Adyen vs Stripe: 2026 guide for Singapore businesses

Key Takeaways:

• Stripe suits Singapore startups and online-first businesses that want fast sign-up, transparent flat-rate pricing, and strong developer tools, with no minimum volume requirements.

• Adyen is built for larger enterprises that need unified online and in-store payments, direct card acquiring in Singapore, and broad support for local payment methods like PayNow and GrabPay. However, it requires a longer onboarding process and a minimum monthly spend.

• Airwallex is another option: it offers multi-currency accounts, competitive FX rates, and cross-border APAC payments alongside payment acceptance.

Adyen vs Stripe is one of the most common payment gateway decisions facing businesses in Singapore today. Both platforms support Singapore dollars, accept local payment methods, and have a real presence here — but they are built for very different types of businesses.

Stripe suits online-first teams that want to start accepting payments quickly. Adyen is built for larger operations that need unified online and in-store payments at scale. And for Singapore businesses selling across Southeast Asia or managing payments in multiple currencies, neither may be a complete answer.

This guide breaks down how the two platforms compare on pricing, features, and fit, and when it makes sense to consider an alternative.

Adyen and Stripe at a glance

Stripe and Adyen are both global payment platforms, but they serve different ends of the market. Here is a quick summary before we go deeper.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 27 March 2026.

What is Stripe?

Stripe launched in 2010 and is now one of the most widely used payment platforms in the world. It operates as a payment aggregator, meaning your business shares a merchant account with other Stripe users rather than holding a dedicated one. This makes onboarding fast. You can sign up, integrate, and start accepting payments within a day.

Stripe is developer-first by design. It offers a well-documented API, pre-built UI components, and plugins for platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. It also has no-code tools like Payment Links for businesses that do not want to write code at all.

In Singapore, Stripe charges a flat rate per transaction. Pricing is transparent and publicly listed, which makes it easy to forecast costs.

What is Adyen?

Adyen was founded in 2006 in Amsterdam and went public in 2018. Unlike Stripe, Adyen is a direct acquirer: it processes transactions on its own network in markets where it holds acquiring licences, including Singapore. This gives it more control over the payment flow and, at high volumes, more competitive pricing.

Adyen is designed for businesses with complex payment needs: multiple sales channels, multiple countries, and high transaction volumes. Its unified commerce platform connects online, in-app, and in-store payments in one place, making it particularly useful for retailers and hospitality businesses operating across channels.

Onboarding with Adyen requires a conversation with their sales team. There is also a minimum monthly invoice, which makes it less suitable for businesses in the early stages of growth.

Adyen vs Stripe: Fees and pricing

Pricing is where Stripe and Adyen differ most.

Stripe uses a flat-rate model for domestic card payments in Singapore, with surcharges added for international cards and currency conversion. Adyen uses an interchange-plus model, where the fee varies by payment method and card network. Each approach has trade-offs depending on your transaction volume and mix.

Stripe fees in Singapore

Stripe charges 3.4% + S$0.50 per successful domestic card transaction.¹ This rate applies to Singapore-issued Visa and Mastercard cards.

Additional fees apply for international cards and currency conversion. Check Stripe's pricing page for the current rates on these, as they depend on the card's country of issue and the currency of the transaction.

One thing to note if your business is GST-registered in Singapore: Stripe's fees are subject to 9% GST, which adds to your effective processing cost.

Worth knowing: Stripe's flat-rate pricing makes cost forecasting simple. But at higher volumes — say, S$100,000 or more per month — the flat rate starts to look expensive compared to interchange-plus models.

Adyen fees in Singapore

Adyen charges a fixed processing fee of €0.11 per transaction, plus a payment method fee that varies by card network or payment type.² The processing fee is denominated in euros regardless of your settlement currency.

For Visa and Mastercard transactions, Adyen uses Interchange++ pricing, meaning you pay the actual interchange fee set by the card network, plus 0.60%.² This model passes card network costs directly to you, which can result in lower fees at scale compared to flat-rate pricing, though it also means your costs vary from transaction to transaction.

For popular local payment methods in Singapore:²

• GrabPay (online): €0.11 + 2.8%

• GrabPay (in-person): €0.11 + 2.2%

• American Express (global): €0.11 + 3.95%

Adyen states there is no setup fee on its pricing page.² However, Adyen does apply a minimum monthly invoice: the exact threshold is not published publicly and is agreed during the sales process. This makes Adyen less suitable for businesses with low or irregular transaction volumes.

Which pricing model suits you?

If you process a low-to-moderate volume of transactions and want predictable costs, Stripe's flat rate is easier to work with.

