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Published on 3 November 2025•9 minutes

Seven best enterprise payment solutions in 2026

Alex Hammond
Content Marketing Manager (EMEA)

Seven best enterprise payment solutions in 2026

Key takeaways

Enterprise payment solutions need to be fast, flexible, and able to handle huge volumes of transactions. They’re designed for the biggest businesses, with complex requirements that need bespoke solutions.
Whichever enterprise solution you choose, it needs to combine speed, a large capacity, and top-tier security – not an easy task.
Airwallex’s enterprise payments do everything you need, specialising in international payments. With an Airwallex account, you also get access to other valuable enterprise services like spend management and global business accounts.

Enterprise payment solutions are the systems that help large businesses process their customer payments. These businesses accept thousands of payments every hour of every day, so need a reliable partner to keep the payments moving.

Below, we’ll explain some of the best enterprise payment solutions in the market today, their positives and negatives, and share some top tips to help you invest in your revenue, performance, and customers.

What are enterprise payment solutions?

We can simplify this by separating the phrase into two parts:

Enterprise: The largest businesses in a market, with complex and unique needs from any technology they use.
Payment solutions: Technology for taking card (and other) payments from customers.

For small and medium-sized businesses, off-the-shelf payment solutions are fine. Enterprise-scale businesses are processing volumes and values far greater than the average business, though.

Why enterprises need smarter payment solutions in 2026

It’s always been the case that the biggest businesses need tailored payment solutions. As we mentioned above: their payment volumes and values necessitate it.

However, there are some more modern problems that have emerged that only exacerbate the need for – and value of – enterprise payment solutions.

Trade became global, now cross-border transactions contribute significant revenue.
The costs of banking and currency exchange, in particular, can add up quickly.
Regulations (e.g. PSD2, GDPR, and AML) are evolving and becoming more complex, especially as companies enter more territories.
Cash flow and agility can make or break opportunities, so the demand for real-time payments and faster settlement has only grown.
Any enterprise tool needs to offer transparent data, be comfortably scalable, and have valuable automations (and customisations) built-in.

A quick look at the top enterprise payment solutions in 2026

Before we get into some more specific explanations, let’s take a whistlestop tour of the seven providers we’re going to highlight in this article.

Provider	Core features	Debit card transaction cost*	Global coverage
Airwallex	Multi-currency accounts for global treasury management Spend management FX at interbank rates Borderless cards Embedded finance	1.30% + 0.20 GBP ¹	180+ countries ² 160+ payments methods ³
Stripe	Global payment processing Connect for platforms Billing Terminal/POS Advanced developer tools	1.50% + 0.50 GBP ⁴	195+ countries ⁵ 100+ payment methods ⁵
Adyen	Unified payments Risk and compliance tools Real-time data insights Local payment methods	Interchange+ + 0.60% + 0.11 GBP ⁶	Almost 100 countries ⁷ 100+ payment methods ⁷
PayPal for Enterprise	PayPal, Venmo, BNPL, and card acceptance Simple global checkout Risk management tools	1.20% + 0.30 GBP ⁸	200+ countries ⁹ 28 payment methods ¹⁰
Checkout.com	Unified global platform Fraud prevention Reconciliation tools API-first design Local payment methods	Not available on website ¹¹	145+ currencies ¹² 45 payment methods ¹³
Worldpay	Omnichannel payments POS and checkout Fraud protection Flexible settlement options	0.7% + 0.045 GBP ¹⁴ **	174 countries ¹⁵ 60+ payment methods ¹⁵
Global Payments	End-to-end payment solutions Software + services for merchants and issuers Omnichannel payments Strong support for physical retail	Not available on website ¹⁶	100+ countries ¹⁷ 51 payment methods ¹⁸

* A quick note on pricing: Many providers offer bespoke pricing for enterprise customers, based on a number of factors. The pricing we reference in this article is based on the information they share on their website, but you may be quoted a different figure if you enquire directly.

