5 Best Payment Gateways in Singapore in 2023

Singapore ranks among the most affluent nations in Asia, and its ecommerce sector is expected to reach $10 billion by 2026. 

If you want to gain from this growing online market, having the right payment gateway in Singapore is essential to gaining the trust of local consumers. No matter how great your product is, if the customer cannot proceed to checkout successfully, you will find it difficult to make any sales.

This article will compare the 5 best payment gateways in Singapore to help you find the best one for your online business.

What Is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is a service that connects your customers' banks, wallets, or card issuers with your account while handling security and funds transfers.

When customers provide payment details like credit card numbers on the merchant's website, the payment gateway validates this information and verifies that sufficient funds are available. 

If the transaction is approved, the gateway facilitates the transfer of money from the consumer's account to the merchant’s. If not, the funds stay with the customer. The customer subsequently receives notification whether the payment was approved or denied.

During the process, the payment gateway encrypts all the data. This way, it protects both sides during the transaction. 

📖 Tip: Explore insights on payment gateways and payment service providers

To choose the right payment gateway in Singapore, the first step is to know how locals prefer to pay  – 89% of Singaporeans use credit or debit cards for online purchases. 

Meanwhile, 1.8 million people use mobile wallets, and the number is expected to hit 5.8 million by 2025 as digital payment grows in popularity. Key digital wallet players are GrabPay, FavePay, and DBS PayLah. 

Other prevalent methods include bank transfer via PayNow, Singapore QR code payment (SGQR), and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) like ShopBack and Atome. 

With that in mind, here are the top choices for payment gateways in Singapore. 

Note: All information provided is dated 12 September 2023 and may have been updated since. Please check each payment gateway’s website for the latest information.

1. Opn Payments

Opn Payments, formerly known as "Omise," is a well-trusted payment processing service provider catering to large and small businesses. It operates in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia.

Its suite of payment solutions covers online transaction processing, API integration for ecommerce, and in-store contactless payments via tags. 

Opn Payments in Singapore prioritizes adding popular local payment options. This includes PayNow, Singapore’s widely used payment system, and OCBC Pay Anyone, a fund transfer system offered by Singapore's multinational banking group. 

Opn Payments Top Features

• One-click checkout, social commerce, payment links, and subscriptions features
• Mass payout features with automation 
• Virtual card applicable with full licensing support
• Merchant dashboard with insights and workflow automation
• Embedded payment capabilities for platforms and marketplaces
• API integration
• Ecommerce platform integration, such as Shopify, Woocommerce, and Magento. 
• Opn Payments supports SGD, USD, CNY, CHF, EUR, AUD, CAD, GBP, HKD, JPY, MYR, and THB
• PCI compliance

Opn Payments Accepted Payment Methods

Opn Payment accepted payment methods in Singapore include 

• Credit and debit cards - Visa, Mastercard®, American Express, and JCB. 
• QR Payment - PayNow Singapore
• Mobile payment - OCBC Pay Anyone
• Digital wallet - Alipay, Alipay HK, Google Pay, Kakao Pay, Touch ‘n Go, Gcash, GrabPay, and Dana
• Buy Now Pay Later - Atome 

Opn Payments Key Usage Fees

Opn Payment fees depend on the country where it provides services. 

For Singapore, Opn charges fees per transaction. This includes payment methods fees plus a fixed processing fee as follows. 

💡 Tip: Fee reductions are applicable based on sales volume and basket size. Please refer to Opn requirements for fee reduction for details.

Opn Payments Pros and Cons

2. Eway

Eway is a full-service payment solution provider that operates in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Macau. 

It supports businesses of all sizes, from startups to larger companies. It also caters to various industries, including retail, professional services, and supermarkets.

Eway is trusted by over 28,000 businesses, including a famous multinational brand like LG.   

