Stripe 1.5% + 20p, PayPal Checkout 2.9% + 30p, Braintree 1.9% + 20p: what payment providers for Shopware 6 cost UK merchants according to the providers, which payment methods UK shoppers expect and which setup suits your shop.
Shopware Payments, the payment solution built into Shopware 6, is not available to UK merchants. Shopware currently offers it only to merchants based in Germany or Austria; its announced expansion covers key EU markets and the United States, and the UK is not mentioned. Until then, UK shops on Shopware connect a payment provider through an extension: Stripe, PayPal or Braintree, Adyen, or gateways such as BlueSnap, Cybersource or NMI.
The list prices are closer than they look. According to the providers, online payments with standard UK cards cost 1.5% + 20p at Stripe, 1.9% + 20p at Braintree and 1.2% + 30p with PayPal’s advanced card payments. In our example at £50,000 in monthly revenue, three common setups land between £1,097.50 and £1,292.50 in fees per month. The biggest swing factors are PayPal and buy now, pay later (BNPL).
Your payment mix matters more than the provider. Credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal belong in every UK B2C shop, and BNPL such as Klarna or Clearpay helps with higher order values. B2B shops also need invoices on payment terms and Bacs Direct Debit or bank transfer. If one of these is missing, you lose more revenue than any fee difference will ever cost you.
For a growing shop, payment fees are often the largest recurring cost, and a missing payment method costs you sales at checkout. This guide is for shop owners and e-commerce managers running a Shopware 6 shop in the UK who are choosing a payment provider or renegotiating their setup.
After reading, you can compare Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Adyen and other gateways based on their official UK fees, run the numbers with your own payment mix and pick the right combination for a small, mid-sized or B2B shop. All prices are in GBP for UK merchants, taken from the providers’ official pricing pages as of November 2026.
All providers charge per successful transaction: a percentage of the amount plus a fixed fee. Some add a monthly fee or price on interchange-plus. The table shows published standard rates for UK merchants accepting domestic consumer cards in GBP, according to the providers. Premium and commercial cards, cards issued outside the UK, currency conversion and American Express can cost extra.
| Provider | Online cards (UK) | PayPal | BNPL | Direct Debit / bank payments | Monthly fee and contract | Shopware 6 integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | 1.5% + 20p (standard UK cards), 2.8% + 20p (premium UK cards) | via Stripe: 0.2% + 10p plus PayPal fees | Klarna 4.99% + 35p, Clearpay 6% + 30p | Bacs Direct Debit 1%, min. 20p, capped at £4.00; Pay by Bank 0.5% + 20p, capped at £5.00 | none, custom pricing at high volume | official plugin |
| PayPal (direct) | Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments 1.2% + 30p (blended) | PayPal Checkout 2.9% + 30p | PayPal BNPL 3.9% + 30p | no | none | PayPal extension |
| Braintree (PayPal) | 1.9% + 20p, wallets included | per your PayPal account terms | via PayPal | no | no monthly fee listed, discounts above £50,000 a month, interchange-plus available | extension or custom integration |
| Adyen | Interchange++ + 0.60% + £0.11 (Visa, Mastercard) | only with a direct PayPal contract | Clearpay 4.19% + 30p (+ £0.11), Klarna on request | Bacs Direct Debit £0.55 (+ £0.11) | none, but a minimum invoice depending on industry | official plugin |
| BlueSnap | on request for UK merchants | on request | on request | on request | custom pricing | solution25 plugin |
| Cybersource (Visa) | on request | on request | on request | on request | quote from sales or a partner | solution25 plugin |
| NMI | through your reseller or acquirer | no | no | through your reseller | set by the reseller | solution25 plugin |
Sources: the official UK pricing pages of Stripe, PayPal, Braintree and Adyen, accessed November 2026. BlueSnap, Cybersource and NMI do not publish standard UK rates. For our Shopware integrations, see the BlueSnap, Cybersource, NMI and PayTrace plugin pages (PayTrace mainly serves US B2B merchants).
No. Shopware Payments is the platform’s own payment solution, built into Shopware 6. PayPal handles the payment processing, and Shopware provides the technical integration, onboarding in the Administration and support. Shopware itself is not a payment provider and does not hold customer funds.
