The Best Online Payment System for Small Businesses in the UK (2026)

If you want to take payments on your website, you need a payment gateway. Here are the main options for UK small businesses in 2026.

Stripe

Fees: 1.5% + 20p (standard) / 1.2% + 20p (charities)

Best for: Most businesses. Stripe is the gold standard for online payments. It works seamlessly with WordPress and WooCommerce, handles subscriptions and recurring billing, and the money lands in your bank account within 2 days. It is what we use and recommend for every client.

PayPal

Fees: 2.9% + 30p

Best for: Businesses where customers specifically want to pay with PayPal. The fees are higher than Stripe and the checkout experience is clunkier (customers get redirected to PayPal's site), but some people trust the PayPal brand. Can be used alongside Stripe.

SumUp

Fees: 1.69% per transaction

Best for: In-person card payments with their card reader. Their online payment tools exist but the WordPress integration is poor (2.3 star rating on WordPress.org) and the checkout redirects customers to an external page. Not recommended for website payments.

Square

Fees: 1.5% per transaction (online)

Best for: Businesses already using Square for in-person payments who want one dashboard. The online integration is decent but not as polished as Stripe.

Our Recommendation

Use Stripe. It is the cheapest for online payments, has the best WordPress integration, handles everything from one-off payments to monthly subscriptions, and your customers never leave your website. Setting it up takes minutes and there are no monthly fees — you only pay when you get paid.