The Best International Payment Gateways in Germany in 2026
Table of Contents
Author: Artiom Pucinskij
Table of Contents
Airwallex suits sales income you want to keep in foreign currencies, and Mollie connects cards with SEPA debit and European checkout methods.
Stripe gives subscription businesses more billing control, while Revolut Business combines payment acceptance with an account for everyday business finances.
A sale to another euro country may need no currency conversion, but the card type and payment method still affect your processing cost.
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At a glance
A German merchant account can accept overseas customers without making every sale a foreign-currency transaction.
EEA consumer cards, commercial cards and non-EEA cards can have different prices.
SEPA debit collects euros from customer bank accounts, with a different authorisation and refund process from cards.
Charging in dollars and keeping dollars are separate product capabilities.
Compare international payment gateways for businesses in Germany
"Airwallex offers a comprehensive financial platform for businesses. Make global transfers to 150+ countries, receive funds in 20+ currencies. Connect with popular software for a seamless approach."
"Sokin is a global payments platform for businesses. Hold 75+ currencies with free IBAN accounts. Make up to 5,000 payments per batch transfer. Excellent ecommerce payment gateway available."
Airwallex for retaining foreign revenue for overseas expenses

Airwallex can settle eligible card sales in more than 20 currencies, which helps if your overseas revenue also pays overseas expenses.
Local receiving details give invoice customers a bank-transfer option alongside the checkout, payment links and plugins used for card sales.
Visa and Mastercard processing costs 1.30% + €0.25 for EEA consumer cards, or 3.15% + €0.25 for EEA commercial and international cards.
Explore costs €19 monthly before VAT, waived with €10,000 in deposits or processing during the subscription month, or €10,000 in Wallet at its end.
Subscription Management adds 0.50% per successful card transaction, so recurring card sales cost more than ordinary processing alone.
Currency conversion adds 0.5% above interbank rates for major currencies or 1% for others, making retained balances more useful when you can spend them directly.
Airwallex fits an exporter with matching foreign-currency costs, rather than a euro-only shop needing no wider business account.
- Keeping eligible USD or GBP sales for matching expenses
- Offering checkout and local bank receiving details together
- Only occasional euro card collection without an account plan
- A dedicated physical shop payment system
Revolut Business for payments alongside business account functions

Revolut Business lets you collect customer payments and manage business spending through the same wider account, subject to separate merchant approval.
Payment links and integrations handle online sales, with Revolut Pay giving account holders another way to pay at checkout.
Online payment or account | German fees |
|---|---|
Domestic and European consumer Visa or Mastercard | 1% + €0.20 |
Domestic commercial or international card | 2.8% + €0.20 |
Revolut Pay | 1% + €0.20 |
Basic Business account | €10 monthly |
The lower consumer-card price does not cover domestic business cards, which changes the value for a shop selling mainly to companies.
Supported currency settlement can keep proceeds in their original currency, with conversion charges depending on your plan allowance and timing.
In-person acceptance also supports physical sales, making Revolut useful if you want collection and business finances together rather than separate accounts.
- Combining acceptance with business spending and balances
- Collecting online and in-person payments
- Low consumer-card pricing for mainly corporate-card sales
- Checkout without paying for a Business account
Stripe for subscription software and custom checkout

Stripe Billing handles subscription renewals and changes, with hosted Checkout available when you want to start without designing the payment page yourself.
Its API connects payments to your software, while Payment Links suit occasional invoices or sales outside a complete online store.
Online payment | German fees |
|---|---|
Standard EEA card | 1.5% + €0.25 |
Premium EEA card | 2.8% + €0.25 |
UK-issued card | 2.5% + €0.25 |
Other international card | 3.15% + €0.25 |
Required conversion | Additional 2% |
SEPA Direct Debit | €0.35 |
Standard Payments has no monthly fee, although Billing and other add-ons have their own charges beyond the card processing rate.
SEPA debit gives euro customers a bank payment option, so using Stripe does not mean every recurring sale must use a card.
I like Stripe for software with changing subscriptions, where the billing tools do more work than a basic recurring payment schedule.
- Subscriptions with changing plans and renewals
- Combining hosted checkout with a custom software integration
- Local receiving accounts for customer bank transfers
- Frequent foreign-currency conversion without the 2% surcharge
Sokin for processing non-EEA card sales

