Payment gateway
A payment gateway is the technical layer that passes payment information between a webshop, the customer's bank and the merchant's bank.
A payment gateway (Mollie, Adyen, Stripe, Buckaroo, Worldline) is the invisible infrastructure enabling every e-commerce payment. Functions: authorisation, encryption of payment data, fraud screening, settlement, and multiple payment methods via one integration (iDEAL, credit card, PayPal, Klarna, Apple Pay). Without a gateway every shop would need direct integrations with 10+ banks.
Example
A Dutch shop integrates Mollie. Customers choose Bancontact (BE), iDEAL (NL) or card; Mollie handles the payment and settles weekly net amounts to the merchant. All via one API.
Frequently asked questions
Which gateway should I choose?
Depends on volume/market. Starting Dutch shop: Mollie (simple pricing, good iDEAL). Large international: Adyen or Stripe. Developer-first: Stripe.
Related terms
Further reading
- → Our service: Fintech sector