payouts. Check whether reports separate subscription revenue, one-off charges, tax and processing costs, and whether the provider connects to your accounting system.
Discover Wise Business
Once you've chosen a SaaS payment gateway, Wise Business can help you manage the money around it, including international receipts, supplier payments, multi-currency balances and business expenses.
Wise Business offers a free Essential plan for basic spending and transferring. If you need to receive money, set up direct debits, or generate invoices, you'll pay a one-time £50 setup fee to unlock the Advanced features.
With Wise Business, you can:
- 🌍 Send money to 70+ countries and pay overseas invoices at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees and no hidden exchange rate markups (product availability varies by region)
- 📥 Receive payments in 24 currencies and counting
- 💵 Get local account details for 8+ currencies, including USD and EUR, to let your customers pay in a currency they know and trust - convenience for them and peace of mind for you
- 💰 Hold money in 40+ currencies
- 🔁 Convert currencies anytime at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees
- ⚡ Use the batch payments tool to create and send up to 1,000 payments in a single transfer
- 👥 Run payroll and make international payments for up to 1,000 employees all over the world - including paying suppliers using local payment methods like ACH, SEPA, and Faster Payments
- 💳 Get business debit cards with 0.5% cashback for you and your team to keep track of team expenses and spend all over the world, with real-time visibility and categorisation. See full cashback terms and conditions
- 🏢 Manage cash in 55+ currencies across international offices from a single business account and move money between business accounts in seconds (exact speeds can vary depending on individual circumstances and may not be the same for all transactions)
- 🧾 Connect and sync every business transaction to your favourite accounting software, including Xero, Quickbooks, and more
- 🔐 Create your own payment approvals process to manage your team better with customised access for different team members, roles and permissions
- 📑 Create custom professional invoices and schedule invoice payments for future dates
- 📈 Earn variable returns on GBP, USD and EUR with Wise Interest (Capital at risk, growth not guaranteed. Your money is at risk if governments default or interest rates go negative. Rates vary by country and currency. Rates are variable. Visit Wise Interest to find out more)
- 🔗 Create payment links and QR codes to get paid easily (Card payment acceptance for new Wise Business customers is currently unavailable. Payment methods subject to eligibility and availability.)
- ⚙️ Automate payouts with the Wise API (comes with 24/7 customer support, a sandbox account to test integrations, API tokens, and clear documents on how to implement and make the most of our API)
Make the wise choice when selecting a business account for your domestic and global needs.
Be Smart, Get Wise.
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FAQs: best payment gateway for SaaS
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is the checkout layer that securely passes a customer's payment details to the payment processor. For SaaS, the gateway usually sits alongside subscription billing, payment-method management, recurring-payment collection and finance reporting.
A simple self-serve product may need card checkout and monthly subscriptions. A more complex SaaS business may also need:
- free trials, coupons and annual discounts
- seat-based, usage-based or hybrid pricing
- upgrades, downgrades and proration
- invoices and payment terms
- Direct Debit, bank transfer and local payment methods
- customer self-service portals
- retries, dunning and card-account updates
- tax calculation and merchant-of-record support
- revenue reporting, reconciliation and multi-currency settlement
This is why the right payment gateway for one SaaS business may be the wrong fit for another. A payment processor, billing platform and merchant of record can each solve a different part of the payment journey.
Sources:
Sources checked on 3 August 2026
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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