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If you run an online store — or are planning to launch one — one of the most important decisions you'll make is which payment methods to offer your customers. The payment experience directly affects your conversion rate: if a customer can't find their preferred payment method, they'll simply abandon their cart.
Market research shows that for approximately 70% of Hungarian online shoppers, the available payment methods significantly influence their purchasing decision. At the same time, hidden costs and opaque fee structures make choosing the right provider a complex task.
Before looking at specific providers, let's review what payment methods Hungarian customers expect from a webshop.
The most common online payment method: the customer enters their Visa or Mastercard details, and the transaction is processed instantly. In Hungary, these two card networks cover nearly 100% of the market. Accepting card payments requires a payment gateway.
An increasingly popular alternative is qvik instant payment, built on the Hungarian central bank's instant payment infrastructure. The customer approves the payment in their banking app, and the funds arrive within seconds. More and more payment gateways now offer this alongside traditional card payments.
Apple Pay and Google Pay are especially convenient on mobile: customers can pay with a fingerprint or Face ID without typing card details. These methods typically work through the payment gateway's card acceptance, so they're usually available automatically.
Mastercard Click to Pay and Visa Click to Pay are card networks' own passwordless, simplified payment solutions — read more about them here.
While not online payment methods in the strict sense, cash on delivery and advance bank transfer remain popular in Hungary. These don't require payment gateway integration, but real-time online payment is far more favorable for conversion rates and cash flow.
Installment payment options are available in more and more webshops. The customer receives the product immediately but pays in 3-4 installments. In Hungary, Klarna and other providers offer such solutions.
If you want a quick market view, the POSnavigator Arena snapshots help you see which providers are leading in different merchant situations.
SimplePay should be the first name on the list for Hungarian webshops. The SimplePay mobile app is already on many customers' phones, which makes it a familiar and convenient payment option for repeat buyers as well. With qvik support, recurring payments, and ready-made webshop plugins, it is one of the strongest first choices for local merchants.
If faster checkout matters to you, our Click to Pay article is a useful reference point for how shoppers think about fewer clicks.
Barion is the other natural contender for many Hungarian webshops. It is strong when you want a quick launch, Hungarian-language support, and a pricing structure that is easier for smaller merchants to plan around. If you are focused on the local market, this is the name most merchants compare right after SimplePay.
CIB Bank becomes relevant when banking background, VPOS, SoftPOS, and qvik instant payment all matter. Its CIB Fizetőlink product also makes link-based checkout practical for workflows where you want payments outside the webshop itself, such as email or social channels.
K&H Bank is attractive when you need bank-level contracting and multi-currency operation, while MBH Bank is a good fit if you want stable e-commerce banking infrastructure. For larger, more international webshops, PayU and Worldline are also serious options. Mollie exists as a European alternative, but it is not a first-line recommendation for Hungarian webshops.
If you choose by platform, Shoprenter and UNAS compatibility is also important. In POSnavigator, you can filter by which provider works best with which webshop engine.
Tokenization means that after the first payment, the customer can save their card and does not have to type the details again on the next purchase. This is not just a convenience feature: fewer fields, fewer errors, lower cart abandonment, and faster mobile checkout.
If your webshop works with repeat orders, subscriptions, or loyal returning customers, this is one of the strongest conversion tools you can have. On the banking side, OneClick-style flows, and on the provider side, saved-card checkout, all push in the same direction: make payment a single action.
In practice, you want a provider that supports saved cards, recurring charging, and secure token handling. SimplePay, Barion, CIB-style online payments, and several large bank-led solutions all move in this direction.
Consider these factors when making your decision:
1. Fees and costs: Don't just look at the transaction fee! Check the joining fee, monthly minimum, payout fee, and currency conversion costs. Understanding the interchange fee and the interchange++ pricing model can help you see the real costs.
2. Supported payment methods: Beyond card payments, qvik, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and one-click tokenized payments can all increase your conversion rate.
