Top 9 Stripe alternatives in Singapore (2026): compare fees and features

Key Takeaways:

• Stripe is a capable payment gateway, but its developer-first design, currency conversion fees, and limited FX tools make it a poor fit for many Singapore businesses selling internationally.

• The right alternative depends on what you need: local payment methods like PayNow and GrabPay, multi-currency settlement, point-of-sale support, or a broader financial operations platform.

• Airwallex offers like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies, you avoid automatic conversion to SGD and protect your margins on every international transaction.

If you're searching for Stripe alternatives in Singapore, this guide compares nine options across fees, local payment methods, and key features.

Stripe is a solid payment gateway for many businesses, but it isn't always the most cost-effective or feature-rich option, especially if you're selling to customers in multiple countries.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a payment technology company that lets businesses accept online and in-person payments. It offers a payment gateway, a point-of-sale system called Stripe Terminal, and tools for subscriptions, invoicing, and fraud detection.

Stripe is popular with developers for its flexible APIs, but businesses looking for built-in multi-currency accounts, lower FX costs, or simpler local payment method support often find a better fit elsewhere.

Compare the top 9 Stripe alternatives in Singapore

The table below compares all nine alternatives across the fees and features that matter most to Singapore businesses.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

1. Airwallex

Most payment gateways stop at helping you accept money. Airwallex goes further: it gives you multi-currency accounts where you can settle like-for-like in 14 currencies without automatically converting everything to SGD.

That matters if you sell internationally. When a customer pays you in USD, the money sits in your USD balance. You can pay USD suppliers directly from that balance, or convert at a time that suits you — at competitive rates that let you save up to 80% on FX fees.

The payments platform supports 160+ local payment methods across 180 countries. On the acceptance side, Optimize 360 — Airwallex's enterprise-grade authorisation optimisation engine — applies ML-powered routing, intelligent retries, network tokenisation, and ISO message tuning to lift approval rates on cross-border traffic.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

2. Adyen

Adyen is a Dutch payments company used by large global businesses including McDonald's, Grab, and SHEIN. It handles both online payments and in-store point-of-sale through a single platform, which means your online and offline transaction data lives in one place.

Adyen's pricing model is transparent: you pay a fixed processing fee of US$0.13 per transaction plus a payment method fee, with no monthly or setup fees.¹ For card payments, pricing follows an interchange-plus model, which passes the actual card network costs directly to you rather than bundling them into a flat rate. This can work out cheaper at high volumes.

The trade-off is complexity. Integrating Adyen requires technical resources: API credentials, merchant accounts, and live endpoints all need to be configured correctly. This makes Adyen better suited to large businesses with in-house engineering teams than to growing SMEs looking for a quick setup.

For a more in-depth look at Adyen, read our Adyen Singapore review.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

3. PayPal

PayPal is one of the most recognised payment brands in the world, which is its biggest advantage at checkout. Customers who see the PayPal button already trust it, and that trust can lift conversion rates.

For Singapore merchants, PayPal supports cards, the PayPal wallet, and Apple Pay through its Online Card Payment Services product. Domestic card fees range from 3.40% to 3.90% + S$0.50 per transaction depending on the product used, with an additional 0.50%–0.70% for international transactions.² It also offers invoicing, payment links, and recurring payments with no monthly or setup fees.

The main drawback is cost. PayPal's rates are on the higher end for Singapore, and its FX margins can add up quickly for businesses receiving payments in multiple currencies. It works well as a supplementary payment option but is rarely the most economical primary gateway.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

4. HitPay

HitPay is built specifically for Singapore and Southeast Asian businesses, and that focus shows in its product. It supports PayNow at 0.65% + S$0.30 per transaction³ — one of the lowest rates available for Singapore's most popular payment method — alongside GrabPay, ShopeePay, Atome, WechatPay, and more than 10 local payment methods in total.

Where HitPay stands apart from most alternatives is its combination of online payments, in-person point-of-sale, invoicing, and payment links — with no setup fees and no monthly subscription.

