Payment gateway fees in Singapore: A 2026 breakdown

Key takeaways:

• Payment gateway fees stack three layers: interchange (paid to the card issuer), scheme fees (paid to Visa or Mastercard), and the gateway or acquirer markup. Only the gateway markup is genuinely negotiable.

• Cross-border card payments and FX conversion are where most mid-market Singapore merchants overpay. At higher volumes, forced SGD conversion on every international sale becomes a meaningful drag on margin.

• Airwallex helps you lower payment gateway fees in three ways. You get transparent flat-rate pricing. You can settle like-for-like in 14 currencies — no forced SGD conversion. And our authorisation tools reduce wasted interchange on declined transactions.

Payment gateway fees are one of the largest costs most Singapore businesses overlook when they think about checkout. They are also one of the few costs you can actively reduce, once you understand what you are paying for and which lever to pull.

This guide breaks down every layer of payment gateway fees in Singapore, and compares what Airwallex, Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, and HitPay charge in 2026. It also gives you actionable ways to bring your costs down.

If you are still choosing a gateway rather than optimising one, start with our guide to the best payment gateways in Singapore instead.

What payment gateway fees actually are

A payment gateway fee is what you pay every time you process a digital payment. It covers the technology, the parties involved, and the risk of moving money between your customer's bank and yours.

When a customer enters their card details at checkout, your gateway encrypts the data and sends it through the card network. It gets approval from the issuing bank, then routes the funds back to your account. Every party in that payment chain takes a cut, and that’s essentially your payment gateway fee.

You will usually see this fee on your statement in two parts: a percentage of the transaction value plus a small fixed amount per transaction. For example, on a S$100 sale at 3% + S$0.50, you pay S$3.50 in fees and keep S$96.50.

This sounds small, but multiply it across thousands of transactions a month and the gap between providers adds up. A 0.5 percentage-point difference on S$1 million of monthly card volume adds up to S$5,000 a month. That is S$60,000 a year — money that should be sitting in your bank account, not your processor's.

Where your payment gateway fee goes

The payment fee you see on your statement is usually three different fees rolled into one. Each goes to a different party:

Layer 1: Interchange — Paid to your customer's bank

Interchange is the biggest chunk of the fee. It's paid to the bank that issued your customer's card. Visa, Mastercard, and Amex set the rates, not your payment gateway.

This is also where cross-border gets painful. When a shopper in the US, UK, or Australia pays you with a card issued in their country, the transaction is classed as cross-border. The interchange rate jumps well above the domestic Singapore rate. If you sell internationally, this is the single biggest hidden line item on your bill.

You do have a few ways to get around this. For example, offering local payment methods to local customers keeps more transactions on the cheaper domestic rate. Network tokens can qualify you for lower interchange tiers. And the pricing model you choose (more on that below) affects how much of this you actually see.

For a more in-depth explanation, read our article on how interchange fees work.

Layer 2: Scheme fees — Paid to Visa, Mastercard, and Amex

Scheme fees are what the card networks charge for moving the transaction across their rails. They're usually a small slice of the total, but they add up: cross-border assessment fees, currency conversion assessment fees, authorisation fees, and a long tail of others.

There's not much you can do here. Scheme fees are set by the networks and aren't negotiable. The best you can do is avoid wasting them, mostly by reducing failed authorisation attempts.

Layer 3: Gateway and acquirer markup — What your provider keeps

This is the part your provider takes for themselves. It's the only layer that's genuinely negotiable, and it's where flat-rate processors like Stripe and PayPal make their margin.

How this shows up depends on the pricing model. With flat-rate pricing, your provider takes the whole interchange + scheme + markup blend and quotes you one number. For example:

• Stripe charges 3.4% + S$0.50 for a domestic Singapore card¹.

• PayPal charges 3.40% + S$0.50 for an Advanced Credit and Debit Card payment in Singapore².

