Payment provider

A payment provider, also called a payment service provider or PSP, is the company that processes the online payments of your online store. It accepts the payment in your checkout, gets it approved by your customer's bank or card issuer and then pays the money into your account. On Shopify, Shopify Payments is the built-in payment provider; Mollie, Adyen and PayPal are well-known alternatives or additions. You'll find every option for Belgian and Dutch stores in our guide to Shopify payments.

In short

A payment provider bundles everything you need to get paid online: payment methods, security, processing and payouts.

Gateway, processor and acquirer are parts of that chain; a PSP handles them for you in one contract.

On Shopify you choose one primary provider for card payments and add extra payment methods alongside it.

How does a payment provider work?

When a customer checks out, your payment provider connects your store with banks, card networks and wallets such as Apple Pay. It encrypts the sensitive data, requests approval from your customer's bank and sends a confirmation back to your store. Your customer sees a successful payment, and the money reaches your account later on a fixed schedule.

Most online stores work with a payment provider because building your own payment infrastructure is expensive and risky. The provider also takes care of a large share of the rules, such as the PCI DSS security standard and the strong customer authentication required by PSD2.

Payment provider, payment gateway and acquirer: the difference

These terms are often used interchangeably. This is how they split the work:

Read more about that first link in the chain under payment gateway.

Payment providers on Shopify in Belgium and the Netherlands

Shopify Payments: the built-in option, with cards, Bancontact, iDEAL | Wero, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay in one admin. You pay no extra Shopify transaction fee.

Mollie: connected through the Mollie for Shopify app. Strong in local methods such as in3, Riverty and the KBC and Belfius payment buttons. Shopify does charge a third-party transaction fee on top of the Mollie rate.

Adyen: for large merchants with an approved Adyen account. If you activate Adyen as your primary gateway, Shopify Payments is switched off, and Klarna and PayPal don't run through that integration.

Stripe: in Belgium and the Netherlands you usually don't use Stripe on Shopify as a standalone provider; check what's available in your admin under Settings > Payments.

PayPal: you add it alongside your primary provider. PayPal charges its own rate.

Shopify allows one primary provider for card payments. You add extra payment methods such as PayPal or buy now, pay later alongside it. Which combination fits best depends on your markets and your payment mix.

What should you look for when choosing a payment provider?

Payment methods per market: Bancontact in Belgium, iDEAL | Wero in the Netherlands, plus cards and wallets.

Costs: fixed amounts, percentages and platform fees combined. See the full breakdown under transaction fees and include them in your total Shopify costs.

Risk and disputes: how the provider handles fraud, chargebacks and temporarily held payouts.

Payouts and reporting: how quickly the money arrives and whether your figures sit in one admin or in a separate dashboard.

Conversion: a trusted payment method with few steps helps your conversion rate.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a payment provider and a bank?

Your bank manages your account. A payment provider sits between your store and the banks: it accepts payments through all kinds of methods, processes them and pays the total into your bank account.

Can I use several payment providers on Shopify?

You have one primary provider for card payments. Alongside Shopify Payments you can use at most one direct third-party provider, and you then pay 1.25% extra on Shop Pay and local methods through Shopify Payments. You add extra payment methods such as PayPal alongside them.

Which payment provider is the cheapest?

That depends on your mix of payment methods, your order value and your Shopify plan. Bancontact and iDEAL | Wero cost a fixed amount per payment, cards a percentage plus a fixed amount. Work through your own scenario before you choose.

What is a PSP?

PSP stands for payment service provider, another name for a payment provider. Shopify Payments, Mollie, Stripe and Adyen are all PSPs.