It is a strong fit for retail and service businesses that operate locally and need a practical, easy-to-deploy solution. For businesses with complex international selling or multi-currency treasury needs, HitPay's feature set is more limited.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

5. Checkout.com

Checkout.com is a global payments infrastructure provider used by high-growth and enterprise businesses. Its platform is built for businesses that process large transaction volumes across multiple markets and need fine-grained control over how payments route, retry, and report.

Key strengths include direct acquiring in 45+ countries, support for 150+ currencies, intelligent payment routing to improve approval rates, and built-in fraud tools.

Pricing is fully custom — there are no setup fees and no account maintenance fees, but you will need to contact their sales team to get a quote. This makes Checkout.com less accessible for smaller businesses looking for an instant self-serve setup.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

6. Braintree

Braintree is PayPal's developer-facing payment gateway, designed for businesses that want more technical flexibility than PayPal's standard checkout but still want access to the PayPal and Venmo wallet network. It is a good fit for businesses building custom payment flows or apps where the checkout experience needs to be tightly controlled.

For Singapore merchants, Braintree charges 3.4% + S$0.50 per card transaction, with an additional 1% fee for transactions presented outside your home currency.⁴ Discounted rates are available for businesses processing over S$110,000 per month.⁴

The platform supports cards and the PayPal wallet, but does not offer PayNow, GrabPay, or other local Singapore payment methods natively.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

7. 2C2P

2C2P is a Southeast Asia-focused payments platform that has been operating in the region since 2003. Its defining strength is reach: merchants can accept payments not just online and in-store, but also over-the-counter at more than 600,000 locations across Asia,⁶ making it particularly valuable for businesses that sell to customers in markets where card penetration is low.

The platform covers cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and installment payment options, and also offers payout and remittance services for moving money between markets. Pricing is custom and requires direct contact with their sales team.

2C2P is a better fit for mid-to-large businesses with established regional operations than for startups or businesses just beginning to expand beyond Singapore.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

8. Xendit

Xendit is a Southeast Asia-native payment gateway, licensed by MAS as a Major Payment Institution in Singapore. It is built for businesses that want to accept payments locally in Singapore and scale across the region without stitching together multiple providers.

In Singapore, Xendit supports PayNow at 1% (min S$0.30),⁵ GrabPay at 3.0%,⁵ WechatPay at 2.0%,⁵ and domestic card payments at 3.3% + S$0.50.⁵ Beyond Singapore, it covers 100+ payment methods across Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong — with automated payouts, subscription billing, and cross-border payout tools built in.

Payment links are free to create, and multi-currency treasury management is available for businesses with cross-border fund flows.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

9. Nium

Nium is a Singapore-headquartered global payments infrastructure company that processes US$60B+ in payments annually and has issued more than 38M cards.⁷

Unlike most alternatives on this list, Nium does not offer a consumer-facing checkout: it is a B2B infrastructure platform used by banks, fintechs, payroll providers, marketplaces, and enterprises that need to move money across borders at scale.

Its core products cover global payouts to 190+ countries (100+ in real time),⁷ multi-currency accounts, global card issuance, and FX with transparent rates and no hidden markups.

If your business needs to pay employees, suppliers, or partners across multiple countries, Nium is worth evaluating. It is not suited to businesses looking for a standard payment gateway to accept customer payments online.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

What questions should I ask when choosing a Stripe alternative?

Before you commit to a payment platform, it is worth asking these questions to make sure it fits how your business actually operates.

What are the total fees?

Look beyond the transaction percentage. Factor in fixed fees per transaction, foreign currency fees, currency conversion fees, and any add-on costs for features like invoicing or recurring billing. The cheapest headline rate is not always the cheapest option in practice.

Which local payment methods does it support?

In Singapore, PayNow and GrabPay are widely used. If your customers expect these at checkout and you cannot offer them, you will lose sales. For businesses selling across Southeast Asia, check which methods are supported market by market.

Do I need a developer to set it up?

Some platforms — particularly Adyen and Checkout.com — require engineering resources to integrate and maintain. Others like HitPay and Airwallex offer no-code options that let you get started without technical help. Be honest about what your team can support.