** Based on a retailer with £10,000,000 annual sales volume and an average transaction value of £100.

Seven best enterprise payment solutions in 2026

Let’s look at the providers we’ve listed in a bit more detail.

If you’re from a software company, we’ve written a guide to eight of the best SaaS-specific payment providers.

Airwallex

Airwallex provides the global financial infrastructure that businesses need to grow across borders. Offering a holistic package of financial tools – from payment acceptance to spend management – Airwallex can be your single source of truth for global financial operations.

Pros: Global connectivity – from payment methods and FX to embedded finance and spend management.

Cons: Could duplicate services you have with other providers (e.g. spend management).

Ideal use case: Managing global payments (in and out of the company) and simplifying your financial tech stack.

CTA: Get paid like a local, worldwide

Stripe

Stripe estimates that it processed 1.3% of the world’s GDP in 2024. ¹⁹That should give you a sense of the scale at which their platform can operate. Stripe is regularly innovating in financial technology.

Pros: Often praised for the power of its API and customisability.

Cons: Can be daunting or, in some ways, overpowered – even for big businesses.

Ideal use case: Enterprises with dev resources that can use Stripe’s API to full effect.

Adyen

Built for businesses with annual card transactions totalling more than £5 million, Adyen is an enterprise-first payment solution.

Pros: An especially strong footprint in Europe.

Cons: More complexity in pricing, onboarding, and operations.

Ideal use case: Large eCommerce sites.

PayPal for Enterprise

In its 2025 Global Brands report, Interbrand ranked PayPal as the 40th most recognisable brand in the world. ²⁰ In payments, only Visa and Mastercard rank higher.Trust counts for a lot in payments. A brand as well-known as PayPal carries a lot of trust.

Pros: Consumer acceptance and familiarity, with simple onboarding.

Cons: Fees can be higher than other providers and reputation doesn’t always equal service.

Ideal use case: Enterprises prioritising consumer trust and familiarity.

Checkout.com

Self-styled as “where the world checks out”, Checkout.com is all-in on online payments. The company is also developing its fraud protection and payment performance tools.

Pros: Well-reviewed by enterprise customers, with ease of use and customer support featuring highly. ²¹

Cons: No coverage for in-person payments and common negative reviewers mention high fees.

Ideal use case: High-growth eCommerce and marketplaces.

Worldpay

Long-standing history and reputation in the payments space, Worldpay offers a suite of payment acceptance and optimisation tools.

Pros: Good reputation and an extensive product range for enterprise customers.

Cons: Worldpay’s age means some of its services can feel dated and overly complex.

Ideal use case: Established enterprises at the largest scale.

Global Payments

Global Payments has a large merchant base, but best serves the biggest enterprises – reviews can be mixed.

Pros: Well-rated on TrustPilot, often in reference to customer support. ²²

Cons: Industry reviews mention ‘fee padding’ and rate increases after contracts are established. ²³

Ideal use case: Big enterprises with strong legal and risk teams.

Key features enterprises should look for

All the information we’ve shared above is fairly top-level – that’s due to the nature of enterprise needs. It’s difficult to provide a full review of any payment solution, because your specific needs are going to be, suffice to say, specific.

So, rather than try to read your mind, we can instead share some of the key criteria you can use to assess different providers. This will help you dig a little deeper into which provider can really deliver what you need.

Multi-currency and FX support

Enterprise businesses, by their nature, are going to have a global footprint. As a result, you’re going to have global payment needs.

Choosing a provider that can handle like-for-like settlement could save you significant costs on wasted or doubled FX. If your customers pay you in USD, you can hold those funds in the same currency until you either need to spend USD or convert them to another currency – either on-demand or to a limit order (i.e. when the exchange rate reaches your chosen target).

API integration and automation capabilities

APIs are at the heart of enterprise software solutions. A strong API capability means you can create and customise your product experience in novel ways, without having to make requests to your provider.

