Best eCommerce payment solutions for Australian businesses in 2026

Key takeaways

• The best eCommerce payment solutions in Australia are Airwallex, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Eway, Adyen, and Shopify

• When comparing payment platforms for your eCommerce business, consider payment methods, multi-currency support, and the cost of card processing.

• Airwallex offers more than an eCommerce payment solution, giving you Global Accounts to settle customer payments like-for-like in 20+ currencies, Optimize 360 AI conversion tools, FX, Corporate Cards, and more.

Monthly retail spending hit A$38.63 billion in January 2026 in Australia¹, showing a market ripe for new and expanding eCommerce businesses. But as your eCommerce order volume climbs, you'll quickly notice how merchant fees, international card markups, and forced currency conversions eat into your profits. Choosing the right payment gateway isn't just about a sleek checkout – it's about protecting your margins while giving customers a frictionless way to pay.

In this guide, we’ll go through the best eCommerce payment solutions so you can make the right choice for your eCommerce business.

What are eCommerce payment systems and how do they work?

An eCommerce payment system moves money from your customer to your business through three components working together: a payment gateway, a payment processor, and a merchant account.

• Payment gateway: the digital terminal at your virtual checkout. It securely captures, encrypts, and sends your customer's card details.

• Payment processor: takes that data and moves the authorisation request through the card networks – like Visa or Mastercard – to check the customer has the funds.

• Merchant account: once approved, funds land here — a holding account where your sales sit before settling into your business bank account.

The best eCommerce payment platforms compared

Airwallex, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Eway, Adyen, and Shopify Payments are the leading eCommerce payment platforms available to Australian businesses in 2026. Here's how they compare on standard fees, multi-currency support, and accounting integrations.

A closer look at the best eCommerce payment platforms

Each platform's real cost and fit depend on where its fees sit outside the headline rate – how it handles multi-currency, add-ons, and support. Here's the detail behind the table above.

Airwallex

Airwallex is a global financial platform that combines card acceptance, multi-currency collections, business expenses, and Yield in one account — so you can skip the layers that traditional banking networks add and keep more of what you earn. Our platform lets you collect payments in 130+ currencies across 180+ countries and settle like-for-like in 20+ currencies. Plus, choose from a range of checkout options to suit your business.

Fees

Standard domestic cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay) cost 1.65% + A$0.30 per transaction; international cards cost 3.40% + A$0.30. Recurring subscriptions carry a 0.50% fee per successful transaction. Converting between major currencies costs a slim 0.5% margin above the interbank rate and 1% for other currencies. The Explore tier costs A$29/month – waived if you deposit A$5,000+ per month or hold a A$10,000 minimum balance.²

Pros

• Holds and settles in 20+ currencies natively, avoiding forced conversion

• Accept payments from 130+ currencies and via 160+ local payment methods

• Boost conversion and avoid fraud with AI tools and automations

• Integrates directly with Xero, NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, Sage, and Odoo for fast reconciliation

• Gives you access to local payout networks in 120+ countries, skipping slow SWIFT transfers

• Earn returns on your USD and AUD balances through Yield

Cons

• In-person point-of-sale hardware is coming soon

• Online-only account – no cash deposit availability

Stripe

Stripe is a developer-first payment gateway built for customisable checkouts and complex B2B SaaS platforms. Its APIs give you control over your frontend, but that flexibility comes with more technical admin and pricing layers to manage.

Fees

Domestic cards cost 1.70% + A$0.30; international cards cost 3.5% + A$0.30. Converting currencies adds a further 2% fee, and multicurrency settlement in NZD or USD comes with a 1% fee. Recurring billing through Stripe adds 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go pricing.

Pros

• Offers extensive API flexibility and developer tools for custom checkouts

• Supports 135+ currencies and 100+ global payment methods

• No monthly fees or setup costs on standard pricing

Cons

• Adds a 2% conversion fee if you want to settle international sales in AUD

• Add-ons like Billing and Tax stack additional fees as you scale

PayPal

PayPal is one of the most recognised checkout brands, which can help cut cart abandonment – but that recognition comes with higher domestic rates and steep FX markups compared to most competitors.

