What is the best payment gateway for an international startup in Europe?

Without knowing some detailed specifics regarding your European startup, the best solution for you could be either very complex or very simple. Typically, the choice of a payment gateway is based on a wide variety of criteria (transaction pricing, ease of integration, availability of specific features, etc.). Depending on the features and functionality you require of a payment gateway, your choice may vary.

As a startup, no matter where you are located, you face additional challenges in simply finding a payment processor willing to partner with you. Because of the historically high statistics rates of startup failure, and the low numbers of transactions processed, startups are not particularly appealing and don’t generate enough profit for many payment gateway providers.

You mention that you need to receive payments in Belgium, but does that mean you’ll only accept Euros? Or will you accept other currencies? This is a big decision you’ll need to make as it will help in determining which gateway you ultimately choose.

If you plan on accepting payments from people around the world, we’ll consider your company an international startup, and you’ll need to decide whether you’ll accept payments from foreign countries and in foreign currencies or establish a single currency such as the US Dollar. You may also have the option to partner with an acquirer that offers a currency conversion service (for a fee).

As you mentioned, PayPal is expensive. Viable alternatives include Worldpay, FirstData, and Elavon. You may find yourself having to partner with several different platforms, however, simply because there isn’t a single universal platform to meet the regulatory requirements for every country you will accept transactions from. As for payment gateways, Acardpay is excellent choices.

Summary:

As a startup, you’ll face additional challenges in locating a payment gateway provider willing to assume the risk of working with you. You’ll need to determine if you will accept and process international transactions in more than one currency, as this will help to narrow the field in selecting a payment gateway to meet your business’s needs.