With Interchange++ pricing, interchange and scheme fees are passed through at cost, and you pay a fixed markup on top. Adyen, for example, charges $0.13 + 0.60% above Interchange++³.

At higher volumes, Interchange++ usually works out cheaper. At lower volumes, flat-rate is simpler to forecast.

Layer 4: FX conversion — Paid when currencies don't match

If your customer pays in a currency other than your settlement currency, your gateway converts it for you. And it takes a margin on top of the interbank rate to do so. This is one of the most under-counted costs in any fee comparison.

There is a way to avoid this fee completely, and that’s the concept of “like-for-like settlement”.

With Airwallex, you can settle like-for-like in 14 currencies — meaning a USD payment lands in your USD account, a GBP payment lands in your GBP account, and no conversion happens until you decide to make one.

If your provider doesn't offer like-for-like settlement, every overseas payment gets converted to SGD by default. In this case, pay attention to the FX rate, because FX pricing varies a lot between providers. For example:

• Airwallex charges 0.4% above the interbank rate for major currencies and 0.6% for all others.

• PayPal charges 3% above the base exchange rate when converting balances, transfers, and payments received into another currency for Singapore accounts².

A Singapore merchant doing US$500,000 a month in USD card sales would pay roughly US$15,000 a month in FX margin with PayPal. With Airwallex, the same volume costs roughly US$2,000.

This means you're paying US$13,000 more per month (or US$156,000 more per year) if you use PayPal instead of Airwallex.

8 fees you'll see on a payment gateway statement

Payment gateway fees come in two flavours: ones charged on every transaction, and ones that show up monthly, annually, or in specific situations. Here’s a closer look at these fees:

Transactional fees

These hit you on every payment you process.

1. Transaction fee

The headline fee on every sale. Usually a percentage of the transaction value plus a small fixed amount per transaction. The percentage covers interchange, scheme fees, and the gateway's markup, while the fixed amount covers per-transaction processing. Rates vary by card type, card region, and pricing model.

2. International transaction fee

A surcharge on cross-border card payments. It exists because cross-border interchange is materially higher than domestic interchange, and because the card networks add cross-border assessment fees on top.

If your customer's card was issued outside Singapore, you'll be charged with this fee. We cover it in more detail later in this article.

3. Chargeback fee

When a customer disputes a transaction, the issuing bank may reverse the payment — that's a chargeback. The gateway charges you a fee to handle the dispute, regardless of who wins. Stripe, for example, charges S$15 per disputed payment in Singapore¹. Other providers charge similar amounts.

You only avoid this fee if you successfully win the dispute and the provider waives it.

4. Refund fee

When you refund a customer, the original processing fee may not come back to you. Stripe doesn't return the original fee on a refunded payment in Singapore¹. PayPal does the same for most refund scenarios. The refund itself isn't usually a separate line item — but the unreturned original fee acts as one.

Recurring and special-case fees

These don't appear on every transaction, but they can add up.

5. Setup fee

A one-off charge to get your account integrated and live. Modern flat-rate providers like Stripe and PayPal don't charge this. Enterprise-grade processors and traditional bank acquirers sometimes do.

6. Monthly fee

A flat amount you pay every month for access to the platform — usually covering software, support, and reporting. Common with enterprise plans and traditional acquirers, rare with flat-rate processors.

7. Annual maintenance fee

Similar to a monthly fee but charged once a year. Often bundled into a contract minimum or platform fee on enterprise plans.

8. PCI compliance fee

Some providers charge a small monthly fee to keep your account PCI DSS compliant, or a larger non-compliance fee if you fail to maintain compliance. Most modern gateways absorb this into their headline rate, but it still appears on some traditional acquirer statements.

Payment gateway pricing models: Flat-rate, tiered, and Interchange++

Here are the three main pricing models that payment gateways use:

Flat-rate pricing

You pay one published rate per transaction type, regardless of which card the customer uses or where it was issued domestically. This is what Stripe and PayPal use in Singapore. Stripe charges 3.4% + S$0.50 for a domestic Singapore card¹. PayPal charges 3.40% + S$0.50 for Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments in Singapore².

