Online Payments: Theory for Understanding

To accept payments in an online shop, merchants need an acceptance agreement with an acquirer and a processing agreement with a payment provider. The following explains exactly what an acquirer and a payment provider are and how their interaction with the online shop works.

What is a Payment Service Provider (PSP)?

A payment provider, in English Payment Service Provider or PSP, refers to companies that take care of the technical connection of online payment methods in online shops. An online merchant (Merchant) only has to negotiate with one payment provider to obtain all desired payment methods, integration systems, and e-commerce tools, and meet security requirements. The corresponding agreement with the payment provider is called a processing agreement because it relates to the technical processing and handling of payments.

Functionality of a Payment Service Provider (PSP)

What is an Acquirer and an Acceptance Agreement?

An acquiring or acceptance agreement is an agreement between a merchant and an acquirer (also referred to as acquiring bank). This agreement regulates the acceptance and processing of credit card payments and other electronic payments. The acquiring bank is the financial institution that processes card payments for merchants. Merchants can conclude an acceptance agreement with acquirers such as Worldline or Concardis, for example, or also with a payment facilitator (PF) like Payrexx.

What is a Payment Facilitator?

A payment facilitator (also PF or collecting PSP) is in direct contact with the merchant and manages the account with the acquirer. The payment facilitator can sign the acceptance agreement on behalf of the acquirer and thus facilitates the setup because the merchant has fewer direct relationships. The payment facilitator thus enables the integration of various payment methods in the online shop with just one agreement.

Functionality of a Payment Facilitator (PF)

How do you choose the right provider?

For merchants, a simple and reliable connection, a wide range of payment methods and tools, good support, and a cost-effective payment provider are crucial to avoid unnecessary costs. Furthermore, every online shop should clarify the following prerequisites:

• Which payment methods should be offered in the online shop? Not every provider supports all common payment methods. Depending on the region or origin of the provider, different payment methods are available.

• Which tools are needed for the online shop? Each provider has a slightly different offering of integrated e-commerce tools. Some providers are specifically specialized in donation Pages, others in online shops. Some also offer an all-in-one solution for various business models.

• Which shop system are you using? Most providers offer plugins to the most well-known shop solutions* for integrating the payment solution in the online shop. If you do not yet have your own shop or it was self-developed, there are some providers who have a solution for all cases.

• How is payment security ensured? A payment provider meets the highest security standards for online payments. By contracting with a PSP, you also meet these standards and can guarantee your customers the highest payment security.

It is recommended to choose a payment provider who is also an acquirer or payment facilitator so that merchants have a single point of contact for everything.

Overview of the functions of individual payment providers

The following table shows which payment provider offers which payment methods*, which shop systems are compatible, and how the companies are rated on Google.

*The most common means in Switzerland are listed.

In addition to the most well-known shop systems, there are some providers that offer their own shop systems – their setup requires no programming knowledge. In the table, such offers are listed as “Integrated E-Commerce Tools”. This tool enables the easy creation of shops for products, vouchers, subscriptions, or donation Pages.

Datatrans has been merged with Planet as well as Hoist, protel, and Proximis under the joint brand planet. In this article, we speak of Datatrans (planet).

Function matrix of different payment providers

**Datatrans has been merged with Planet as well as Hoist, protel, and Proximis under the joint brand planet. In this article, we therefore refer to “Datatrans (planet)” and refer to the public conditions of Datatrans.

Cost Analysis

This section provides a calculation of the monthly costs (subscription and transaction fees). The calculation is done once for an online shop with a turnover of CHF 20,000 and once for one with a turnover of CHF 100,000.

For the cost analysis, the cheapest offers of the individual payment providers for the respective sales volume were selected. The price information is mostly* taken from the websites of the respective payment service providers. Any costs for setup are not included in the diagram.

*The acquiring costs of Datatrans are not publicly visible. Therefore, a value of 2% was assumed (average of all other providers).

Online shops with a monthly turnover of CHF 20,000

The cost analysis shows the monthly fees for smaller online shops with a sales volume of CHF 20,000 at 200 credit card transactions per month. The average value of a transaction is therefore CHF 100 per purchase.

Monthly costs with a turnover of CHF 20,000 (without setup)

The lowest fees as a smaller online shop can be achieved with Payrexx, closely followed by PostFinance. With costs of CHF 790, PayPal is the most expensive for online shops with this volume. The absolute price difference between Payrexx and PayPal is CHF 441. The costs at the cheapest payment provider Payrexx are thus more than 50% lower than the most expensive offer. In addition, Payrexx offers start-ups and non-profit organizations exclusive discounts of 30% and 50% on all price plans.

Online shops with a monthly turnover of CHF 100,000

The cost analysis shows the monthly fees for medium-sized online shops with a sales volume of CHF 100,000 at 1,000 credit card transactions per month. The average value of a transaction is therefore CHF 100 per purchase.