If you process high volumes and have the internal resources to manage variable monthly costs, Adyen's interchange-plus model can work out cheaper, particularly for Visa and Mastercard transactions where interchange rates are relatively low.

Local payment methods in Singapore

Singapore has one of the most developed digital payments ecosystems in Southeast Asia. Both Stripe and Adyen support the key local methods, but there are differences in how they handle each one.

PayNow

PayNow is Singapore's national real-time payment scheme. Customers pay directly from their bank account by scanning a QR code — no card needed, no chargeback risk. Both Stripe³ and Adyen² support it for Singapore merchants. Note that accepting PayNow via Stripe requires a Singapore-registered legal entity.³

GrabPay

GrabPay is one of Singapore's most widely used digital wallets. Both platforms support it.²³ Adyen charges €0.11 + 2.8% online and €0.11 + 2.2% in person for GrabPay transactions in Singapore.² For Stripe, GrabPay is available to merchants with a Singapore-registered entity.³

WeChat Pay and Alipay

Both platforms support WeChat Pay and Alipay, which is useful if you serve Chinese tourists or cross-border shoppers from China.²³

A note on cross-border settlement

Accepting SGD payments and settling in another currency adds FX conversion costs on top of processing fees. If your business regularly moves money across currencies in the region, a payment gateway alone may not be enough — you may also need a multi-currency account to manage settlement costs.

Onboarding and ease of use

Getting started looks very different with Stripe and Adyen. The gap matters if you need to start accepting payments quickly — or if your team has limited technical resources.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 27 March 2026.

Stripe

• Fully self-serve — no sales call required

• Create an account and start accepting payments within a day

• Intuitive dashboard with best-in-class developer documentation

• No-code tools like Payment Links for non-developers

Stripe is a payment aggregator, meaning merchants share a pooled account structure. This speeds up onboarding but can result in occasional fund holds or account reviews.

Adyen

• Sales-led process — you need to contact their team before you can sign up

• KYC verification required before processing live payments⁴

• Supports Singpass for identity verification in Singapore⁴

• No setup fees, monthly fees, or closure fees, but a minimum monthly invoice applies²

Adyen suits businesses with a dedicated payments or finance team. If you are a small team without technical resources, the onboarding process and platform complexity may be more than you need.

Developer tools and integrations

Both Stripe and Adyen are built for developers, but they approach integration differently. Stripe prioritises simplicity and speed. Adyen prioritises flexibility and control.

Stripe

Stripe offers three main integration paths:

• Checkout — a pre-built, hosted payment page you can embed or redirect to with minimal code

• Elements — flexible UI components to build a fully custom checkout within your own site

• Payment Links — no-code payment pages you can share via a URL, email, or QR code

Stripe also has a wide library of plugins for popular eCommerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.

Stripe's documentation is widely regarded as among the best in the industry. Sandbox testing, error messages, and API references are all clearly structured, making it a strong choice for developers new to payment integrations.

Adyen

Adyen also offers multiple integration paths:⁵

• Web Drop-in — a prebuilt checkout UI where you can customise the styling and payment method list

• Web Components — individual prebuilt components for each payment method, giving you more control over layout

• Web API only — full custom integration for teams that want to build the checkout UI entirely themselves

Beyond web, Adyen supports iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter.⁵ This makes it well-suited for businesses with a mobile app alongside their web checkout.

Adyen's documentation is comprehensive but assumes a higher baseline of technical knowledge than Stripe's. If your development team is less experienced with payments infrastructure, Stripe will likely be faster to get off the ground.

eCommerce platform integrations

Both platforms integrate with major eCommerce platforms. Stripe has a broader range of out-of-the-box plugins and a larger community of third-party developers building on its ecosystemm, which is an advantage for Singapore businesses running standard eCommerce setups.

Adyen's integrations tend to require more configuration but offer greater flexibility for custom or enterprise builds.

In-person payments

If your Singapore business takes payments both online and in store, both platforms have a solution — but they are not the same.

Stripe Terminal

Stripe Terminal is Stripe's in-person payments product, available to Singapore merchants.⁸ It lets you use Stripe's API to build custom point-of-sale experiences with card readers and POS software. Online and in-store transactions appear in the same Stripe dashboard, which simplifies reconciliation.

Stripe Terminal is a good fit for tech-led businesses that want to extend their existing Stripe integration to a physical checkout. It is less suited to large retail or hospitality operations with complex in-store requirements.

Adyen in-person payments

Adyen's in-person offering is more mature and is built around its unified commerce model. Online and in-store payments run on the same platform, which means you can do things like accept in-store returns for ecommerce orders and recognise customers across channels.⁶

Adyen manages terminal hardware centrally: you can view terminal status, push software updates, and generate settlement reports for all devices from a single dashboard.⁶ Terminals support contactless and NFC wallet payments.⁷

For Singapore businesses operating across multiple store locations or combining retail with online sales, Adyen's unified commerce approach is a meaningful advantage over Stripe.

