Marketplace payment processing: how to choose the right provider in the UK (2025 guide)
Emma Beardmore
Senior Associate, Brand and Content - EMEA
Key takeaways:
Marketplace payment processors are the background infrastructure that let marketplaces (e.g. Carwow) take payments, hold customer funds, and create accounts.
A great payment processor will handle split payments, automate fee payments, offer flexible payout options, and be up-to-date on security and compliance measures.
Some options will only provide payment services, whereas others can provide a full suite of embedded finance products and other services for your business.
Marketplaces are the beating heart of eCommerce – over two thirds1 of the world’s eCommerce sales happen on these platforms. Their popularity has created a virtuous cycle. As marketplaces become increasingly popular, their sales volumes grow, and the wheel keeps on turning.
For vendors, a marketplace unlocks global customers, infrastructure, and scale beyond their wildest dreams. For marketplace operators, their platform is an essential part of many customers’ go-to-market strategy. It’s an important, but complex, business.
The financial infrastructure behind marketplaces is one of the greatest complexities. Your platform needs to process multiple currencies, geographies, and payment methods, vendor and customer accounts, and payouts. The right fintech partner can make the complex feel calm for you and your marketplace.
In this article, we’ll go through how marketplace payment processing works, how to select a provider, and how to find the right solution for today and the future.
What is marketplace payment processing?
If a business sells D2C, payment processing is straightforward – the customer pays for a product, then you receive the funds.
For a marketplace, the payments situation is more complicated. Instead of D2C, the marketplace is B2B2C. It’s a lot to manage and you have to consider:
Payment processing for vendors and their customers.
Accounts and balances for vendors and their customers.
Split payments, so you can take commission from sales.
Payouts to vendors after funds have cleared and settled.
Multi-currency, location, and payment method processing.
All of this needs to run, ideally, in-platform with embedded financial services. Otherwise, you’ll be interrupting every checkout or payout process by sending users to a third-party site.
How marketplace payments work (the four-step flow)
Each marketplace will have unique elements, but all of them will follow a version of the same payment process. It starts with a sale, which is handled by either your white-labelled payment gateway or a third-party. Then…
The transaction is verified and authorised, then processed by your payment processor.
The payment is sent to the vendor’s merchant account, a kind of escrow account that stores funds until the payment is cleared and settled. If buyers and sellers are using different currencies, your payment processor will convert currencies automatically – regardless of the exchange rate and potentially with a margin on top of the exchange rate. Alternatively, if your payment processor offers multi-currency support, the payment can be held in its original currency and be converted on-demand.
Some platforms may hold the payment in escrow until the order is marked as completed or delivered.
After the escrow period has passed, you release the funds to the merchant – in their currency of choice – minus your platform and processing fees.
To put this into a real-world example, check the visual below to see what this process looks like for a USA to Australia sale (and vice versa).
This example is a little bit simplified and fairly generic, but it’s instructive of the general process. For many marketplaces, their processing needs can be more complex than this.
Payout options explained
Payouts are the mechanism by which you get your money out of a marketplace. There are three main methods sellers can use for payouts:
Real-time payouts: Receive funds as soon as they’re cleared and settled.
Card and bank payouts: Payouts to prepaid cards or directly into your bank account.
Scheduled payouts: Have a regular flow of automatic transfers (e.g. once a day or weekly).
Key features UK marketplaces should look for
Marketplaces are unique ecosystems; your needs will be dictated by the type of vendors you have, sales volumes and values, and myriad other factors.
Still, the fundamentals are the fundamentals for everyone. Any good marketplace should offer you the following features.
Feature | Why it matters | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
Split payments | With a single eCommerce site, payments are simple. The customer makes a purchase and you get paid. Using a marketplace, split payments become important – this is the mechanism you use to take your commission. | A clear and customisable splitting function. Ideally, it should also handle multiple splits. Imagine one of your vendors is an aggregator or cooperative – they’ll need the ability to split their payments after you’ve completed the first split. |
Currency and FX capabilities | Your platform will attract buyers from around the world – and they’re going to want to pay in their local currency. If you look at the platforms consumers report as the site of their last cross-border purchases, every one of the top six is a marketplace.2 To get more sales for your vendors, and thus more vendors for your platform, currency capabilities are key. | Your payment processor needs to let buyers transact in their local currencies and pay vendors in their currency of choice. For this, you’ll need to consider the FX costs and how that affects your and your customers’ margins. Even better is if your payment processor lets you transact in and hold multiple currencies in customer accounts. |
Audits, data, and reporting | With great complexity comes great risk. Your financial data needs to be watertight – for both your own records and your customers’. | A suite of data tools, integrations with accounting software, and customisable reporting. |
Account compliance | If you’re creating accounts for vendors and customers, you and your embedded finance provider have a duty to make sure all the activity on your platform is above board and legal. | Know Your Customer checks built-in to the platform, with security and verification processes handled by your financial services provider. Check the terms of your contract to make sure you aren’t overexposed to compliance risks. |
API access | You’re handling sales, refunds, and accounts at a huge scale. It’s impossible to manage that volume of work without strong programmatic and automatic capabilities. | An accessible, flexible, and powerful API is important, but so is the accompanying API documentation and customer support. |
Payout flexibility | This is how you disburse your vendors’ and your own revenue. In other words, how everybody gets paid! | A variety of payout schedules will give everyone the freedom to choose what works best – whether they’re prioritising cash flow, bookkeeping, or consistency. |
Top marketplace payment providers in 2025
By now, it should be clear: your choice of payment processor is more than just an admin task. The right partner for your financial infrastructure can not only make your marketplace a well-oiled machine, it can add value to your business and customers in novel ways.
