Grasp the peak sales season: how to select a payment gateway for my business?

Since the peak sales season is the annual revenue peak for eCommerce businesses, it can directly affect the annual performance of companies, both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) alike. These busy sales periods may imapct their development plans. This article aims to inform you about the impact of payment gateways on your sales and the potential challenges they can create for your operations.. You’ll also learn how to choose the right payment gateway for your business.

When are Hong Kong’s peak sales seasons?

Fall and Winter are traditionally the peak seasons for the retail industry. They are the busiest days of the year for both physical and eCommerce stores. According to the government, the total retail sales value in December 2024 reached 32.8 billion.

Apart from the traditional December Christmas holiday, the Double 11 Shopping Festival, which originated in mainland China on 11 November, and the American Black Friday, held on the last Friday of November, have gained popularity in Hong Kong in recent years. This has resulted in a surge of business opportunities for retailers and eCommerce businesses in Hong Kong.

How does the performance of payment gateways affect ‌ B2C companies’ peak sales season revenue?

Choosing the right payment gateway is crucial for revenue. A joint survey conducted by Airwallex and global strategy consulting firm Edgar, Dunn & Company in January 2024 found that 77% of over 3,000 consumers from around the world might abandon the items in their shopping carts if they couldn’t use their preferred payment methods.

This shows that “whether a payment gateway can provide customers with their preferred payment methods” can directly affect their purchasing decisions. The impact of your payment gateway will be especially significant during the busiest seasons for transactions. Furthermore, different payment gateways have varying charges on each transaction, which can accumulate into significant expenses and erode your substantial profits during the peak sales season.

Why does a right payment gateway matter to B2B businesses during peak season?

Peak seasons featuring shopping events such as Double 11 and Black Friday are not only vital for B2C retailers, but also for B2B businesses. During these periods, wholesalers, logistics companies, financial institutions, and marketing service providers face increased demand as their B2C clients prepare for the spike in customer transactions.

To manage this surge efficiently,  B2B companies will need a suitable payment gateway that can streamline their transactions with clients, such as invoice management and subscription payments.

What are the differences between B2C and B2B payment gateways?

B2C and B2B payment gateways serve distinct business needs. B2C transactions are smaller in value but more frequent, usually relying on payment methods like cards, digital wallets, or BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later), while B2B payments often involve larger sums and are processed less frequently with more complex payment methods such as bank transfers, direct debits, or corporate cards. 

When it comes to integration, B2C payment gateways focus on the Point of Sale system (POS) and checkout pages, while B2B solutions place greater emphasis on connectivity with accounting software. 

How to ensure that my payment gateway can handle peak sales seasons?

A payment gateway is a third-party payment system that connects businesses with financial institutions. It offers various payment options such as mainstream credit cards, and e-wallets for customers. Therefore, connecting to a suitable payment is the first step for eCommerce shops in preparing for the peak sales season.

1. Providing local payment methods to global customers

According to the survey mentioned above, although credit cards and debit cards remain the most commonly used payment methods globally, more and more consumers, including 37% from Australia, 33% from the United Kingdom, and 27% from the United States, are switching to use global e-wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal. Nearly half of Chinese interviewees (48%) indicated a preference for using local e-wallets, including Alipay and WeChat Pay. 

Global eCommerce businesses that have customers located all around the world are advised to enable customers from different countries and regions to use their local payment methods so as to expand their customer base.

2. The new shopping trend: Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

“Buy Now, Pay Later” is a new shopping mode that has emerged in Western countries in recent years. When customers make a purchase, a third-party platform pays a partial amount, and the customers will have to pay for the amount in instalments to the platform within a specified period.

The major difference between BNPL and credit cards is that the former does not require strict credit history checks by banks. For most eCommerce businesses, offering the BNPL payment method can help expand their customer base to groups that may have difficulty applying for credit cards, such as students and freelancers.

Klarna and Afterpay are both popular payment platforms that offer “Buy Now, Pay Later” in the overseas market. Although they don’t directly support payments in Hong Kong, online stores can still accept payments through them by integrating their systems with specific payment gateways.

Preparing for ‌peak sales seasons: comparing four major payment gateways

Stripe and PayPal are currently the most commonly used payment gateways among both B2B and B2C eCommerce businesses worldwide. Mainstream online shop platforms Shopify and SHOPLINE are also offering their own payment gateways, which can be directly used when opening a store on their platform.

Connect Airwallex Checkout in minutes to boost your global sales

Aside from the payment gateways above, there are also other financial and payments platforms that offer plugins in the market, such as Airwallex.

1. Supports 160+ types of payment methods and 130+ currencies

Airwallex provides an all-in-one global payment service that allows businesses to receive funds easily without the need for programming. Online shops can accept over 160 types of payment methods, including credit cards, FPS, AlipayHK, and WeChat Pay, simply by integrating with a plugin. Airwallex also supports overseas “Buy Now, Pay Later” platforms, such as Klarna and Afterpay.

Airwallex also allows businesses to receive payments in over 180 currencies. It provides market-leading rates and helps businesses eliminate unnecessary foreign exchange fees by settling transactions in the same currency.

2. Saves FX costs when paying overseas suppliers in multiple currencies

Airwallex does not charge any account opening or monthly fees. When paying overseas suppliers, you can transact from your multi-currency account directly, 90% of which are completed via local payment rails without any transaction fees, allowing businesses to maximise their earnings. Airwallex provides market-leading FX rates for international transactions, with no hidden fees at all. 

3. Values transaction security

Airwallex prioritises transaction security and adopts top-notch security technologies, such as tokenisation and the latest version of 3DS – 3DS 2, to ensure transaction security. Airwallex’s machine learning engine includes features such as automatic retries and ISO message optimisation to help improve conversion rates for eCommerce businesses.

Create a Business Account now and connect with the Airwallex plugin in minutes to get prepared for the upcoming peak sales season! 

Sources:

Information on other payment gateway providers was retrieved as of June 2025, from the sources below. Information provided is for reference only. Please refer to the official websites for the most up-to-date details

1. https://www.paypal.com/hk/webapps/mpp/contact-us?locale.x=zh_HK

2. https://www.paypal.com/hk/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security?locale.x=zh_HK

3. https://stripe.com/zh-cn-hk/pricing/local-payment-methods

4. https://docs.stripe.com/security?locale=zh-CN

5. https://stripe.com/zh-cn-hk/pricing/local-payment-methods

6. https://help.shopify.com/zh-TW/support/login

7. https://www.shopify.com/hk/pricing

8. https://help.shopify.com/zh-TW/manual/payments/fraud-prevention

9. https://shopline.hk/faq/about

10. https://support.shoplineapp.com/hc/zh-tw/articles/900004617183-常見問題-SHOPLINE-Payments#h_01G3T354V03F1Q2KES7WD7NG8A

11. https://features.shopline.hk/payments/

12. https://blog.shopline.hk/shopline-payments/#:~:text=SHOPLINE%20Payments%20交易系統符合,提升訂單交易成功率%E3%80%82

13. https://support.shoplineapp.com/hc/zh-tw/articles/900004617183-常見問題-SHOPLINE-Payments#h_01G3T354V03F1Q2KES7WD7NG8A

14. https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/web_table.html?id=620-67001

15. https://stripe.com/en-hk/pricing

16. https://help.shopline.com/hc/en-001/articles/20402969353497-SHOPLINE-Payments-for-Hong-Kong

Disclaimer: The information was based on our own online research and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed every six months. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].