The background: PayPal has been an investor in Shopware since 2022 and raised its stake to around 41% in October 2025, as Ecommerce News reported.
According to the Shopware Payments pricing page, the solution is currently available only to merchants with their registered office in Germany or Austria. Shopware states that a phased expansion across key EU markets and the United States is planned, but gives no date, and the UK is not mentioned. The published rates are in euros and apply only to those two countries, so they are not a useful benchmark for a UK shop.
Plan your setup with a payment provider you connect through an extension. That is the standard way UK Shopware shops work today, and it gives you more room to negotiate. If Shopware Payments ever launches in the UK, you can compare its rates with your existing contracts and switch payment methods one by one.
PayPal is a must for most UK shops, and you have two ways to offer it. The PayPal extension for Shopware connects your PayPal business account directly. Braintree, PayPal’s gateway for larger merchants, processes cards, wallets and PayPal through one integration. In both cases, PayPal transactions are billed at your PayPal rate.
The standard rates from PayPal’s UK merchant fee page (last updated 1 October 2026), according to the provider:
According to the provider, Braintree charges UK merchants 1.9% + 20p for cards and third-party wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, plus 1% for cards issued outside the UK and 1.5% for multi-currency processing. American Express costs 2.4% + 20p and a chargeback £20.00. PayPal transactions follow your PayPal account terms. Businesses processing more than £50,000 a month can get discounted rates or interchange-plus pricing.
For a small or mid-sized shop, the PayPal extension plus a card provider such as Stripe is the simplest setup. Braintree makes sense once you want cards and PayPal from one provider with one payout and one dispute dashboard, or when your volume is high enough to negotiate. Either way: ask PayPal for merchant rates before you sign anything else, because PayPal is usually the most expensive line item. Step-by-step instructions are in our guide on integrating PayPal with Shopware 6.
BNPL lets customers split a purchase into instalments while you receive the full amount upfront. The BNPL provider carries the credit risk, and you pay a higher fee for it. In the UK, the main options are Klarna, Clearpay (known as Afterpay outside the UK) and PayPal’s pay later options.
BNPL is the most expensive payment method in this comparison: at Stripe, roughly three times the standard UK card rate. It pays off when it brings orders you would not get otherwise, typically at higher order values in categories such as furniture, electronics or sporting goods. Test it with a rule in Shopware that only shows BNPL above a basket value you define, and compare conversion rate and average order value before and after. Keep an eye on regulation too: in the UK, BNPL products are being brought under FCA supervision, so check the current FCA rules on how you promote them.
Watch the promotional rates: Stripe states that some businesses can get Klarna at a reduced rate of 1.5% + 20p for at least two months, after which standard pricing applies. Put a reminder in your calendar.
Stripe is the default choice for many UK start-ups and mid-sized shops. According to the provider, it charges 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards and 2.8% + 20p for premium UK cards, with Apple Pay and Google Pay at the card rate and no setup or monthly fees. EEA cards cost 2.5% + 20p, international cards 3.15% + 20p, and currency conversion another 2%. Bacs Direct Debit costs 1% (minimum 20p, capped at £4.00), which makes it attractive for high B2B order values. Disputes cost £20.00. Stripe has an official Shopware plugin; details are in our Stripe integration guide.
Adyen prices on Interchange++: for Visa and Mastercard, you pay the actual interchange and scheme fees plus 0.60% and a £0.11 processing fee per transaction, according to the provider. American Express costs 3.95% plus the processing fee. There are no setup or monthly fees, but Adyen may set a minimum invoice depending on industry or business model. That makes Adyen interesting from a high monthly volume, especially for brands selling in several countries. More in our Adyen integration guide.
BlueSnap publishes pricing for several regions and offers custom pricing for larger merchants; UK merchants should request a quote. solution25 maintains a BlueSnap plugin for Shopware 6.
Cybersource is Visa’s enterprise payment platform with strong fraud management. It does not publish prices; you get a quote from Cybersource sales or through a partner bank. It suits larger shops that already work with an acquirer and need advanced fraud tools. See our Cybersource plugin for Shopware 6.