Monthly costs with a turnover of CHF 100,000 (without setup)

Payrexx is the cheapest provider with costs of CHF 1,549 per month, followed by wallee. For medium-sized online shops, PayPal, Stripe, and Worldline are significantly more expensive than the other providers. Payrexx is overall CHF 2,401 cheaper than the most expensive provider, which represents a percentage price difference of over 60%.

No calculation was carried out for large online shops, as most payment providers each offer non-public special conditions for larger customers – for example, Datatrans, Payrexx, Stripe, wallee, Worldline, and zahls.ch.

All Payment Providers in Detail

Payrexx: Payment Facilitator with Integrated E-Commerce Tools

Payrexx is both a payment provider and a payment facilitator. Thanks to an affordable pricing model and a variety of payment interfaces and e-commerce tools, Payrexx represents a modern and user-friendly all-in-one solution.

With the integrated tools such as payment link, one-page shop with its own URL, virtual terminal, QR pay, and digital invoices, Payrexx meets the individual wishes of almost every merchant. Payrexx is suitable for selling products, services, online tickets, or vouchers, but also to collect membership fees or handle donation projects. Thanks to the 30-day trial period, the payment platform can be tested free of charge. Payrexx has an average Google rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars with a total of 126 reviews.

Price Overview of Payrexx

* Preferred conditions between 1.5% and 1.3%

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

Since each merchant receives a payment website with its own internet address, neither integration nor programming knowledge is necessary. If you already have a shop, you can integrate the payment solution using the available plugins. To register with Payrexx, you only need a valid photo ID and possibly a commercial register entry.

PostFinance Checkout: A Comprehensive E-Payment Solution

PostFinance enjoys a high level of customer acceptance in Switzerland. PostFinance Checkout is a payment solution that offers all common payment methods (PostFinance E-Finance, PostFinance Card, TWINT as well as Visa and Mastercard) and various shop plugins. The prices listed below already include all payment provider and acquiring costs. PostFinance also offers a free trial period of 30 days in a simulation mode. PostFinance has an average Google rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars with 119 reviews.

Price Overview of PostFinance Checkout

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

PostFinance Checkout is available to all companies based in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein that have a business account in CHF with PostFinance.

Worldline: Acquirer and Payment Provider

Worldline offers both acquirer and payment provider services and therefore usually provides the offers in a package. With the Worldline e-commerce package, payments can be processed directly via a payment window. Transfers are possible in more than 20 currencies, and customers can choose in which currency they want to pay. This is possible because Worldline provides so-called dynamic currency conversion. Worldline also offers various payment functions, such as debiting or booking partial amounts. Worldline has an average Google rating of 2.8 out of five stars with a total of 420 reviews.

Price Overview of Worldline

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

No programming knowledge is required. According to their own statement, Worldline is especially suitable for existing e-commerce solutions and static websites.

Datatrans: Provider with Extensive Experience

Datatrans is the largest provider in Switzerland and can be integrated either as an external payment option (external payment window) or through implementation (via API in the shop layout). With the Datatrans Payment Pages, merchants have access to all payment methods with a single integration. Datatrans Secure Fields seamlessly integrate into the design and help improve the merchant's conversion rate. Additionally, you also have the possibility to create a test account with this provider. Datatrans has an average Google rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars with 16 reviews.

Price Overview of Datatrans

The setup costs are not listed on the Datatrans website, and an average value of CHF 100 was assumed. Additionally, the minimum monthly charge is CHF 290 (excluding external acquiring costs), and an external acquiring fee of approximately 2% is added to the costs of Datatrans.

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

Datatrans does not have its own online shop tool, so you already need to have your own online shop. This can be a self-developed shop, or you can use a standard shop system. Since Datatrans is neither an acquirer nor a payment facilitator, merchants also need acceptance agreements with another acquirer.

PayPal: An International Payment Provider

PayPal is a simple solution for shop providers but quickly becomes more expensive with larger order volumes. Payment links, email invoices, and various plugins are available. According to their own information, the payment facilitator PayPal has more than 240 million active users and offers the possibility to process payments in over 100 currencies. PayPal is an international provider, allowing merchants to choose from a variety of different languages. PayPal has an average Google rating of 1.7 out of 5 stars with a total of 474 reviews.

Price Overview of PayPal Switzerland

PayPal does not charge setup fees or monthly subscription costs, which is especially beneficial for shops with very few transactions.

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

To use PayPal, merchants only need to provide company information and a commercial register number. No developer knowledge is required.

