10 best international payment gateways for 2026 (Singapore)

Key Takeaways:

• The best international payment gateway for your business depends on where your customers are, the currencies you handle, and how you want to settle funds.

• Most global gateways charge around 3–4% per international card transaction, but pricing models, settlement currencies, and local payment method coverage vary widely.

• Airwallex lets you accept payments via 160+ local payment methods across 180+ countries, with like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies. For businesses, this translates into fewer FX fees.

Choosing the best international payment gateway shapes how much of every cross-border sale you actually keep.

This guide compares 10 international payment gateways used by global businesses in 2026. For each provider, you'll see what they do well, where they don’t, and how their pricing stacks up.

Quick note: this article focuses on payment gateways designed for international businesses. If you mostly serve customers in Singapore, check out our guide to the best payment gateways in Singapore instead.

10 best international payment gateways at a glance

This comparison shows where each provider stands on coverage, settlement, and pricing. Use it as a starting point — full breakdowns of each provider follow below.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 4 June 2026.

1. Airwallex

Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform designed for businesses selling and operating internationally. It is particularly suited to companies looking to optimise cross-border payments, reduce FX costs, and support growth across multiple markets from a single infrastructure layer.

Beyond accepting payments, Airwallex supports businesses with enterprise-grade APIs, omnichannel capabilities, and billing solutions for recurring and usage-based revenue models, making it suitable for eCommerce, SaaS, and AI companies with global ambitions.

Key features:

• Accept payments through 160+ local payment methods across 180+ countries

• Like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies to reduce unnecessary FX conversions

• AI-driven payment optimisation via Optimize 360, including intelligent routing, retries, 3DS, and network tokenisation

• Convert funds at 0.4%–0.6% above the interbank rate, saving you up to 80% on FX fees

• Support for recurring, subscription, and usage-based billing models

• Enterprise-grade APIs and developer tools for custom payment experiences

Learn more about Airwallex Payments or sign up now.

2. Stripe

Stripe is a developer-first payment platform that operates in 195 countries.¹ It is well suited to eCommerce, SaaS, and marketplace businesses that want to build highly customised checkout experiences, manage subscriptions, and scale payments across multiple markets.

For Singapore businesses selling internationally, the main consideration is FX: a 2% conversion fee applies whenever a customer pays in a currency other than your settlement currency, and settlement currency availability varies by region.¹

Key features

• Supports 100+ payment methods and 135+ currencies¹

• Extensive APIs, SDKs, and developer tools for custom payment experiences

• Stripe Billing for subscriptions, recurring payments, and usage-based pricing

• No-code integrations with platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Adobe Commerce

• Fraud prevention tools through Stripe Radar and support for 3D Secure authentication

• Omnichannel capabilities, including online, in-app, and in-person payments through Stripe Terminal

3. PayPal

PayPal is one of the most recognised checkout brands in the world, operating in 200+ markets.² It works well for businesses that want to offer customers a familiar payment option and get started quickly without significant development effort, especially when selling to buyers across multiple countries.

The trade-off is cost: PayPal sits at the higher end for both card processing and currency conversion fees, and customers are redirected away from your website to complete payment.

Key features

• Fast setup with minimal integration effort

• Offers hosted checkout experiences through PayPal's payment pages

• Built-in fraud prevention, buyer and seller protection, and dispute management tools

• Supports recurring payments and subscription billing

• Compatible with major eCommerce platforms through pre-built integrations

4. Adyen

Adyen is an enterprise-grade payments platform built for businesses that want to manage online, in-store, and mobile payments through a single provider. It is particularly suited to high-volume merchants that can benefit from its Interchange++ pricing model and have the scale to meet Adyen's minimum invoice requirements.⁴

Adyen uses transparent Interchange++ pricing, with card transactions charged at interchange fees plus a fixed processing fee.⁴ While this pricing model can be cost-effective at scale, it may be more difficult for businesses to forecast compared to flat-rate pricing.

Key features

• Omnichannel payment acceptance across online, in-store, and mobile channels

• Supports a broad range of global and local payment methods through a single integration

• Advanced reporting, analytics, and fraud prevention capabilities

• Enterprise-grade APIs and developer tools for customised payment experiences

• Offers like-for-like settlement for selected currencies and payment methods

5. Checkout.com

Checkout.com is a payments platform designed for high-growth digital businesses that want to improve payment performance across multiple markets. It is particularly suited to merchants looking to leverage local acquiring relationships to help increase authorisation rates on international transactions.