The upside is predictability. You know exactly what every sale will cost, which makes forecasting easy. The downside is that you're paying a blended rate that bakes in the interchange, scheme fees, and the provider's markup all in one. If you process a high volume of low-cost debit cards, you're effectively subsidising the cost of premium reward cards.

Best for: businesses processing under roughly S$100,000 a month, or anyone who values simplicity over the last basis point.

Tiered pricing

Your provider sorts each transaction into tiers — typically "qualified," "mid-qualified," and "non-qualified" — and charges a different rate for each. This model is mostly used by traditional bank acquirers in Singapore, not by modern flat-rate processors like Stripe or PayPal.

The headline qualified rate often looks attractive, but most transactions end up classified as mid- or non-qualified, which carry higher rates. It is the least transparent of the three models, and it makes month-on-month forecasting difficult.

Best for: very few merchants. If your provider quotes you tiered pricing, ask them to model your last three months of transactions through their tiers before you commit.

Interchange++ pricing

The provider passes interchange fees and scheme fees through at cost, and adds a defined markup on top. Adyen, for example, charges $0.13 + Interchange++ + 0.60% for Visa and Mastercard payments³. Airwallex offers Interchange++ for mid-market and enterprise merchants on request.

This is the most transparent model, because every line on your invoice ties back to a real cost. Your bill goes up when interchange goes up, and down when it goes down. At high volumes, this almost always works out cheaper than flat-rate, because you stop paying a flat blended rate on transactions where the underlying interchange is much lower.

Best for: businesses processing over roughly S$500,000 a month, especially those with a heavy mix of domestic debit cards or local payment methods where interchange is naturally low.

Which model to pick

If you're a smaller merchant or you're just getting started, flat-rate is the right answer. The simplicity and the lack of surprises outweigh the few basis points you might save on a more complex model.

If you're processing serious volume — and especially if your transactions are concentrated in lower-interchange categories — Interchange++ usually wins. The exact crossover point depends on your card mix, but mid-market merchants who haven't asked their provider for an Interchange++ quote are almost certainly leaving money on the table.

Payment gateway fees in Singapore: 2026 comparison

Headline rates are the easiest thing to compare, but they only tell part of the story. The real question is what you pay end-to-end, once you factor in international cards, FX, and the smaller fees that pile up at scale.

Here is what five of the most common payment gateways available to Singapore merchants charge in 2026:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 19 May 2026.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

1. Airwallex

Airwallex's international card rate is the lowest of the four flat-rate providers in this comparison. It also has a big advantage when it comes to FX: at 0.4–0.6% above interbank, the conversion margin is a fraction of what Stripe, PayPal, or HitPay charge.

For those selling internationally, this is the option that saves you the most in payment gateway fees and FX fees.

Airwallex has no monthly fees (on the Explore plan), no setup fees, and no minimum balance requirements. Sign up for a free account.

2. Stripe

Stripe is the most familiar developer experience in the market, and the pricing is predictable. Where it costs you is FX: 2% above the base rate on every conversion adds up quickly¹.

For an in-depth look at Stripe, read our 2026 Stripe review.

3. PayPal

PayPal is widely used and consumer-trusted, which can lift conversion at checkout. But the 3% FX margin² is the highest of the providers in this comparison, and the cross-border surcharge stacks on top. For Singapore merchants with significant overseas revenue, this is the most expensive way to be paid.

For an in-depth look at PayPal, read our PayPal Business Account review.

4. Adyen

Adyen uses an Interchange++ pricing model, which means interchange and scheme fees are passed through at cost and you pay a defined markup on top³. Adyen does not publicly publish a monthly fee on its pricing page, but it operates a minimum monthly invoice on most enterprise contracts that is negotiated case by case³.