Fees

Standard domestic payments cost 2.90% + A$0.30; international commercial transactions cost 3.90% + A$0.30. Currency conversion carries a markup of 3–4%.

Pros

• Strong brand recognition boosts customer confidence at checkout

• Built-in "Pay in 4" buy now, pay later option requires no extra contracts

• Buyer and seller protection helps keep transactions secure

Cons

• Higher price for domestic card acceptance compared to competitors

• Charges a 3–4% exchange markup on cross-border sales

• Doesn't return original transaction fees on refunds

Eway

Eway is an Australian-owned payment gateway, operating since 1998, built around flat-rate domestic pricing and local phone support – though it lacks certain multi-currency features of other fintech platforms.

Fees

Eway advertises a flat 1.5% + A$0.25 for most major domestic cards, with no setup or monthly fees. International card transactions carry an additional 1.99% fee. Once you pass 50 transactions, you're enrolled in the Merchant Trust Initiative (cybersecurity and PCI DSS compliance tooling), which carries additional fees.

Pros

• One of the lowest advertised domestic card rates in Australia

• Locally based phone and chat support

• Integrates easily with platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify

Cons

• Requires a separate merchant account for every foreign currency you want to settle in

• Lacks advanced wallet APIs or global checkout tools

Adyen

Adyen is an enterprise payment platform built for large transaction volumes across multiple countries, unifying online and in-store checkout under one dashboard. Smaller businesses may find that Adyen’s minimum invoice requirements and platform complexity do not meet their needs.

Fees

Adyen prices under an Interchange++ model: you pay the card network's interchange fee, the scheme fee, and Adyen's own markup (around 0.60% depending on the card plus A$0.11 per transaction) as separate, itemised line items rather than one blended rate. Adyen also applies a minimum monthly invoice.

Pros

• Supports a large number of payment methods and integrations

• Extensive checkout options that offer customisation options

• Advanced fraud protection and smart card routing help maximise authorisation rates

Cons

• Not built for startups or small stores – the minimum monthly invoice can make Adyen expensive at low volumes

• Interchange++ pricing is harder to predict month-to-month than a flat rate

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is Shopify's native gateway, bringing inventory, checkout, and payouts into one dashboard and removing the third-party gateway penalty fee entirely. However, keep in mind Shopify Payments works better if you are already within Shopify’s existing ecosystem due to its third-party fees.

Fees

Card fees depend on your Shopify plan. On the Basic plan, domestic cards cost 1.75% + A$0.30 and international cards cost 3.5% + A$0.30. Skip Shopify Payments for a third-party gateway and you'll pay a penalty fee of up to 2% on top, depending on your plan. Multi-currency sales carry a 2% currency conversion fee.

Pros

• Lets you avoid Shopify's penalty fee on external gateways

• Includes Shop Pay, which Shopify reports can meaningfully lift checkout conversion

• Sets up in minutes with localised pricing displays

Cons

• Ties you to Shopify's ecosystem and risk review process.

• Charges a 2% FX markup on multi-currency conversions

• The Basic plan offers higher card acceptance rates 

How to choose the right eCommerce payment solution

The right eCommerce payment solution should suit your business’ needs now and in the future. Here are the main considerations:

What do payment processing fees actually cost?

Payment processing fees cost more than the advertised domestic card rate once you account for how the provider structures its pricing, plus chargebacks and small-transaction fees. With interchange-plus (or Interchange++) pricing, the provider splits the cost into three layers: the interchange fee (set by card networks and paid to the issuing bank), the scheme fee (Visa or Mastercard's cut), and the provider's markup. 

Chargebacks add further risk: most providers charge around A$25 per chargeback, and some add separate compliance program fees on top.

How does multi-currency settlement save money on cross-border sales?