How does it handle international transactions?

If you accept payments in foreign currencies, check whether the platform auto-converts to SGD (and at what cost), or whether you can hold and use foreign currencies directly. This one decision can have a significant impact on your margins over time.

What is the payout schedule?

Knowing when funds hit your account matters for cash flow planning. Some platforms settle the next day; others take several business days. Check whether faster payouts are available and whether they come at an extra cost.

Does it integrate with my existing tools?

Your payment platform should connect cleanly to your eCommerce platform, accounting software, and any other business tools you rely on. Friction in these integrations creates manual work and increases the risk of errors.

Is there local support in Singapore?

When something goes wrong, you want to reach a support team that understands Singapore's payment landscape and can respond quickly. Check whether the provider has a local team or Singapore-specific support channels.

Why Singapore businesses choose Airwallex over Stripe

Stripe is a capable gateway, but it is primarily a payment acceptance tool. Once the money is in, you are largely on your own when it comes to managing it across currencies, paying suppliers overseas, or controlling employee spend.

In contrast, Airwallex is built around the finance workflows that follow — like-for-like settlement in 20+ currencies, multi-currency treasury, spend controls, and global payouts on local rails.

Here’s a direct comparison:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 21 April 2026.

The most significant difference is currency management.

When a Stripe user receives payment in USD, Stripe converts it to SGD automatically, at a cost of 2% per transaction.¹ Then, when that business pays a US-based vendor — for ad spend on Meta or Google, or a software subscription — it converts SGD back to USD. That's two conversion fees on the same money.

With Airwallex, your USD funds stay in your Global Account, without forced conversions. You can pay US-based expenses directly in USD, without incurring any FX fees.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is the best Stripe alternative in Singapore?

There is no single best Stripe alternative — the right choice depends on your business model. HitPay suits local Singapore SMEs that need PayNow and GrabPay support with no monthly fees. Adyen works better for large enterprises with in-house technical teams. For businesses selling internationally and managing money across currencies, Airwallex pairs payment acceptance with like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies and integrated treasury, spend, and payout controls.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Stripe in Singapore?

Yes. HitPay's domestic online card rate of 2.8% + S$0.50 is lower than Stripe's 3.4% + S$0.50 for equivalent transactions. Airwallex is also cheaper on both domestic cards (3.30% + S$0.50) and international cards (3.60% + S$0.50) compared to Stripe's equivalent rates. For businesses accepting payments in foreign currencies, platforms that offer like-for-like settlement help you save significantly more.

Which Stripe alternatives support PayNow in Singapore?

HitPay, Xendit, and Airwallex all support PayNow natively. Stripe also supports PayNow at 1.3% per transfer. If PayNow is a priority for your business, check whether the platform supports it as a standard feature or only through a separate integration, as the setup process and fees can differ.

Do I need a developer to switch from Stripe to an alternative?

It depends on the platform. Checkout.com and Adyen require technical resources to integrate. Airwallex offers no-code options — payment links, hosted checkout pages, and eCommerce plugins — that let you get started without writing any code.

What should I look for in a Stripe alternative if I sell across Southeast Asia?

Look for a platform with strong local payment method coverage across your target markets, multi-currency account support, and competitive cross-border payout fees. Xendit and 2C2P are both built for Southeast Asian market coverage, while Airwallex offers multi-currency accounts and free local transfers to 120+ countries for businesses managing international finances from Singapore.

Are there Stripe alternatives in Singapore with no monthly fees?

Yes. Airwallex, HitPay, Adyen, PayPal, Braintree, and Xendit all operate on a pay-per-transaction model with no mandatory monthly fees for their standard tiers. Some platforms like Airwallex offer optional paid plans with additional features, but the free tier is fully functional for most businesses getting started.

Sources:

1. adyen.com/pricing

2. paypal.com/sg/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

3. hitpayapp.com/sg/pricing

4. braintreepayments.com/sg/braintree-pricing

5. xendit.co/en-sg/pricing/

6. 2c2p.com

7. nium.com

8. stripe.com/en-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.