3. Webshop platform compatibility: Check that the chosen payment gateway is compatible with your webshop platform (WooCommerce, Shoprenter, UNAS, etc.). In POSnavigator you can filter this explicitly.
4. Payout time: When does the money arrive in your bank account? Barion can offer daily payouts, while other providers may take 3-7 business days.
5. Support and documentation: Hungarian-language support, developer documentation, and a sandbox environment all matter, especially if you do not have an in-house developer.
6. Security and compliance: The payment gateway must have PCI DSS certification and comply with PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) rules.
If you run a webshop with multiple channels, a Nevogate-style integration layer can be useful: you can manage several PSPs in one place, have fallback options, and optimize costs by country or card type.
This becomes especially valuable if you do not sell only in Hungary, or if one PSP delivers weaker acceptance rates at times. In that case, a multi-PSP strategy is not exotic engineering, but risk management.
Nevogate-style setups make it possible to run several payment providers under one integration layer so you are not dependent on a single PSP.
Once you've chosen your payment gateway, here are the next steps:
1. Registration and contracting: Most providers allow you to start the process online. You'll need company details, a bank account number, and your webshop URL. With Barion, this can be completed in 1-2 days; with SimplePay and bank-linked solutions, it may take longer.
2. Technical integration: Depending on your webshop platform, this could be a simple plugin installation (for example WooCommerce, Shoprenter, or UNAS) or more complex API integration. Major payment gateways provide detailed developer documentation.
3. Test transactions: Always test before going live! Most providers offer a sandbox environment where you can try the payment flow without real money movement.
4. Going live and monitoring: After launch, monitor transaction success rates, declined payments, and payout regularity. Contact the provider's support team if you encounter issues.
Based on online reviews and forums, several recurring themes emerge among Hungarian webshop operators:
Barion is praised for quick setup and low barrier to entry — many small webshop owners highlight that registration and integration can be completed in hours, with competitive fees.
SimplePay is most often praised for customer trust: shoppers recognize the OTP name, which helps conversion. However, some merchants seek alternatives due to the joining fee and sometimes slower payouts.
Stripe is favored by developers for its excellent API documentation and flexible integration, but it's a less familiar brand for Hungarian customers, and forint-euro conversion may add costs.
Note: these are other merchants' experiences, not POSnavigator's opinion. Individual experiences may vary.
If you want a fast launch tailored to the Hungarian market, SimplePay is the first name to consider. If low entry cost and local support matter more, Barion is a strong second choice. If you need banking background, link-based payment, and qvik, then CIB Bank and other major bank-led options come into play. For enterprise or international webshops, PayU and Worldline are also worth considering. If you want to manage multiple PSPs at once, a Nevogate-style integration layer can give you flexibility.
To compare offers in more detail, read our payment provider selection guide, or use the POSnavigator cost calculator.
Most payment gateways have no monthly fee, and transaction fees are around 1-2%. SimplePay also charges a one-time joining fee (tens of thousands of forints). Barion and Stripe have no joining fees. For precise costs, we recommend the POSnavigator calculator. Prices reflect April 2026 data.
Barion, SimplePay, and several bank-led providers offer plugins or direct integrations for these platforms. In POSnavigator, it is worth checking the filters to see which provider matches your webshop engine best.
Plugin-based integration (e.g., WooCommerce + Barion) can be done in 1-2 hours. API-based custom development may take 1-2 weeks depending on complexity. Contracting requires additional time: 1-2 days with Barion, up to 1-2 weeks with SimplePay.
Qvik is growing in popularity in Hungary, and offering it can be a competitive advantage. If your payment gateway supports it (e.g., Simple), it's worth activating — some customers actively look for this option, and transaction fees may be lower than card payments.
Yes. Payment gateways available in Hungary all comply with PCI DSS security standards and PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements. Card data is handled by the payment provider, not the webshop — so merchants don't need to store card data.
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