Plus, in 2026, automation and artificial intelligence are mainstays of any advanced software. Look beyond the marketing hype and assess the ways in which a provider uses these features to improve your efficiency and effectiveness.

Enterprise-level security and compliance

At the enterprise level, security can’t be a second-thought. Naturally, the stakes are higher and the risks greater.

Take the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) as an example. The merchant is ultimately responsible for all payments being processed in accordance with the Standard. ²⁴

As you no doubt already do, it’s vital that your compliance and legal teams are looped-in on any conversations about a new payments vendor.

Real-time payments and flexible settlement

When it comes to payments, speed is of the essence – both for your cash flow and for your customers’ peace of mind. Card payments generally take a few days to settle (beyond the control of both you and your payment processor), but other methods can be faster – for example, instant bank transfers using Open Banking payments.

Most payment providers offer a variety of payout options to suit different businesses, from end-of-day all the way up to monthly payouts. What works for you is down to your approach to cash management, administration, and other factors.

Data, reconciliation, and reporting tools

Keeping accurate records and data trails can feel like a chore. Then, when something happens that requires them, you realise just how grateful you are for the work you’ve done.

A payment solution that makes the process easier and as automatic as possible can benefit you in multiple ways. You can save time, stress, and costs with the right data systems in place.

It’s worth saying, too, that data isn’t purely a protective measure. Your payments data is a goldmine for potential efficiencies and improvements to your customer experience. The best platforms don’t just give you this data, they empower you to use it.

Transparent and predictable pricing

There’s nothing worse than striking a good deal, then having to shop for a new provider after a year when the prices balloon.

You’ll know as well as anybody that pricing is a complicated thing to get right. However, one of the simplest things is to be transparent. It’s worth reminding yourself that price isn’t always reflective of value. Sometimes a more expensive option represents the best choice, taking all things into account.

Challenges of enterprise payments in 2026

Your business faces all manner of challenges and barriers. Ideally, getting paid shouldn’t be one of them – but we don’t live in an ideal world. Some of the most common issues our enterprise customers tell us about previous providers include:

Legacy systems slowing down settlement, payouts, and treasury.
High FX costs and opaque fees.
Fraud risk, a general lack of confidence in security, and even data breaches.
Adding to compliance issues, rather than resolving them.
Draining resources (time and money) when expanding globally.

Enterprise payments are a hard thing to get right: They must be flexible and agile, while also robust in their security and capacity. It’s a delicate balancing act, but you’ll know you’ve got the right provider when you find them.

How Airwallex powers enterprise payments in 2026

We’ve built Airwallex to be the go-to choice for truly global enterprises, combining huge geographical and payment method coverage.

The real point of distinction is how we work for global enterprises. Beyond our vast currency and payment methods acceptance, Airwallex also gives you like-for-like settlement in dozens of currencies. Keeping your earnings in different currencies gives you true flexibility. After all, it’s your money – why should you be forced to exchange its currency?

Then, there’s all the tools you get beyond payment acceptance. You’ll also get access to our spend management tool (including borderless card issuing and purchase orders), embedded finance capabilities, and our range of global business accounts.

Simplify enterprise payments with Airwallex

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Enterprises need something special

You shouldn’t settle for second-best when it comes to payment acceptance. For one thing – if we can be frank – you’re too valuable as a customer for that to be acceptable. For another, payments are the bedrock of your business. We all need to get paid and, if your system isn’t working for whatever reason, it’s mission critical to fix it.

The uniqueness of enterprise software means we can’t go in-depth in this article. Still, we’ve tried to give you a clear overview of the important factors, the challenges to consider, and the options available in the market in 2026.

Airwallex is one of the leading options for your enterprise payments, combining technical quality and agility with powerful international payment rails.

Book your Airwallex demo

Sources and references

Alex Hammond
Content Marketing Manager (EMEA)

Alex Hammond is a fintech writer at Airwallex. He specialises in creating content that helps businesses navigate global and local payments, and scale at speed.

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