NMI is a white-label gateway sold mainly through resellers, acquirers and software partners, so your rates come from the partner who sets up your merchant account. NMI is a good fit if you already have a processing relationship you want to keep and only need a gateway that talks to Shopware. We built the NMI Payments plugin for Shopware 6.
PayTrace focuses on B2B merchants in the United States. It automates Level II and Level III card data and offers ACH payments. For UK-only shops it is rarely relevant, but if you also sell to business customers in the US, our PayTrace plugin for Shopware 6 brings this to your B2B shop.
Amazon Pay lets customers check out with the address and card stored in their Amazon account, which many UK shoppers already have. Fees depend on your contract; check the current UK rates with Amazon Pay or your provider. More in our Amazon Pay guide for Shopware 6.
For Foleja, one of the fastest-growing marketplaces in Southeast Europe with sellers from several countries, we built a marketplace architecture on Shopware 6. According to the project report, buyers previously struggled with currency conversion, and the scope included integrating payment systems for several countries with different compliance rules.
We solved this with regional and international payment gateways and correct currency handling, so customers shop in their local currency. The report cites a 20 to 30% higher conversion rate for the overall project; how much of that comes from payments alone cannot be read from it.
The lesson carries over to UK brands selling into the EU or the US: first clarify which payment methods and currency customers expect in each target market, then choose the provider that covers those markets.
Cards dominate online payments in the UK, with debit cards playing a particularly large role. Wallets that skip typing in card and address details, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, are the fastest way through checkout, especially on mobile.
Shopware covers approval workflows, quotes and customer-specific prices with its B2B features; an overview is in our article on Shopware B2B components.
To compare providers fairly, you need your own payment mix. Our example assumes a UK B2C shop with £50,000 in monthly revenue, an average order value of £100 (500 orders) and only standard UK consumer cards in GBP. Mix: 65% cards and wallets (£32,500, 325 orders), 25% PayPal (£12,500, 125 orders), 10% BNPL (£5,000, 50 orders). All rates are the published standard rates listed above, according to the providers.
| Line item | A: Stripe + PayPal extension | B: Braintree (cards) + PayPal incl. BNPL | C: PayPal only (advanced cards, Checkout, BNPL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cards and wallets (£32,500) | 1.5% + 20p: £552.50 | 1.9% + 20p: £682.50 | 1.2% + 30p: £487.50 |
| PayPal Checkout (£12,500) | 2.9% + 30p: £400.00 | 2.9% + 30p: £400.00 | 2.9% + 30p: £400.00 |
| BNPL (£5,000) | Klarna via Stripe, 4.99% + 35p: £267.00 | PayPal BNPL, 3.9% + 30p: £210.00 | PayPal BNPL, 3.9% + 30p: £210.00 |
| Monthly fee | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Total per month | £1,219.50 | £1,292.50 | £1,097.50 |
| Effective rate | 2.44% | 2.59% | 2.20% |
Three takeaways: First, the difference between the setups is less than £200 a month. Second, PayPal Checkout brings 25% of revenue but around 31% to 36% of fees in every variant, so better PayPal merchant rates are the biggest single lever. Third, BNPL is 10% of revenue but around 16% to 22% of fees. Not included: premium and commercial cards (2.8% + 20p at Stripe, for example), cards issued outside the UK, Amex, chargebacks, refunds (processing fees are not returned at Braintree, for example) and interchange-plus pricing such as Adyen, which can come out lower at high volume but depends on your card mix.
Use this table as a template: replace the mix with the figures from your own Shopware orders, and the rates with the ones in your contracts.
Whichever provider you choose, all payment methods in Shopware 6 run through the same settings. The menu paths below follow the Shopware documentation.
You find payment methods under Settings, Commerce, Payment methods. Extensions such as PayPal, Stripe, Adyen or our BlueSnap, Cybersource and NMI plugins create their payment methods during installation; you only need to activate them. For your own methods such as invoice or prepayment, you maintain name, description, logo and position, which controls the order at checkout. In the standard version, Shopware ships with cash on delivery, invoice, prepayment and direct debit already active. Review this list at launch, or your shop will offer cash on delivery that nobody can process.
An active payment method is not yet visible in your shop. It has to be assigned in the sales channel, separately for each sales channel.