5. HitPay

HitPay is the cheapest flat-rate option in the table for domestic cards⁴, and PayNow is well-priced as well. It’s a good option for Singapore SMEs with a predominantly local audience, but for international card payments, the +2% foreign currency fee⁴ quickly adds up.

Why cross-border card fees are the biggest problem for Singapore merchants

If you sell to customers overseas, you've probably noticed that international transactions cost more than domestic ones. There are two reasons for this, both of which we’ll explain in this section.

Why an overseas card costs more

When the card networks see a card issued in one country being used at a merchant in another, they classify the transaction as cross-border. Cross-border interchange — set by Visa, Mastercard, and Amex, not your gateway — is materially higher than domestic interchange. The networks also add a cross-border assessment fee on top.

On a flat-rate statement, you don't see these as separate lines. They get rolled into a single international card surcharge. Here is what that surcharge looks like on official 2026 pricing pages:

• Stripe: +0.5% on top of the 3.4% + S$0.50 domestic rate for international cards in Singapore¹.

• PayPal: +0.70% cross-border fee on top of the standard rate for international Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments received in Singapore².

• HitPay: 3.65% + S$0.50 for international cards, versus 2.8% + S$0.50 for domestic — a 0.85 percentage point gap before FX is even involved³.

• Airwallex: +0.3% on top of the 3.30% + S$0.50 domestic rate.

A merchant doing S$500,000 a month, split 60/40 domestic to international on Stripe, pays roughly S$1,000 a month more in cross-border surcharges than they would on pure domestic volume. That is S$12,000 a year — and that doesn't even take into account FX fees.

What makes this worse at scale

The international card surcharge is one line on your bill. The FX margin (covered earlier in this article) is another.

Add them together and a single cross-border sale on PayPal can cost you close to 7% of the transaction value, once you factor in the 3.40% headline rate, the 0.70% cross-border fee², and the 3% FX margin².

How to lower your payment gateway fees

The fees you pay aren't fixed. There are five ways to bring them down — here they are, starting with the easiest and ending with the ones that take more work:

1. Renegotiate your rate

This is the simplest thing you can do, and the one most merchants never try. If you're processing meaningful monthly volume on a published flat rate, your provider almost certainly has room to come down.

HitPay openly publishes a threshold of S$50,000 a month, above which Singapore merchants can request custom rates¹. Stripe, PayPal, and Adyen all negotiate too — you just have to ask.

Before you have a conversation, pull three months of statements and work out your effective rate (total fees ÷ total volume). That number, plus a quote from a competing provider, is all the leverage you need.

2. Add cheaper local payment methods

Credit cards are the most expensive way to be paid in Singapore. Local payment methods cost a fraction of that, and a lot of customers already prefer them. 

PayNow is the clearest example: on HitPay, a PayNow transaction of S$100 or more costs 0.65% + S$0.30, compared to 2.8% + S$0.50 for a domestic card¹. That's more than two percentage points cheaper on every transaction you can shift.

3. Switch pricing models

If you're on flat-rate pricing and processing serious volume, ask your provider for an Interchange++ quote. The model takes more effort to manage, but for a high-volume merchant with a card mix skewed toward debit or domestic cards, it usually works out cheaper. We covered the trade-offs earlier.

If you're on tiered pricing, switch. There's almost no situation where tiered beats either flat-rate or Interchange++ on a like-for-like comparison.

4. Settle like-for-like to avoid FX margins entirely

This is the biggest win for any merchant with overseas revenue. If you settle in the same currency your customer paid in, no conversion happens, and no FX margin is charged.

To do this, use Airwallex Global Accounts, which lets you hold and settle in 14 currencies.

5. Improve your authorisation rates with network tokens

When a card payment fails authorisation, you pay scheme fees on the attempt and you lose the sale if the customer doesn't try again. Network tokens — encrypted replacements for the raw card number, issued by the card networks themselves — improve approval rates and can qualify transactions for lower interchange tiers.

Airwallex's Optimize 360 uses network tokens and intelligent routing to lift approval rates and reduce wasted interchange. For high-volume merchants, this is one of the few changes that improves both your costs and your revenue at the same time.

