What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway enables customers to pay by card or other electronic methods in your webshop. It acts as an intermediary between the customer's bank, your bank account, and payment networks (Visa, Mastercard).

Key criteria for comparison

Transaction fee: percentage or fixed fee per payment — directly affects your margin
Monthly fee: fixed monthly or setup cost
Integration: compatibility with WooCommerce, Shopify, PrestaShop, or custom builds
Settlement speed: when money arrives in your account
Payment methods: Apple Pay, Google Pay, BNPL support
Local support: availability of Hungarian-language customer service

Top payment gateways in Hungary

1. SimplePay (OTP Bank)

The most widely used Hungarian gateway. Developed by OTP Bank, it carries strong brand recognition — reducing checkout hesitation especially for OTP cardholders.

Transaction fee: ~1.0–2.5%
Monthly fee: yes
Integration: WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, custom API
Settlement: T+1
Best for: Hungarian webshops where local trust and OTP cardholder experience matter most

2. Barion

Hungarian fintech offering both wallet-based and direct card payments. Popular for its transparent fee structure and modern API.

Transaction fee: Customers can choose between fixed and IC++ fee packages. With fixed pricing, it is between 0.69–1.49% (depending on turnover, card type and package).
Monthly fee: none at entry level
Integration: WooCommerce plugin, PrestaShop, OpenCart, REST API
Settlement: T+1
Best for: WooCommerce webshops seeking a modern API and straightforward onboarding

3. Stripe

The world's leading payment platform, fully available in Hungary since 2024–2025. Ideal for custom development and Shopify.

Transaction fee: 1.5% + €0.25 (EU cards), 3.25% + €0.25 (non-EU)
Monthly fee: none
Integration: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, custom — outstanding developer documentation
Settlement: T+2, configurable
Best for: growing or international webshops with development resources

4. PayPal

Globally recognized. Lower Hungarian consumer penetration, but strong for digital products and B2B transactions.

Transaction fee: ~2.99% + fixed fee
Monthly fee: none at basic level
Best for: digital products and B2B service providers where customers expect PayPal

Which should you choose?

For most Hungarian WooCommerce or PrestaShop webshops, SimplePay or Barion is the most natural starting point — both well-integrated with local support.

For Shopify or international sales, Stripe is hard to beat — natively integrated, supports the widest range of payment methods, and competitive on fees when selling in euros.

Consider adding PayPal as a supplementary option for digital products and B2B clients.

Use the POSnavigator comparison tool to compare exact fees and find the best gateway for your webshop.