Checkout.com supports domestic acquiring in 45+ countries and offers both flat-rate and Interchange++ pricing models.⁵ However, pricing is fully customised, so businesses need to speak with its sales team to understand costs and contract terms.⁵

Key features

• Domestic acquiring in 45+ countries to help improve payment acceptance rates⁵

• Supports 150+ currencies through a single Unified Payments API⁵

• Choice of flat-rate or Interchange++ pricing structures⁵

• Enterprise-grade APIs and tools for building customised payment experiences

• Payment optimisation capabilities designed to support global transaction performance

6. Worldpay

Worldpay is one of the largest payment processors globally, handling US$2.3 trillion in annual payment volume for businesses.⁶ It is best suited to merchants that need acquiring capabilities across multiple regions, support for both online and in-person payments, and access to enterprise-level payment infrastructure.

Pricing is quote-based and tailored to each business, so merchants need to speak with Worldpay directly to understand fees and implementation requirements.⁷

Key features

• Omnichannel support across eCommerce, in-store, mobile, and alternative payment experiences

• Global acquiring capabilities designed to help businesses expand into new markets

• Fraud prevention, authentication, and dispute management tools

• Dynamic routing and embedded payment capabilities for software platforms

• Enterprise-grade APIs and integrations to support customised payment workflows

7. Braintree

Braintree is PayPal's full-stack payments platform designed for established eCommerce, marketplace, and subscription businesses that want greater control over the checkout experience. 

It is particularly well suited to merchants already using PayPal, businesses managing recurring revenue, and companies that need a more customisable integration than PayPal's standard hosted checkout offers.

Unlike PayPal's traditional checkout experience, Braintree gives merchants more flexibility over branding and the customer journey while still benefiting from PayPal's global network and ecosystem.

Key features

• Includes PayPal as a payment method alongside cards and digital wallets

• Supports recurring billing, subscriptions, and marketplace payment flows

• Customisable checkout experiences with full control over branding

• APIs and SDKs for building tailored payment experiences

• Volume discounts available for businesses processing more than S$110,000 per month in Singapore⁸

8. 2Checkout (Verifone)

2Checkout, now part of Verifone, is designed for digital businesses selling across borders, particularly software, SaaS, and online service providers that want to reach customers globally without setting up local entities. 

It combines payment acceptance with tools to help businesses manage subscriptions and recurring revenue, making it a practical option for companies with an international customer base.

Key features

• Supports sales in 200 countries and 100 billing currencies⁹

• Accepts 45+ payment methods on the 2Monetize plan⁹

• Built-in recurring billing, subscription management, and dunning capabilities⁹

• Payouts available in USD, GBP, and EUR by default, with other currencies available on request⁹

9. BlueSnap

BlueSnap positions itself as a Global Payment Orchestration Platform, and it’s well suited to businesses that want to consolidate payment acceptance, optimisation, fraud prevention, and chargeback management under a single integration.

It can be a good fit for software platforms, B2B companies, and merchants looking to streamline payment operations as they expand internationally.

Key features

• Accepts payments from 200+ regions through one integration¹⁰

• Modular platform that allows businesses to enable features based on their needs¹⁰

• Tools for payment optimisation, fraud prevention, and chargeback management¹⁰

• Embedded payments capabilities for software platforms¹⁰

10. Paddle

Paddle is a Merchant of Record (MoR) platform built for SaaS, app, and digital product companies selling internationally. Under the MoR model, Paddle becomes the legal seller of your product and takes responsibility for collecting, filing, and remitting indirect taxes, reducing the operational burden of expanding into new markets.

It is particularly well suited to software businesses that want to outsource global tax compliance and focus on product growth, rather than managing registrations and filings across multiple jurisdictions themselves.

Key features

• Handles global sales tax, VAT, and GST registration, filing, and remittance¹¹

• Supports subscription billing, recurring payments, and revenue recovery workflows

• Includes fraud management and customer support within its unified pricing model¹¹

• Helps businesses sell internationally without establishing local entities¹¹

How to choose the right international payment gateway

Choosing the right gateway comes down to matching the provider's strengths to where your customers are, what they pay with, and how you want money to land in your business. Here are the five factors that matter most when you're selling internationally:

1. Fee structure and FX costs

Look beyond the headline transaction rate. The real cost of international payments includes domestic and cross-border card fees, currency conversion markups, chargeback fees, and any minimum monthly invoice.

Some gateways use flat-rate pricing, which is easier to forecast. Others use Interchange++, which can work out cheaper at high volumes but is harder to predict.

For cross-border sales, FX is often where margins quietly disappear. A 2% conversion fee on every international transaction adds up fast. Gateways that offer like-for-like settlement let you hold funds in the customer's currency and avoid forced conversion entirely.

2. Geographic coverage

Two things matter here: where the gateway can accept payments from, and where it has local acquiring relationships. Local acquiring usually lifts authorisation rates because the transaction is processed through a local bank rather than routed internationally.

If you're selling into Europe, the US, and APAC, look for a provider with domestic acquiring across all three regions — not just global card network coverage.