Eway Top Features

• Pre-authorization feature 
• Recurring billing and subscription management
• Refunds features
• Eway account can process international payments in your default currency
• Eway can arrange regional multi-currency solutions for multiple currencies in one country
• Eway offers simple pricing with options for pay-as-you-go plans and monthly plans
• API and SDK available 
• Over 50 ecommerce platforms and software integration, including Woocommerce, Magento, Opencart, etc. 
• 24/7 emergency technical support
• Funds will be settled into account within 1 – 3 business days for the Online Payments product, while gateway plan funds average 1 day.
• PCI compliance 

Eway Accepted Payment Methods

• Credit and debit cards - Visa, Mastercard®, American Express, Discover, Diners, JCB
• Mobile payment
• Digital wallet - Apple Pay
• Alternative payment methods vary based on region

Eway Key Usage Fees 

🔎 Tip: Eway offers volume discounts depending on the business size. Contact Eway for more information.

Eway Payments Pros and Cons

3. PayPal

PayPal, a go-to solution for payment processing worldwide with over 340 million customers in over 200 markets, is also widely available and well-adopted in Singapore.

PayPal provides a commerce platform designed for businesses with tools and resources to help them grow, sell, and manage money - including easy setup, multi-currency support, dispute resolution, and analytics.

PayPal is adaptable for various entities, from small businesses and ecommerce platforms to marketplaces, enterprises, and developers.

PayPal Top Features

• Secure online payments with PayPal’s Seller and Buyer Protection
• Accept cross-border transactions across more than 200 markets.
• PayPal.Me, a payment link shareable via text, email, chat, and social media. Customers can pay with just a few clicks
• A multi-currency account is applicable. Otherwise, PayPal can convert currencies for you.
• Checkout, recurring payment, and subscription features 
• Specific features built or dropshipping business
• Invoices & estimates features
• Simplified payout 
• Built-in analytics
• Settle disputes from the account dashboard
• APIs
• PCI compliance

PayPal Accepted Payment Methods

• PayPal Balance
• PayPal.Me links
• Credit and debit cards - All major cards, including Visa and Mastercard® 
• Digital wallet - GrabPay, Alipay, Apple Pay Web, WeChat Pay
• Bank transfer

🔎 Tip: Read more about PayPal Alternative Payment Methods Terms

PayPal Key Usage Fees 

PayPal charges different fees depending on the country and market. The main usage fees for PayPal services in Singapore are as follows.

Please refer to a full detailed list of fees in PayPal Merchant Fees Menu.

💡 Tip: Use our PayPal Fee Calculator to estimate the fees of your PayPal transaction.

PayPal Solutions Pros and Cons

4. Choco Payment

Choco Payment, created by Singapore and Hong Kong-based Choco Up, is the first online payment solution in Asia that integrated a revenue-focused financing platform into its payment processing system. 

This means its unique feature includes a quick funding offering to address short-term needs in addition to its other payment services. 

Choco Payment is also designed to cater to diverse businesses, including ecommerce stores, subscription-based businesses, platforms, and marketplaces.

Choco Payment Top Features

• Support payments from 130+ countries and 135+ currencies 
• Hosted payment page features 
• Configurable payment collection
• No-code payment collection solution
• API available 
• Get instant funding with one click. Choco Payment reviews transaction history for approval. You can repay from the same account using automatically scheduled payments.
• All payment details are AES-256 encrypted 

Choco Payment Accepted Payment Methods

• Debit and credit cards  - Visa and Mastercard®
• Digital wallet - Apple Pay and Google Pay 

Choco Payment Key Usage Fees 

Choco Payment transaction fees start at 3.2% plus HKD 2.35 (approximately SGD 0.41) 

To learn more about Choco Payment's fees, fill out the contact form on Choco Up's Contact page. Since Choco Payment is part of Choco Up, which offers funding services, be sure to specify that your inquiry is about Choco Payment. 

Choco Payment Pros and Cons

5. Stripe

Stripe is one of the most well-known payment platforms in the world.

Stripe offers payment processing tools that help online businesses of any size accept payments through simple APIs. It has served retailers, subscriptions, software companies, and marketplaces.

With offices worldwide, Stripe’s team handles hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Examples of major companies that trust Strip for their payment needs are BMW and retail giant Amazon. 

Stripe offers over 10 tools and 10 unique use cases, along with abundant guides and resources to help you get started.

💡 Tip: Learn how to connect Stripe to your website. 