Which is right for your Singapore business?

Stripe and Adyen are both strong platforms, but they are built for different businesses. Here is a quick guide to help you decide — and when it makes sense to look beyond both.

When to choose Stripe

Stripe suits you if:

• You are a startup or SME that needs to start accepting payments quickly

• Your sales are primarily online, and you want flat-rate, predictable pricing

• Your development team is small and you value clear documentation and fast integration

• You do not have the transaction volume to justify Adyen's minimum monthly invoice

• You sell internationally and want a single platform that supports 100+ payment methods out of the box

The main trade-off: Stripe's flat rate of 3.4% + S$0.50 per domestic card transaction¹ is easy to forecast but can become expensive at higher volumes. And because Stripe is an aggregator, you share a merchant account with other businesses — which can occasionally result in fund holds.

When to choose Adyen

Adyen suits you if:

• You are a mid-size to large business with consistent, high transaction volumes

• You operate both online and in-store and need a unified commerce platform

• You have a dedicated payments or finance team with the resources to manage a more complex setup

• You want interchange-plus pricing, which can result in lower effective costs at scale

• You need strong enterprise features: terminal management, revenue optimisation, and cross-channel analytics

The main trade-off: onboarding is slower, a minimum monthly invoice applies, and the platform requires more internal resources to manage than Stripe.

When to consider Airwallex instead

Stripe and Adyen are both payment gateways first. If your Singapore business also needs to manage money across currencies — collecting in USD, paying suppliers in RMB, settling in SGD — you are likely to run into limits with either platform.

Airwallex combines payment acceptance with multi-currency Global Accounts, FX transfers, and Corporate Cards in one platform. It supports 160+ payment methods across 180+ countries and offers like-for-like settlement in 20+ currencies⁹ — meaning funds stay in the currency your customers pay in, avoiding forced conversion and the FX costs that come with it.

This makes Airwallex particularly relevant for Singapore businesses that sell across Southeast Asia, source from international suppliers, or want to reduce the gap between accepting payments and managing the money that follows.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is Adyen cheaper than Stripe in Singapore?

It depends on your transaction volume and payment mix. Stripe charges a flat 3.4% + S$0.50 per domestic card transaction,¹ which is easy to forecast but adds up quickly at high volumes. Adyen uses interchange-plus pricing — you pay the actual interchange fee set by Visa or Mastercard, plus €0.11 and a 0.60% markup.² For businesses processing large volumes of Visa and Mastercard transactions, Adyen often works out cheaper.

Is Adyen available in Singapore?

Yes. Adyen operates in Singapore and holds local acquiring licences here,² meaning it processes transactions directly on its own network rather than routing through a third party. It supports Singapore-specific payment methods including PayNow and GrabPay.²

Can a small business in Singapore use Adyen?

Adyen is technically available to smaller businesses, but it is not well suited to them. Onboarding is sales-led and takes time, and Adyen applies a minimum monthly invoice.² If you do not process enough volume to meet that minimum, you will still need to pay this minimum sum. For most Singapore SMEs, Stripe is a more practical starting point.

Does Stripe support PayNow?

Yes. Stripe supports PayNow for merchants with a Singapore-registered legal entity.³ PayNow allows customers to pay directly from their bank account by scanning a QR code, with no card required and no chargeback risk.

What is the main difference between Adyen and Stripe?

The core difference is who they are built for. Stripe is a self-serve payment aggregator designed for fast onboarding and ease of use — it suits startups and online-first businesses. Adyen is a direct acquirer with a sales-led process, interchange-plus pricing, and a unified commerce platform for both online and in-store payments — it suits larger businesses with higher volumes and more complex requirements.

Is there an alternative to Stripe and Adyen for Singapore businesses?

Yes. If your business needs more than a payment gateway (for example, multi-currency accounts, low-cost FX, and cross-border APAC payments), Airwallex is worth considering. It combines payment acceptance with Global Accounts, FX transfers, and corporate cards in a single platform built for businesses operating internationally.

Sources:

1. stripe.com/en-sg/pricing

2. adyen.com/en_SG/pricing

3. stripe.com/en-sg/payments/payment-methods

4. docs.adyen.com

5. docs.adyen.com/online-payments/release-notes

6. adyen.com/en_SG/solutions/in-person-payments

7. adyen.com/en_SG/solutions/in-person-payments/terminals

8. stripe.com/en-sg/terminal

9. airwallex.com/sg/blog/payment-gateway-singapore

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.