Best PayPal alternatives for online checkout (2026)

For online checkout, the main PayPal alternatives are card processors such as Stripe, Adyen, Checkout.com and Mollie, plus Klarna for pay-later and Trustly for pay-by-bank. In practice, many merchants do not remove PayPal: they move card processing elsewhere and keep the PayPal button as one method among several.

PayPal alternatives compared

Listed alphabetically. Fees and licences were checked on each company's website on 3 November 2026.

What PayPal charges UK merchants

PayPal publishes its UK fees. The figures below come from the page marked as last updated on 1 October 2026.

UK merchants contract with PayPal UK Ltd, an FCA-authorised electronic money institution (FRN 994790), according to the UK user agreement. In the EU, the Luxembourg user agreement names PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., licensed as a bank by the CSSF.

Why merchants look beyond PayPal

• Wallet rate versus card rate. A wallet payment costs 2.9% + £0.30 domestically, more than PayPal's own card rate of 1.2% + £0.30 and more than Stripe's 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. Merchants with many wallet payments sometimes test whether card or bank payments convert as well.
• Cross-border surcharges. The extra 1.29% or 1.99% for overseas buyers adds up for exporters.
• Currency conversion. Converting balances at 3% above the base rate is a material cost for multi-currency sellers.
• Local methods. Some markets lean on bank transfers or local wallets that a single wallet brand does not cover.

The PayPal button itself remains widely recognised. Its UK business page cites up to 400 million active accounts globally (checked 3 November 2026). Removing it without testing can cost conversion, so most comparisons are about adding or rebalancing methods.

Adyen

Adyen is a Dutch bank: De Nederlandsche Bank's register lists Adyen N.V. (relation number F0001) with banking, payment services and e-money activities. It processes cards, wallets and local methods, and also offers PayPal through its own platform. Its pricing page lists PayPal at the $0.13 processing fee plus a direct PayPal contract and a management fee.

For cards, the global page shows $0.13 plus Interchange++ plus 0.60% for Visa and Mastercard. Adyen also applies an unpublished minimum invoice that varies by industry. It may suit larger merchants who want PayPal, cards and local methods on one platform with one reporting view. See our Adyen vs Stripe comparison.

Checkout.com

Checkout.com is an enterprise card acquirer. Checkout Ltd is an FCA e-money institution (reference 900816) and Checkout SAS is authorised by the French ACPR (reference 17208). Its homepage cites local acquiring in more than 50 countries and lists cards, digital wallets, bank transfers and local methods (checked 3 November 2026).

There was no standard rate card on the pages we checked. Checkout.com may suit high-volume online merchants that want to negotiate card pricing and add local methods. For a comparison, see Stripe vs Checkout.com.

Klarna

Klarna replaces the pay-later part of PayPal's checkout, not card processing. Klarna Bank AB (publ) is authorised by Finansinspektionen as a credit institution, according to its imprint, and its about page says it obtained a full banking licence in 2017. The same page cites 1.2m+ merchants and 26 countries supported (checked 3 November 2026; no date given on the page).

Klarna does not publish a standard merchant rate card. Its developer documentation describes a fixed fee plus a variable percentage, with possible cross-border fees, all set by contract. Merchants can also take Klarna through a processor: Stripe's UK page lists Klarna from 4.99% + 35p, compared with 3.9% + £0.30 for PayPal's own UK pay-later option. Our guide to alternative payment methods explains how pay-later fits into checkout.

Mollie

Mollie serves businesses across Europe and the UK. Mollie B.V. is supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank as a payment service provider and e-money institution (relationship number F0038), and Mollie UK Ltd is an FCA payment institution (FRN 977968), per its Impressum.

The homepage says merchants can accept 38 payment methods through one integration and pay only for what they use, with no minimum costs or lock-in (checked 3 November 2026). Rates by method were not shown on the homepage. Mollie may suit European small and mid-sized sellers that want cards and local methods under one contract.

Stripe

Stripe is a direct swap for PayPal's card processing. Stripe Technology Europe, Limited is authorised as an e-money institution by the Central Bank of Ireland (C187865, register entry dated 22 March 2019), and Stripe Payments UK, Ltd is an FCA e-money institution (reference 900461).

Its UK price list shows 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, 2.5% + 20p for EEA cards and 3.15% + 20p for international cards, with 2% added where currency conversion is needed (checked 3 November 2026). Stripe may suit merchants who want a published, predictable price list. See our Stripe alternatives page if you are weighing it against others.

Trustly

Trustly offers pay-by-bank: the shopper approves a payment in their own banking app, with no card involved. Trustly Group AB is a Swedish payment institution supervised by Finansinspektionen, and Trustly UK Limited is an FCA payment institution (FRN 1005703), per its website footer. It cites 33+ markets with direct integration (checked 3 November 2026).

Pay-by-bank payments do not carry card interchange, and disputes are not handled through card chargebacks, which some merchants find useful for high-value or recurring orders. Our explainer on open banking payments covers the mechanics, and the open banking category lists other providers.

Licence details we checked

To confirm any entry yourself, follow our guide on how to check a financial licence.

Which alternative may suit which merchant

• Merchant wanting lower card costs with published pricing: Stripe or Mollie.
• Enterprise merchant wanting PayPal, cards and local methods on one contract: Adyen or Checkout.com.
• Retailer whose customers use pay-later: Klarna, directly or through a processor.
• Merchant with high-value or recurring orders in Europe: Trustly for pay-by-bank.

More options sit in our alternative payment methods category.

What to check before switching

• Pull 3 to 6 months of PayPal reports and split volume by wallet, card, domestic and cross-border before asking for quotes.
• Test removing or moving the PayPal button on a share of traffic before taking it off entirely.
• Check how refunds, disputes and seller protection work with the new provider; they differ from PayPal's model.
• Confirm the contracting entity and licence for your country on the regulator's register.
• Ask about payout timing, reserves and currency conversion margins, not only the headline rate.