3. Local payment methods

Cards work everywhere, but they're not always what your customers prefer. In China, Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate. In Southeast Asia, GrabPay, ShopeePay, and PayNow are widely used. In Europe, iDEAL, Bancontact, and SEPA Direct Debit are common.

Offering the right local payment methods at checkout reduces cart abandonment and helps you capture sales you'd otherwise lose.

4. Fraud and security

Your gateway needs to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and offer fraud prevention tools that work across markets.

Look for 3D Secure authentication, network tokenisation, machine learning-based fraud detection, and dispute management. The right setup reduces chargebacks without blocking genuine customers.

5. Integration and developer experience

The way you integrate matters as much as the features. No-code plugins for Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, WooCommerce, and Magento get you live quickly. Hosted checkout pages save engineering time. Full APIs and SDKs give you complete control over the payment experience.

Pick the integration option that matches your team's resources and how much customisation you actually need.

How does an international payment gateway work?

Payment gateways sit between your customer, their bank, and your business — capturing payment details at checkout, verifying them, and moving the money to your account.

For a step-by-step breakdown, see our guide to how payment gateways work, or read our explainer on the difference between a payment gateway and a payment processor if you're unsure how the two work together.

Why Singapore businesses choose Airwallex as their international payment gateway

The biggest mistake you can make when choosing an international payment gateway is not paying attention to FX. A 2% conversion fee on every cross-border sale doesn't sound like much, but it can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

That's where Airwallex comes in. Here’s what you get with Airwallex:

Like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies

You can collect customer payments in the currency they pay in, then hold the funds in that same currency through your Global Accounts. When an overseas supplier needs to be paid in the same currency, you can use those funds directly — no double conversions, no FX fees to pay.

FX rates that save you up to 80% on FX fees

When you do want to convert your money, you pay 0.4%–0.6% above the interbank rate. That's a fraction of the 2%–4% most gateways charge, and our customers save up to 80% on FX fees compared to traditional banks. 

160+ local payment methods across 180+ countries

We support the local payment methods your international customers actually use — Alipay and WeChat Pay in China, GrabPay and Atome in Southeast Asia, Wero | iDEAL and Bancontact in Europe. This lifts conversion rates and helps you capture sales you'd otherwise lose.

AI to optimise your payment stack

Airwallex applies AI across multiple parts of the payments journey. Optimize 360 improves authorisation rates through intelligent routing, retries, 3DS optimisation, and network tokenisation, while Airi is building the infrastructure for agentic commerce as AI assistants begin making purchases on behalf of customers.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Which is the best international payment gateway?

There's no single best international payment gateway: the right choice depends on where your customers are, what currencies you handle, and how you want to settle funds. Airwallex stands out for businesses that want like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies, AI-led approval optimisation via Optimize 360, and tighter FX margins on cross-border sales.

How do international payment gateways handle currency conversion?

Most international payment gateways automatically convert customer payments into your home currency at settlement, charging a markup of 2%–4% on top of the interbank rate. Some gateways, like Airwallex, offer like-for-like settlement, which lets you receive and hold funds in the customer's currency and only convert when you actually need to.

What fees should I expect with an international payment gateway?

Expect a few layered fees: a domestic card transaction fee (usually 2.5%–3.5%), an international card surcharge (often 0.5%–1.5% on top), a currency conversion fee (typically 1%–4%), and chargeback fees per dispute. Some gateways add monthly minimums or setup fees, while others use pay-as-you-go pricing with no fixed costs.

Are international payment gateways safe to use?

Reputable international payment gateways comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and offer fraud prevention tools like 3D Secure authentication, network tokenisation, and machine learning-based risk scoring. Always check that the gateway is licensed in the regions you sell into and uses encryption to protect customer payment data.

How long does it take to set up an international payment gateway?

Setup time depends on the integration option you choose. No-code plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento can be live within a few hours. Hosted checkout pages typically take a day or two. Fully custom API integrations can take one to two weeks, depending on the complexity of your payment flows.

Can I use multiple international payment gateways at the same time?

Yes, many businesses run more than one gateway to optimise authorisation rates by region or to offer specific payment methods. The trade-off is added complexity in reconciliation, reporting, and fraud management. If you're going down that path, look for gateways with strong dashboards and clean APIs for transaction-level data.

Sources:

1.  https://stripe.com/en-sg/pricing

2.  https://www.paypal.com/sg/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide

3.  https://www.paypal.com/sg/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

4.  https://www.adyen.com/pricing

5.  https://www.checkout.com/pricing

6.  https://www.worldpay.com/

7.  https://www.worldpay.com/en/pricing

8.  https://www.braintreepayments.com/sg/braintree-pricing

9.  https://www.2checkout.com/pricing/

10.  https://home.bluesnap.com/about-bluesnap/

11.  https://www.paddle.com/pricing