Stripe Top Features

• Support 135+ currencies and payment methods 
• Payment links features
• A prebuilt checkout page with real-time card validation and adjustable quantities 
• The checkout page supports 30+ languages and dynamically displays the locally preferred payment options
• Instant payout features 
• Friendly APIs
• PCI compliance 

Stripe Accepted Payment Methods

• Credit and debit cards - Visa, Mastercard®, American Express, UnionPay, Maestro, and Link
• Digital wallet - GrabPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay
• Bank redirects - PayNow Singapore
• Alternative payment methods - such as SEPA Direct Debit and ACH payments 

Stripe Key Usage Fees

Please refer to the full pricing list on the Stripe Pricing page. 

If your business has a large payment volume, you can request a custom package with custom pricing through the Stripe Contact Sales page. 

💡 Tip: Use our Stripe Fee Calculator to estimate how much you'll receive from clients paying via Stripe.

Stripe Pros and Cons

What to Look For in a Payment Gateway

To provide insight into why we selected these five payment gateways as the top options, here's an overview of the main factors to consider when choosing a payment gateway.

Security Measures

As you handle customers' finances and personal data, security is everything. A breach can lead to a loss of customer trust, legal consequences, financial loss, and disruption of business operations. 

Here are key security measures to consider:

• Strong encryption: Encryption uses an algorithm to transform data into a code so only those with the key can read it. This process is widely used in securing sensitive information, especially credit card information. 
• Authentication: Authentication is the process used to verify the identities of payers, whether through passwords, PINs, or biometrics.
• Fraud prevention: This includes real-time transaction monitoring and alerts to detect fraudulent activities.
• PCI DSS: PCI DSS, or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is an information security standard for handling credit cards from major card brands.

💡 Tip: To learn more, explore this list of the best security services to protect your ecommerce website.

Ease of Use

Ecommerce suffers high 70% cart abandonment rates, and a complex process is one of the reasons people abandon their carts at checkout.

That's why checkout simplicity, with few clicks and no distractions, matters. 

Additionally, you want a backend dashboard that allows you to manage your transactions, refunds, reports, and other features easily. 

💡 Tip: Discover how to optimize your ecommerce checkout conversion.

Integration Capabilities

How well a payment gateway integrates with your business systems – your platform, shopping cart, and other tools – is another key criterion. A payment gateway should support different integration methods, including:

• API: API (application programming interface) is a set of rules that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data with your platform.
• SDK: An SDK (Software Development Kit) is a set of tools and code libraries developers can use to build applications for certain platforms or systems. In this case, it can be used to customize the payment gateway functions. 
• Documentation: Documentation includes guides explaining how to use each of the provider's products, such as the API and SDK.
• Technical assistance: For any technical problems, the provider should have support teams available to help resolve issues.

Customer Support 

Compatibility problems, disputes, refund complications, unexpected fees – doing business is never without its potential troubles. 

Addressing issues quickly and efficiently is crucial to minimize disruption. This means you need good customer support.

The ideal payment provider should offer support across various channels, including phone, email, and live chat.

Transaction Fees

Pricing transparency and competitive rates are as significant as any other factor.

There are multiple costs associated with payment gateway, including set-up fees, monthly fees, transaction fees, chargeback fees, refund fees, and more.

Out of all the costs involved, the fee charged per transaction is especially important. This is because it is recurring with each transaction processed, so the total cost can add up quickly. Therefore, you want to ensure that the transaction fees are favorable and won’t eat into your profit margin. 

💡 Tip: If you’re processing large volumes, it’s always a good idea to reach out to your potential service providers and ask if they offer volume discounts. 

Conclusion

Wrapping up, we’ve reviewed the top payment gateways in Singapore, including Opn Payments, Eway, PayPal, Choco Up, and Stripe. Each has different features, fees, and options for integrating into your website. 

For businesses in Singapore, accepting credit cards is essential, as they are most used among Singaporean online shoppers. Digital wallets like GrabPay and bank transfers using PayNow are good options as well.

We hope this guide has helped you choose the right payment gateway to help increase sales, lower costs, and better satisfy your customers!