Sokin’s European international card fee is 2.50% + €0.20, below these standard US-card processing fees from Airwallex, Revolut Business, Stripe and Mollie.
Checkout supports WooCommerce and API integration, with payment links available if you collect against invoices rather than through a store.
Domestic consumer cards cost 1.20% + €0.20 and other domestic cards cost 1.90% + €0.20, with the fixed fee depending on transaction currency.
A refund costs €2.50 and a dispute costs €20, so frequent returns can reduce the value of cheaper processing.
Settlement terms are assessed for your business and can include reserves, which temporarily restrict access to part of the collected money.
Sokin suits regular non-EEA card sales with few refunds, particularly if WooCommerce or its API fits your existing checkout.
- Regular non-EEA card sales with few returns
- WooCommerce checkout or a bespoke API connection
- Low refund charges for a high-return store
Mollie for European methods through one store integration

Mollie brings cards, SEPA debit and methods such as Klarna, iDEAL/Wero and Bancontact into one ecommerce integration.
That suits a store serving several European markets, where customer preferences may differ even when every order is priced in euros.
Online Visa and Mastercard fees are 1.80% + €0.25 for EEA consumer cards, 2.90% + €0.25 for EEA commercial cards and 3.25% + €0.25 otherwise.
SEPA Direct Debit costs €0.35, while Klarna for Germany, Austria and Switzerland costs 2.99% + €0.35, with method eligibility applying separately.
Klarna for other customer markets can cost differently, so the German price is not a universal international checkout tariff.
Online payments have no monthly subscription, and store plugins reduce development work compared with building each payment method separately.
Mollie suits a European shop needing several checkout methods, although Airwallex and Stripe charge less for standard EEA consumer card processing.
- Adding European methods through one store connection
- Combining card and SEPA collection without an online subscription
- The lowest standard EEA card fee among these choices
- A business currency account for overseas supplier spending
GoCardless for recurring bank collections and invoices

GoCardless manages bank debit collection for services and memberships, with a dashboard, accounting integrations and an API for more customised workflows.
Its Standard domestic fee is 1% + €0.20 capped at €1, before VAT, with payment failure and chargeback fees outside that processing cap.
International collections with conversion cost 2% + €0.20, including the Wise-powered FX service used to pay proceeds into your home bank account.
Collection supports eight currencies across the Eurozone, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada.
The FX payout takes an additional two to four business days, so collecting a customer payment does not give immediate access to its proceeds.
GoCardless suits repeat invoices you want to collect from bank accounts, with a card gateway alongside it when customers prefer cards or wallets.
- Managing repeated bank collections and invoices
- Converting supported foreign bank collections into euros
- Cards and wallets through the same checkout service
- Immediate payout of international bank collections
Adyen for large retailers with international operations