Why Singapore businesses choose Airwallex as their payment gateway

As you've seen in this article, Airwallex has the lowest international card rate and the lowest FX margin of the major flat-rate providers compared here. For any Singapore business with overseas customers, those are the two costs that matter most.

Here's what you get with Airwallex:

The lowest international card rate of any flat-rate provider in this article

Our international card rate works out lower than Stripe, PayPal, or HitPay. On a US customer paying you with a US-issued card, you pay less on every transaction.

Save up to 80% on FX fees

When you do need to convert a foreign currency into SGD, you pay 0.4% above the interbank rate for major currencies and 0.6% for all others. Compare that to Stripe at 2%¹ or PayPal at 3%², and the savings on a single month of overseas revenue can run into five or six figures.

And if you compare against traditional banks, our FX pricing saves you up to 80% on FX fees.

Like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies

What’s better than a low FX rate? Paying no FX at all.

With a Global Account, a USD payment lands as USD, a GBP payment lands as GBP, and no conversion happens until you decide to make one. This omits FX fees completely.

Higher authorisation rates with Optimize 360

Optimize 360 uses network tokens and intelligent routing to lift approval rates on card payments. Fewer failed authorisations means fewer wasted scheme fees, and more of the sales you're already winning actually reach your account.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are payment gateway fees in Singapore?

Payment gateway fees are the costs charged to a merchant every time a customer pays online. They are usually a percentage of the transaction value plus a small fixed amount per transaction. In Singapore, flat-rate fees for domestic card payments typically sit between 2.8% and 3.4% before any cross-border or FX charges are added on top.

Why are credit card processing fees so high in Singapore?

Most of the fee is interchange, which is paid to the bank that issued your customer's card, and scheme fees, which are paid to Visa, Mastercard, or Amex. Your gateway only keeps the markup on top. Cross-border interchange is materially higher than domestic interchange, which is why Singapore merchants who sell internationally tend to see higher effective rates than those who only sell locally.

Is PayNow cheaper than credit card payments?

Yes, significantly. HitPay, for example, charges 0.65% + S$0.30 for PayNow transactions of S$100 and above, compared to 2.8% + S$0.50 for a domestic card¹. For most Singapore merchants, shifting even a portion of domestic checkout volume to PayNow lowers the overall effective rate by 30–50 basis points.

Can I pass payment gateway fees on to customers in Singapore?

Surcharging customers for payment processing fees is allowed in Singapore, but most card network rules cap how much you can charge. Visa and Mastercard generally require any surcharge to be no higher than your actual cost of acceptance, and to be clearly disclosed at checkout. Many merchants choose to absorb the fee instead, since visible surcharges can hurt conversion at checkout.

How much do payment gateways charge for FX?

FX margins vary dramatically between providers. Stripe charges 2% above the base FX rate when conversion is needed¹, and PayPal charges 3% above the base exchange rate on commercial transactions received into Singapore accounts². Airwallex charges 0.4% above interbank for major currencies and 0.6% for all others, or 0% if you settle like-for-like in the original currency.

How do I lower my payment gateway fees?

Start by calculating your real effective rate from three months of statements, then negotiate with your current provider — most will reduce rates above certain volume thresholds. Add cheaper local payment methods like PayNow, switch from tiered to flat-rate or Interchange++ pricing, and reduce FX margins by settling in the original currency where possible. For mid-market merchants with overseas revenue, FX and cross-border surcharges are usually the two biggest costs worth attacking first.

Sources:

•  https://stripe.com/sg/pricing

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

•  https://www.adyen.com/pricing

•  https://hitpayapp.com/sg/pricing

This publication does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice from Airwallex, nor does it substitute seeking such advice, and makes no express or implied representations / warranties / guarantees regarding content accuracy, completeness, or currency. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]]. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (201626561Z) is licensed as a Major Payment Institution and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.