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Payment gateways for Australian e-commerce: a practical comparison
Australian e-commerce stores have more payment options than ever: Stripe, PayPal, Afterpay, Zip, Apple Pay, Google Pay, eWAY, BPAY, traditional bank gateways.
The non-negotiable defaults for AU stores
Stripe
1.7% + 30¢ for domestic cards. Best balance of features, support, and pricing. Apple Pay and Google Pay built in. Strong dispute handling. Australian-based support. Default choice for 80% of stores we build.
PayPal
2.6% + 30¢ for domestic. More expensive, but a meaningful percentage of customers prefer to pay via PayPal (especially older demographics, especially for higher-value items). Worth offering even though margins are tighter.
Afterpay (now Cash App / Block)
Strong on items in the $80-$500 range. Especially fashion, beauty, gifting, mid-priced electronics. Customers who’d normally bounce at the price commit because it’s 4 × $X. 4.17% + 30¢ to the merchant, but the conversion lift usually pays it back.
Zip
Similar to Afterpay, slightly different demographic. Mid-range items, sometimes higher. 5.5% to the merchant. Worth offering alongside Afterpay if you’re in the right product category.
When to add additional options
Apple Pay / Google Pay
Free addition. Increases mobile conversion measurably. Stripe enables both with a single setting. Always on for our builds.
BPAY
B2B context: invoicing customers who’d rather pay via bank than card. Free to receive. Worth offering for higher-value B2B sales (think $500+) where customers want bank-paid invoices for accounting.
eWAY / NAB / CommBank gateways
Direct bank gateways. Lower fees on high volume. More complex to integrate. Worth it once you’re processing $500k+ annually and the per-transaction savings outweigh the integration overhead.
What to skip
Crypto payments. Few AU customers use them. Volatility makes refunds awkward. Skip unless your customer base specifically asks for it.
Niche BNPL alternatives. Klarna, Latitudepay, Humm. Lower customer adoption than Afterpay/Zip. Don’t bloat the checkout with options nobody uses.
“Stripe replacement” SaaS. Various services pitch themselves as Stripe alternatives with lower fees. Most have hidden costs (currency conversion markups, monthly minimums) that make them more expensive in practice.
Configuration that matters
Show prices in AUD with GST included. Legal requirement for B2C sales. Don’t do USD pricing for Australian sites: conversion drops.
3D Secure 2 is mandatory for cards now. Stripe handles this transparently. Older gateways may force a clunky redirect, so budget for upgrades if you’re still on legacy gateways.
Save card details for returning customers. Stripe Customer object. Reduces checkout friction on repeat purchases.
Display payment options on product pages. “Or 4 fortnightly payments of $X with Afterpay.” Surfaces the BNPL option early in the buying decision.
What we configure as default
On a typical WooCommerce store we build: Stripe (cards + Apple Pay + Google Pay), PayPal, and Afterpay. Three options covers 95% of customer preferences without overwhelming the checkout.
If the store sells higher-value B2B items, we add BPAY. If the store specifically targets fashion or beauty (where Zip has stronger demographic), we add Zip alongside Afterpay.
More than 5 payment options on a checkout page actively hurts conversion. Customers freeze on choice. Three is usually right.