You’ve got lots of options to choose from, so we’ve selected a sliver of the market below – just to give you a starting point and a way to make some quick comparisons. As with all things, it’s worth doing your own research.
Airwallex
Marketplaces that choose Airwallex unlock access to 60+ global financial licences, processing for 160+ global payment methods, and payment collection in 130+ currencies. We built our platform for global businesses.
One of the key things to know about Airwallex is that we provide multi-currency accounts. That means you can collect payments in, for example, USD as a UK business and use your dollars to pay suppliers, fund refunds, or exchange to GBP only when you need to (or when exchange rates are best).
Key strength: Low-cost FX and all things international (currencies, payment methods, local payment rails).
Best for: Growing businesses with multi-currency requirements.
Stripe Connect
Stripe Connect offers customised payments solutions with a reputation for comprehensive API documentation and robust developer tooling.
Key strength: Flexibility, control, and customisation via API.
Best for: Marketplaces with a strong developer team, to maximise and maintain the API.
Adyen
Adyen provides end-to-end payment processing with advanced risk management and data analytics capabilities. Their marketplace solution offers local payment methods in 100 countries.
Key strength: Capacity to handle high-volume and -value transactions.
Best for: Enterprise-scale businesses, as is their target market.
PayPal for Marketplaces
PayPal for Marketplaces helps platforms onboard sellers quickly, and supports split payments, seller onboarding, and global compliance out of the box. Many consumers already have PayPal accounts, making checkout fast and familiar. However, fees can be higher compared to other providers, especially for cross-border transactions.
Key strength: Familiarity, adoption, and brand awareness.
Best for: Smaller businesses with simple needs or the largest businesses with complex needs.
Checkout.com
Checkout.com has a strong global presence. It supports various payment methods and currencies and offers features including split payments, dynamic currency conversion, fraud prevention, and compliance tools.
Checkout.com’s services are geared more toward enterprise clients.
Key strength: Laser-focused on eCommerce, making it a good fit for marketplaces.
Best for: Larger marketplaces, with complex needs and an enterprise-level account.
Mangopay
Mangopay is a European payment solution designed specifically for marketplaces, crowdfunding platforms, and fintechs. It supports payments in multiple currencies and includes tools for KYC, escrow accounts, and split payments.
Mangopay is deeply embedded in the European financial ecosystem, so platforms operating outside of Europe or looking for a broader global reach may need to combine Mangopay with other providers or consider alternatives with stronger international infrastructure.
Key strength: Embedded finance specialist, built for marketplaces and platforms.
Best for: European platforms with a need for strong accounts, as well as payments.
Why Airwallex works for marketplaces
When you choose to work with Airwallex, you get a lot more than payment processing – which, by the way, we can handle in 180+ countries and 130+ currencies. While we provide the platform you need to create a truly global marketplaces, you also get:
Programmatic account creation, making onboarding an automated dream
Like-for-like settlement, preventing doubled fees on FX
Low-cost FX when customers do need conversion
Split funds automatically or manually
FCA-compliant customer lifecycle
Our aim is to provide the financial infrastructure that any growing business needs – that includes your customers, as well as your own business.
Find out more about Airwallex’s payments for platforms.
Scale your marketplace with the right payment processor
In eCommerce, a good checkout experience is all you need. In a marketplace, checkout is just the start. Money has to move between multiple parties – often being converted, split, and held in place – before the job is done. And that has to be repeated hundreds and thousands of times a day.
A marketplace is a complex beast. The right payment processor will tame it and help you run things smoothly, efficiently, and in a way that delivers real value for everyone involved.
We’d love for you to choose Airwallex as your marketplace processor. If you want to know a bit more, you can always watch a demo (on your own time).
If you’re convinced, however, then you can join Airwallex right now.
Sign up to see how Airwallex’s payment processing stacks up.
FAQs
Before we wrap up, let’s go over some common questions about payment processing for marketplaces.
How fast are GBP payouts?
Before you can make a payout, the payment has to be processed, settled, and cleared. A typical card payment takes a matter of days (one to three days is commonly quoted) from start to finish. Once that’s done, you’ll receive your payout based on your agreed schedule.
If you choose to receive instant payouts, then you will receive your GBP as soon as each payment is processed, settled, and cleared. If you’re on, for example, a weekly payout schedule, you’ll receive the money on the day of your next payout.
Who handles FCA compliance for marketplaces?
If you’re using an embedded finance provider (like Airwallex), the FCA compliance rests with them. This is because you are using their products, systems, and services – even if it’s hidden under your own branding.
How do split payments affect fees?
You may pay more for split payments, as it involves an extra layer of complexity for the processor. If the split is only between you and your customer (i.e. taking your commission from their sale), your customer should be unaffected.
Sources
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Emma Beardmore
Senior Associate, Brand and Content - EMEA
Emma supports all things brand at Airwallex, bringing her love of travel and storytelling to the role. She enjoys writing about how Airwallex empowers businesses to expand seamlessly across borders.
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