Multi-currency settlement saves money by letting you hold and pay out funds in the currency you collected them in, instead of paying to convert twice.

Standard payment gateways rely on forced currency conversion: when a US customer buys in USD, the platform converts those dollars into AUD and charges you a 2–4% FX markup to do it. Then, when you need to pay for USD advertising, software, or suppliers, you convert your AUD back to USD — paying a second FX fee. This double-conversion loop erodes margins fast.

With Airwallex, you can collect USD, hold it natively in your wallet, and pay global suppliers directly in USD — skipping the forced conversion and the second FX fee.

Which payment methods and checkout integrations boost conversions?

Digital wallets, BNPL options like Afterpay and Zip, and region-specific local payment methods boost conversion by letting customers pay the way they already prefer.

Offer digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay so buyers can check out in seconds. If you're targeting specific regions, add localised options such as WeChat Pay or Alipay for customers in Asia.

BNPL platforms like Afterpay and Zip carry higher acceptance fees (often 4–6%), but they can lift average order value and attract younger shoppers.

How do security and PCI compliance protect your store?

PCI DSS Level 1 compliance and tokenisation protect your store by encrypting card data in transit and replacing sensitive card numbers with secure digital tokens, so a breach doesn't expose usable card details. Pair this with fraud-prevention tools to block malicious charges and avoid costly chargeback disputes.

Why businesses choose Airwallex for eCommerce payments

Airwallex brings payments, multi-currency accounts, card acceptance, and accounting integrations together in one platform, so you're not juggling separate providers, gateways, and spreadsheets.

Accept payments from 180+ countries and settle natively in 20+ currencies – so you can hold, convert, and spend foreign sales without paying forced conversion fees.

Here's what you get when you use Airwallex for your online checkout:

• Flexible checkout options: No-code payment links, low-code embeddable checkout elements, or developer-friendly payment APIs – with in-store POS hardware coming soon.

• Major scheme and local support: Process Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and 160+ local payment methods through one integration.

• Built-in conversion optimisation: Optimize 360 uses smart card routing, adaptive 3DS logic, and automatic retries to boost approval rates.

• Built-in fraud screening: Flag high-risk transactions before they process, protecting you from lost inventory and chargeback penalties.

• Put your money to work: Earn Yield on idle AUD and USD balances.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best payment platform in Australia for Australian eCommerce businesses?

Airwallex, Stripe, and Square each lead for a different type of business. Airwallex suits high-growth brands selling internationally, since it settles like-for-like in 20+ currencies and avoids forced conversion. Stripe can suit developers building custom checkouts, thanks to its API tools. Square suits businesses running a physical store alongside a simple online shop, with its out-of-the-box POS hardware.

Which payment gateway is cheapest in Australia?

Eway has one of the cheapest domestic flat rates in Australia at 1.5% + A$0.25 per transaction. However, Eway requires a separate merchant account for every foreign currency you want to settle in, so it isn't built for global sellers. If you're selling overseas, a platform that settles like-for-like in 20+ currencies as standard — like Airwallex — is likely to cost less once FX is factored in.

Which ecommerce payment solutions support Afterpay and Zip in Australia?

Airwallex, Stripe, Square, and Adyen all support Afterpay and Zip, though fees vary by provider — check each provider's live pricing page for current rates before publishing, as BNPL fees change more often than card rates.

Does Shopify Payments work for Australian businesses?

Yes. Shopify Payments works natively for Australian stores, with domestic card rates starting at 1.75% + A$0.30 on the Basic plan, and it removes Shopify's third-party gateway penalty fee entirely.

Sources

• https://www.retail.org.au/industry-dashboard 

• https://www.airwallex.com/en-au/pricing 

• https://stripe.com/au/pricing 

• https://www.paypal.com/au/business/paypal-business-fees 

• https://squareup.com/au/en/pricing 

• https://www.Eway.com.au/online-payments/ 

• https://www.adyen.com/pricing