How to Take Payments on Your Website: A Guide for NI Businesses

Written by Rowan · 3 June 2026

Taking payments online used to be complicated and expensive. In 2026, it is straightforward, affordable, and something almost any NI business can set up. Whether you want to take deposits, sell products, send invoices, or set up recurring subscriptions, here is everything you need to know, with real fees and honest comparisons.

Why Online Payments Matter

Around 67% of UK consumers prefer paying online rather than over the phone, by bank transfer, or in person. That number is even higher for the under-45 demographic. If you are sending invoices and waiting for bank transfers, you are adding friction that loses you money.

Invoices get forgotten. "I will pay you Friday" turns into chasing. Cheques get lost in the post. Cash requires being face-to-face. Online payments get you paid faster, more reliably, and with less admin.

For service businesses especially -- tradespeople, salons, coaches -- the ability to take a deposit at the point of booking changes everything. It reduces no-shows, improves cash flow, and eliminates awkward conversations about money.

The Four Main Options for NI Businesses

Stripe: Our Top Recommendation

Stripe is the payment processor used by Amazon, Deliveroo, and thousands of small businesses across the UK. It is our default recommendation for almost every NI business, and here is why.

Fees: 1.4% + 20p per UK card transaction. No monthly fee, no setup cost, no hidden charges. International cards are 2.9% + 20p.

What customers see: A clean, professional checkout form embedded directly in your website. No redirects, no pop-ups, no leaving your site. The customer enters their card details, clicks pay, and they are done. It looks like your checkout, not Stripe's.

The dashboard: Clean and genuinely useful. See every payment, refund, and dispute in one place. Download reports for your accountant. Set up automatic payouts to your bank account (typically 2-3 business days).

What it handles: One-off payments, recurring subscriptions, deposits, invoices, payment links, in-person payments (with Stripe Terminal), and multi-currency. It is the Swiss Army knife of payment processing.

Setup: Create a Stripe account (free, takes 10 minutes), verify your identity and bank details, and integrate with your website. I handle the integration for every site I build.

PayPal: The Familiar Alternative

PayPal has been around since 1998 and almost everyone has an account. There are legitimate reasons to offer it, but also genuine downsides.

Fees: 1.99% + 20p per UK transaction. Higher than Stripe, and it gets worse for international payments (3.49% + fixed fee).

Pros: Trusted brand that customers recognise. Buyer protection gives customers confidence. Some people prefer using their PayPal balance rather than entering card details.

Cons: The checkout experience is clunky. Customers get redirected away from your website to PayPal's site, which adds friction and looks unprofessional. PayPal is also known for holding funds on new accounts -- sometimes for 21 days -- which can cripple your cash flow when you are just starting out.

Our advice: Offer PayPal as a secondary option alongside Stripe. Some customers genuinely prefer it, and having both increases your conversion rate. But do not use PayPal as your only payment method.

Square: Best for In-Person + Online Combo

Square is best known for its card readers in physical shops, cafes, and market stalls. If you already use Square in person, adding online payments through the same system makes sense.

Fees: 1.4% + 25p per online transaction. In-person rates are lower at 1.75% flat.

Pros: One system for in-person and online payments. Good reporting. The card readers are excellent for market traders, pop-ups, and mobile businesses.

Cons: The online checkout experience is not as polished as Stripe. Fewer integration options with website platforms. Less flexible for subscriptions and complex payment flows.

Best for: Businesses that need both a physical card reader and online payments in one dashboard. Cafes, retail shops, market traders.

SumUp: Popular in NI but Limited Online

SumUp is hugely popular with NI businesses for in-person payments. The card readers are cheap (from £19), the app is simple, and the fees are straightforward at 1.69% per tap.

The catch: SumUp's online payment features are basic compared to Stripe or Square. You can create payment links and a simple online store, but there is no proper website integration, no embedded checkout, and limited customisation. It works for sending a quick payment link via text, but not for a professional e-commerce or booking experience on your website.