Every payment method has an availability rule field where you select a rule from the Rule Builder. If the field is empty, the method is always available. Typical rules from our projects:
Payment providers report the payment status back to Shopware via webhook. Check in the Flow Builder that shipping is only triggered at the status “Paid” and that a “Failed” status sends an email with a payment link. Test every payment method end to end in the provider’s sandbox, including 3D Secure challenges, partial refunds and cancellations. More in our article on configuring payment methods in Shopware.
Fees, the expected payment mix and the effort for contracts lead to three basic patterns we recommend again and again.
| Shop type | Payment methods | Provider combination | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small B2C shop (up to about £20,000 a month) | Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, one BNPL option | Stripe plus PayPal extension, or PayPal with advanced card payments | No monthly fee, fast onboarding, BNPL without credit risk |
| Mid-sized B2C shop (£20,000 to £200,000 a month) | Cards, wallets, PayPal, Klarna or Clearpay, Bacs Direct Debit for large orders | Stripe or Braintree with negotiated rates, Adyen as an alternative | Negotiated PayPal and card rates are the biggest lever |
| B2B shop | Invoice on payment terms, Bacs Direct Debit or bank transfer, corporate cards, PayPal | Shopware invoice payment method with rules, plus Stripe or Adyen for cards and Bacs, Cybersource or NMI if you already have an acquirer | Invoice is standard, rules control approval, Direct Debit keeps the cost of large payments low |
Your tools are the order overview in the Shopware Administration filtered by payment method, the providers’ monthly statements and the checkout report in Google Analytics 4.
Run the numbers again when promotional BNPL rates end, when your volume reaches the level where providers offer custom pricing, or if Shopware Payments becomes available in the UK.
There is no single best provider. Most UK Shopware shops combine a card provider such as Stripe or Braintree with PayPal, or use PayPal with advanced card payments for both. Adyen and Cybersource suit high volumes, and NMI works well if you already have a merchant account with an acquirer.
According to the providers, published standard rates for standard UK cards are 1.5% + 20p at Stripe, 1.9% + 20p at Braintree and 1.2% + 30p with PayPal’s advanced card payments. PayPal Checkout costs 2.9% + 30p. In our example with £50,000 in monthly revenue, total fees range from £1,097.50 to £1,292.50.
No. Shopware Payments is currently available only to merchants with their registered office in Germany or Austria. Shopware has announced an expansion to key EU markets and the United States; the UK is not mentioned.
In the standard version, Shopware 6 ships with cash on delivery, invoice, prepayment and direct debit, all active. Cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, BNPL and Bacs Direct Debit come through extensions from your payment provider.
In B2C: credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, plus BNPL such as Klarna or Clearpay for higher order values. In B2B: invoice on payment terms, Bacs Direct Debit or bank transfer and corporate cards.
For large amounts, Bacs Direct Debit: 1% capped at £4.00 at Stripe. Among the common checkout methods, standard UK cards and wallets at around 1.2% to 1.9% plus a fixed fee are cheaper than PayPal Checkout at 2.9% + 30p and BNPL at 3.9% to 6% plus a fixed fee.
Yes. Hosted fields or redirects reduce your scope, often to the short SAQ A, but you still validate compliance. Since 31 March 2025, SAQ A merchants must confirm their site is not susceptible to attacks from scripts that could affect their e-commerce systems.
Planning a new Shopware shop or rethinking your payment setup? Get in touch. We work with merchants across the UK, run the numbers with your order value and payment mix, show you which combination costs less and set it up, including our own plugins for BlueSnap, Cybersource, NMI and PayTrace.
Already running a shop? Our free shop audit shows where customers drop off at checkout, which payment methods are missing and where you are overpaying on fees.
Besnik Bilalli is the founder and CEO of solution25, a Shopware and Shopify agency headquartered in Bremen, Germany, with further offices in Prishtina and New York. Before founding the agency in 2017, he built his own online shop and grew it to more than 500 orders a day. Since then, he has helped merchants, including retailers in the UK, with Shopware projects, from the first budget to day-to-day operations. He is happy to answer questions about this article personally: get in touch.
Responsible for content and updates: Besnik Bilalli. Last updated: November 2026. Next content review: February 2027.
