Choosing a Payment Provider for Scaling Your Store Abroad Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult
As long as you keep these few points in mind:
1/ You need a provider that supports the payment methods required in your target market.
2/ A provider that handles (both transactionally and in settlements) the local currency.
3/ A provider that offers the type of integration you need.
1/ Payment methods
This might seem obvious, but there’s one key question: does the provider support the payment methods natively or through simple integrations with external partners?
For example, some Polish payment gateways will require you to sign an additional agreement with another provider to handle card payments (redirecting your customer to that provider’s platform to enter their card details).
On the flip side, global players that boast hundreds of payment methods and worldwide support (e.g., Stripe) might redirect your user to another provider if they choose to pay with BLIK or a local Polish transfer. Sure, the transaction will go through, and the payment will be processed, but let’s face it—the user experience will be poor, and your conversion rate will suffer.
2/ Currency
Again, this seems straightforward, but there’s an important nuance to remember. Transaction currency and settlement currency are two different things.
For example, many smaller providers will tell you they can process payments in dollars or pounds, but you’ll receive the funds in your account in złoty or euros. In this case, they (or someone on their end) will handle the currency conversion.
But what if you want to receive the exact currency of the transaction? Perhaps because you have expenses in that currency, a foreign currency account, or you’ve negotiated a favorable exchange rate and prefer to handle the conversion yourself.
3/ Integration
This is something most people overlook—and then they’re surprised when things don’t work as expected. Just because you’ve signed the contract and everything looks good on paper doesn’t mean the integration will function the way you need it to.
I’ve lost count of how many times clients have told me their chosen provider:
- Didn’t have an API,
- Called something an API that wasn’t really one,
- Didn’t support features like one-click payments or recurring payments,
- Or failed to meet other key requirements.
So, even if you’ve secured a provider that supports your desired payment methods at decent rates, it’s all for nothing if the integration process drives your customers away from the checkout experience.
And about those rates…
As you might have noticed, I haven’t mentioned competitive rates as a key point. That’s because rates aren’t that important—especially when you’re just starting to scale. They become more relevant once you reach a certain transaction volume and it makes sense to negotiate. Otherwise, focusing too much on rates early on is just a waste of time.
I’ve seen plenty of clunky integrations with various providers recently, and trust me—sometimes it’s worth taking the time to do it right from the start. Later on, you’ll thank yourself for it.