Best for: In-person payments only. If you need online payments on your website, pair SumUp for in-person with Stripe for online.

Comparison: Stripe vs PayPal vs Square vs SumUp

Which Payment System for Which Business

Types of Payment You Can Take

Deposits

This is the big one for service businesses. "I do not start without a deposit" is standard practice for trades, and it should be for every appointment-based business. Taking 50% upfront via your website eliminates the risk of no-shows and improves your cash flow dramatically.

A salon taking a £10 deposit on a £50 appointment sees no-show rates drop from 25% to under 5%. A builder taking 50% deposit before starting work has zero risk of non-payment on materials. The deposit is collected automatically at the point of booking -- no awkward phone conversation needed.

Recurring Payments and Subscriptions

If you run a gym, membership site, coaching programme, or any business with monthly billing, Stripe handles subscriptions natively. Set the amount and billing frequency. Stripe charges the customer automatically each month and handles failed payments, retries, and cancellations. No chasing, no manual invoicing.

Invoicing

Stripe and PayPal both let you send invoices directly to customers via email. The customer clicks a link and pays online. No more chasing bank transfers or waiting for cheques. Stripe invoicing is free up to 25 invoices per month, then 0.4% per invoice after that.

For trades especially, this is a game-changer. Finish the job, send the invoice from your phone, and get paid within hours instead of weeks.

Gift Vouchers

Selling gift vouchers online is pure profit waiting to happen. Customers buy a voucher with a unique code, you deliver it by email, and the recipient redeems it at your business. Salons, restaurants, and experience businesses can generate significant revenue from gift vouchers, especially around Christmas and Mother's Day.

Stripe handles this through payment links or a simple checkout page on your website. Each voucher gets a unique code that you track in your system.

Multi-Currency for Tourism Businesses

Northern Ireland's tourism businesses -- hotels, B&Bs, activity centres, tour operators -- often deal with customers from the Republic of Ireland and further afield. Stripe handles multi-currency automatically. You can display prices in both sterling and euros, and Stripe converts at competitive rates. The customer pays in their preferred currency, you receive sterling in your bank account.

PCI Compliance: Do Not Panic

PCI compliance sounds scary, but here is the simple version. When you use Stripe, PayPal, or Square, the customer's card details never touch your website. They are handled entirely by the payment processor on their secure servers.

This means you do not need to worry about storing card numbers, encrypting payment data, or running security audits. The payment processor handles all of that. You just need to make sure your website uses HTTPS (an SSL certificate), which any decent web designer will set up as standard.

In plain English: Stripe handles the security. You never see or store anyone's card number. You are compliant by default.

What Does It Actually Cost?

Let us put real numbers on this. On a £100 transaction:

• Stripe: £1.60 fee, you keep £98.40
• PayPal: £2.19 fee, you keep £97.81
• Square: £1.65 fee, you keep £98.35

None of them charge monthly fees, setup fees, or cancellation fees. You only pay when you actually process a payment.

For most NI small businesses processing under £10,000 per month, these fees are negligible compared to the convenience and the additional sales you generate by making it easy for customers to pay. The real cost is not having online payments -- lost deposits, slow invoice payments, and customers who go elsewhere because you cannot take their money easily.

If you are ready to start taking payments on your website, get in touch and I will set it up as part of your site build.

How I Set It Up

When I build a website with payment processing, I handle the entire setup. I connect your Stripe account (you create it, so you always own and control it), integrate the checkout into your site design, test everything thoroughly, and make sure the payment flow is smooth on both desktop and mobile.

Payments are included in our Business and Premium packages, or can be added to any site as an add-on. The integration is seamless -- not a clunky third-party widget bolted onto the side of your page. See our full pricing breakdown for details.

I also set up proper email notifications so you know immediately when a payment comes in, and your customer gets a professional receipt automatically. For more detail on choosing the right payment system, I have a dedicated guide.