Payment processor

A payment processor is the party that technically carries out a payment. It receives the payment details from the gateway, sends the request through the card network to your customer's bank, returns the answer and takes care of settlement afterwards. With Shopify Payments that role is built in, which is why you barely notice it as a merchant. How the whole payment chain fits together is covered in our guide to payments on Shopify.

In short

The gateway captures the payment details, the processor carries out the payment and the acquirer accepts it on your behalf.

For Shopify Payments in Belgium and the Netherlands, Shopify lists Stripe, Adyen and PayPal as processors.

You mainly notice the processor during outages, with payouts, with wallets and when you switch providers.

What does a payment processor do?

It receives the encrypted payment details from the payment gateway.

It sends the authorisation request through the payment scheme, such as Visa, Mastercard or Bancontact, to your customer's bank.

It returns the answer to your checkout: approved or declined, usually within seconds.

It collects the captured payments and passes them on for settlement between the banks.

It supplies the transaction data for your reports, payouts and refunds.

Processor, gateway, acquirer or PSP?

Large players such as Stripe and Adyen are often gateway, processor and acquirer at once. That is why the terms get mixed up in quotes. When you compare a payment provider, ask who your contracting party is, who pays out the money and where you see the transaction data.

Who is the processor behind Shopify Payments?

Shopify publishes which processors sit behind Shopify Payments in each country. For Belgium and the Netherlands these are Stripe Payments Europe, Adyen and PayPal Europe (checked in October 2026). When you activate Shopify Payments you accept their terms as well, yet you work with one account, one rate and one admin: Shopify's. Connecting your own Stripe account as a separate gateway is usually not an option in countries where Shopify Payments is available. Your admin shows what is possible for your store under Settings > Payments.

When do you notice the processor?

During an outage: if the processor goes down, payments fail even though your store works fine.

With payouts: the processor and acquirer help decide when you get paid out and whether a reserve applies.

With wallets: Apple Pay only works if your processor supports network tokenisation. With Shopify Payments that is taken care of; with some external providers you have to ask for it to be activated.

When you switch: saved cards and subscriptions depend on tokens held by your old processor. Have them migrated, or customers will have to enter their card again.

Example in a Shopify context

A Belgian brand with high volumes chooses Adyen as its primary gateway to work with Interchange++. Adyen is then gateway, processor and acquirer in one. The brand gets more control over routing and data, but pays Shopify an extra transaction fee and follows up part of its transactions in a second dashboard. A brand that stays on Shopify Payments keeps everything in one admin and never sees the processor.

Frequently asked questions

What is a payment processor?

The party that technically carries out a payment between your checkout, the card network and the banks, and takes care of settlement afterwards.

What is the difference between a payment processor and a payment gateway?

The gateway captures the payment details in your checkout and forwards them securely. The processor then carries out the transaction with the card network and the banks.

Is Stripe the processor behind Shopify Payments?

Partly. For Belgium and the Netherlands, Shopify lists Stripe Payments Europe, Adyen and PayPal Europe as processors for Shopify Payments. As a merchant you don't see which one handles a given payment.

Does my online store need its own processor?

No. With Shopify Payments or a provider such as Mollie, processing is part of the service. A separate processor or acquirer is mainly something for large, international brands.

Which provider fits a Belgian store best is compared in Shopify Payments vs Mollie.