Stripe: Provider for Developers

Stripe offers developer-friendly tools for connecting payment provider services to various web and mobile apps with a modern design. It enables credit card payments and also offers some other payment methods, such as Alipay. Like Payrexx and PayPal, Stripe is a payment facilitator. Basically, Stripe is particularly attractive to smaller online shops due to its prices. The provider has a Google rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars with 48 reviews.

Price Overview of Stripe

Stripe also does not incur one-time setup costs or fixed monthly fees. No additional fees are charged for refunds either.

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

Merchants must have developer knowledge for the implementation. Additionally, a valid photo ID and a company number are required for verification.

wallee: Omni-Pay Provider from Switzerland

wallee is a Swiss payment provider based in Winterthur. Over 1,000 customers trust this company. Payments can be integrated online either on the website or through redirection. The templates can be changed at will, and plugins for various shop systems are also available. A test mode is also available. wallee has a Google rating of 3 out of 5 stars with 39 reviews.

Price Overview of wallee

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

To use one of the many integrations, merchants usually have to perform some technical steps and integrate a wallee plugin or API into their shop.

saldiaPay: Payment Provider with Own Shop System

saldiaPay is a Swiss payment provider that offers digital payment solutions for companies. They enable the processing of credit card payments, accept digital wallets, and offer secure, user-friendly payment services. Saldia offers diverse solutions such as online payments, online shops, or logistics services and thus earns a good reputation in various industries.

Price Overview of saldiaPay

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

No programming knowledge is necessary to use saldiaPay. With saldiaShop, you can easily create an online shop and have the suitable payment provider saldiaPay and many other integrations, such as bexio, saldiaLogistics, and swissbilling. The verification process includes personal identification with a photo ID and, if available, the entry in the commercial register.

zahls.ch: New Swiss Payment Solution for the Net

zahls.ch is a Swiss provider whose offer is very clearly designed. In addition to classic payments, e-commerce tools are also available. These include an online terminal, payment links, digital invoices, and a self-configurable payment page (small online shop). zahls.ch provides all Swiss payment methods and a wide range of foreign payment methods. zahls.ch has an average Google rating of 5 out of 5 stars with a total of 3 reviews.

Price Overview of zahls.ch

What Do Merchants Need to Do for Integration?

No programming knowledge is necessary to use zahls.ch, on the contrary. You can very easily create an online shop using the built-in tools. The verification process includes providing a photo ID and, if available, the entry in the commercial register.

Conclusion: Which Payment Provider is Right for You?

It is generally advisable to clarify the individual requirements of the online shop in detail and then, if possible, start with cost-effective options instead of starting with too high expectations and paying unnecessarily too much. For young and digital companies, for example, Payrexx is an exciting option. Payrexx offers an all-in-one solution with various tools that you can test and is a cost leader in medium-sized online shops – followed by PostFinance and wallee. PayPal, Stripe, and Worldline, on the other hand, charge relatively high transaction fees, and Datatrans has high monthly fixed costs.

In addition to prices, the range of functions and supporting services should also be considered. The most diverse and useful Tools are offered by zahls.ch and Payrexx.

With over 200 Payment Methods (including integrated third-party providers), Payrexx offers the largest selection of payment methods, followed by Datatrans (planet) with over 40 different payment methods.

In the Simplicity of installation, PayPal, Payrexx, and zahls.ch surpass the other payment providers. In general implementation, Stripe is more comprehensive than the other providers. For PostFinance, advanced developer knowledge is required to install the plugins.

The possibility of testing the provider and its functions in a free phase is a great advantage for merchants, as it allows them to ensure that the payment provider meets their needs. Datatrans, Payrexx, PostFinance, wallee, Worldline, saldiaPay, and zahls.ch enable customers to try out the provider.

Most Experience in the area of payment service providing is held by Datatrans, PostFinance, and Worldline.

In summary, when choosing the payment provider, it is worth looking not only at the well-known ones but also at the newer digital payment providers. They are often cheaper, yet offer a variety of tools and can better cater to the individual needs of the individual merchants. For smaller and medium-sized shops, Payrexx and wallee offer great advantages, while for larger companies, it may be worthwhile to consider the larger providers who have a lot of experience. Basically, Payrexx is clearly one of the leaders in the areas of price, variety, and simplicity.

Sources

Prices: Datatrans, PayPal, Payrexx, PostFinance, Stripe, wallee, Worldline 1, Worldline 2, saldiaPay, zahls.ch

Plugins for Shop Systems: Datatrans, PayPal, Payrexx, PostFinance, Stripe, wallee, Worldline, saldiaPay, zahls.ch

Payment Methods: Datatrans, PayPal, Payrexx, PostFinance, Stripe, wallee, Worldline, saldiaPay, zahls.ch

Icons: Flaticon

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Authors

Authors: Melanie Frutiger and Sven Otziger, Payrexx AG

Email address: melanie.frutiger@payrexx.com