Adyen connects online payments and POS across markets, helping a large retailer manage website and physical store payments together.
It supports local payment methods and multiple payout bank accounts, with supported currencies and acquiring arrangements determined by your setup.
Card costs include €0.11 processing plus interchange++, which combines the issuing bank’s fee, card network fees and Adyen’s acquiring markup.
The processing charge is only one part of the bill, so it cannot be compared directly with another gateway’s complete percentage fee.
There is no standard setup or monthly fee, but a minimum invoice depends on your industry and business model.
Adyen suits an established retailer with several markets and stores, where shared payment management can justify a more involved commercial setup.
- Managing international stores and ecommerce together
- Negotiating payments for substantial transaction volume
- A low-volume checkout without minimum invoice exposure
- A simple self-service payment link setup
Should you add PayPal?
Use PayPal directly when adding PayPal is the main requirement, with its checkout products also offering card acceptance.
If Mollie already handles your cards and European methods, adding PayPal there keeps the choices together but adds €0.10 to PayPal’s own transaction fee.
That extra charge can be worthwhile for shared checkout management, but opening Mollie solely to get PayPal adds an unnecessary layer.
What can an international payment gateway do for your business?
Collect from customers beyond Germany
A gateway authorises checkout payments, with the connected processor collecting the funds and paying them into your eligible account.
Payment links give service businesses another way to collect card payments when overseas customers do not want to send a bank transfer.
Collect in euros or another currency
Euro sales across borders may need no conversion, while dollar or sterling sales introduce separate charging, settlement and conversion choices.
Airwallex can retain eligible foreign proceeds, and ordinary bank receiving details can serve customers who already prefer paying your invoices by transfer.
For that receiving need, business multi-currency accounts in Germany cover a different product choice from ecommerce card checkout.
Is Wise Business a payment gateway?
Wise Business supplies account details for bank transfers, while card payment requests are unavailable to new Wise Business customers.
Some eligible existing customers retain card requests, so a new account does not provide a general replacement for your store’s checkout.
How much will you receive after payment fees?
A €100 online consumer Visa or Mastercard sale leaves these processing-only amounts when the customer pays euros and settlement also stays in euros.
Company | Standard EEA consumer card | US-issued consumer card |
|---|---|---|
Airwallex | €98.45 | €96.60 |
Revolut Business | €98.80 | €97.00 |
Stripe | €98.25 | €96.60 |
Mollie | €97.95 | €96.50 |
Sokin leaves €97.30 from the same US-card example, using its European international rate and the €0.20 fixed fee for euro transactions.
These figures exclude applicable taxes, account subscriptions and other service charges, and do not apply to every premium or commercial card.
Revolut’s smaller stated processing deduction comes with a paid account, while Stripe and Mollie’s standard online processing has no monthly subscription.
Converting a USD sale into euros adds FX costs, including Stripe’s additional 2%, even though the card’s international fee already applies.
Sokin’s €2.50 refund fee can outweigh a small processing saving on a returned order.
Subscription billing, refunds and disputes can add charges, and Adyen’s minimum invoice can make a small operation expensive despite a low fixed processing component.
A reserve affects when you can access collected income, because part of the balance is temporarily withheld rather than charged as a processing fee.
Choose a gateway for your business needs
Cards and European payment methods
Payment methods determine how the buyer pays, and a familiar bank or wallet option can be useful alongside cards.
Mollie combines SEPA debit and Klarna with methods for neighbouring markets, including iDEAL/Wero for Dutch customers and Bancontact for Belgian customers.
Stripe also supports SEPA debit and Klarna, so Mollie’s appeal is its store integration and method mix rather than exclusive access.
Recurring billing or recurring bank debit
Billing software manages subscription plans and renewal amounts, while a bank mandate authorises collection from the customer’s account.
Stripe suits software with upgrades and changing charges, while GoCardless suits service invoices you want to collect automatically through bank debit.
Mollie’s SEPA option also serves bank collection when you already use its wider checkout.
Keeping foreign income
A foreign-currency balance helps when revenue will pay expenses in that currency, rather than being converted and later bought again.
Airwallex combines that balance with local receiving details, and Revolut Business puts payment acceptance alongside account spending and transfers.
For a euro-only shop, those account features may add less value than the checkout methods your buyers use.
Store connections and development
A plugin connects checkout to your store’s orders, while an API lets a developer build payment functions into your own website or software.
Mollie suits a store adding several European methods, and Stripe suits a software product needing more control over billing and checkout.
Sokin connects WooCommerce with card acceptance and gives non-EEA sales a lower stated processing fee than the other card tariffs compared here.
Airwallex offers plugins and payment links when retaining overseas revenue is part of the same collection plan.
Online sales and physical stores
Point of sale (POS) means taking payments in person, with shared payment management helping you connect counter sales and online orders.
Adyen suits a large retailer operating internationally, while Revolut Business also offers in-person collection within its broader account setup.
What do you need to get started?
Business and identity information
Provide details about the business and the people controlling it, with supporting documents requested according to the company type and application.
What you sell and where customers pay
Explain your products and sales channels, because account approval depends on the service’s supported activities as well as your business location.
An eligible bank account
Your payout account needs the right currency and transfer support, with Mollie requiring an IBAN or UK bank account for registration.
German merchant access
A supported German business can collect overseas customer payments, although foreign acquiring or a separate overseas account can introduce local company requirements.
Use international business transfers from Germany when collected revenue needs to pay suppliers abroad or move to another business account.
Compare business money transfers from Germany
Enter your destination and amount to compare exchange rates and fees for sending business funds overseas from Germany.Our methodology & why trust us
We assessed official German pricing and merchant requirements, with European method availability checked separately from accepting foreign-issued cards.
Our selection covers foreign-currency retention, account integration, software billing, European ecommerce methods, bank collection and enterprise retail payments.
The €100 illustration holds charge and settlement currency constant, which isolates processing differences instead of treating every cross-border sale as an FX transaction.
We kept commercial-card categories and subscription costs visible because they can change which service offers better value for your business.
This page reflects documented product research, without claiming that we opened merchant accounts or tested every payment method.
Our review methodology explains how we assess companies and distinguish product evidence from opinion.
MoneyTransfers may earn commission through commercial relationships, which do not determine whether a product meets the needs described here.
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