Ecommerce payment gateways compared: Authorize.net vs Elavon vs Stripe
Fees, features, and Webflow integration compared across Authorize.net, Elavon, and Stripe. Pick the right payment gateway for your store.
When you build an online store, design, products and content usually take up most of your energy. But none of that matters if people can’t actually pay you. Your ecommerce payments setup is one of the most important parts of your business. It affects how easy it is for customers to pay, which cards and wallets they can use, what you pay in fees, and how trustworthy your checkout feels. Robust security and regulatory compliance, like PCI DSS, are also important for building trust and smooth transactions.
In this article we will focus on three payment gateways you can use with Penni Cart: Authorize.net, Elavon, and Stripe. Penni Cart is the builder and checkout layer that lives inside Webflow. These three are the rails that move money from your customers to you. The goal here is to explain what each one does, how they differ and when each might be a good fit.
Key Takeaways
- Ecommerce payments rely on a gateway to move money securely between customers, banks, and your business.
- Authorize.net is a long-standing gateway that works well with existing merchant accounts and offers strong fraud and subscription tools.
- Elavon is a good fit for businesses that want one provider across online, in-store, and multi-currency payments.
- Stripe is a modern, flexible option with global reach and clear, transparent pricing.
- Penni Cart is the builder and checkout layer that lets you use any of these three gateways while keeping full control over your store’s design and flow.
What is a Payment Gateway and Merchant Account in Ecommerce?
A payment gateway is the secure link between your online store, your customer’s bank and your own bank account. When someone enters their card or wallet details at checkout, the gateway encrypts this data, sends it to the processor, checks if the bank approves the transaction and then helps route the funds to your merchant account. Accepting payments online is essential for ecommerce businesses and offering card payments is a fundamental way to ensure convenience and trust for customers.
Behind the scenes there are usually three parts working together. The first is the gateway, the secure front door that collects payment details. The second is the processor or acquiring bank, that talks to the card networks, the customer’s bank (the issuing bank) and the merchant’s bank account (the acquiring bank). The third is the merchant account, the merchant’s bank account where the proceeds of the seller’s sales are deposited after transactions are settled.
Authorize.net, Elavon and Stripe all do these roles in slightly different ways.
Authorize.net: A Reliable Option
Authorize.net is one of the oldest ecommerce payment providers. It’s been around since the early days of online shopping and is now owned by Visa. Many merchants choose it because it’s stable, well known and integrates with many platforms.
One of the key strengths of Authorize.net is compatibility. It’s often used as a gateway in front of an existing merchant account. If you already have a relationship with a bank or processor, Authorize.net can act as the bridge between your ecommerce site and that account. That makes it attractive for established businesses that want to keep their current banking setup but modernize their online payments.
Authorize.net supports major credit and debit cards and other methods like eChecks depending on how you configure it. It also offers tools like recurring billing for subscriptions, customer profile storage for faster repeat checkouts and advanced fraud filters. It also supports recurring payments so it’s ideal for businesses that offer subscriptions or membership services and securely stores customer payment data to streamline future transactions while maintaining PCI DSS compliance. These extra features can be helpful if you plan to run subscriptions, invoice repeat clients or want extra control over fraud prevention.
During the checkout process the customer enters payment information on your site and Authorize.net uses strong encryption to protect sensitive customer payment data as it’s transmitted and processed.
Pricing for Authorize.net is usually a monthly gateway fee and per-transaction charges. In many regions you can choose between an all-in-one option where Authorize.net provides both gateway and merchant account or a gateway-only option where it sits on top of a separate merchant account. The exact numbers will depend on your country and provider but the structure is usually a mix of fixed monthly cost plus a percentage and a small flat fee per transaction.
Elavon: Omnichannel Payments and Banking Depth
Elavon is a global payments company that provides merchant services, payment gateways and card processing to businesses of all sizes. It’s often used by companies that want one provider to handle both in-store and online payments which is why you’ll see Elavon used in retail, hospitality and other sectors where physical and digital sales mix. Elavon is suitable for high volume sellers and global enterprises, offering scalable solutions for businesses operating across multiple countries.
The main strength of Elavon is omnichannel and banking depth. Because Elavon often acts as both the acquirer and the gateway you can end up with one provider covering your card processing, merchant account and ecommerce payments. That can simplify your financial setup and give you more unified reporting across online, in-store and mobile channels.
For ecommerce stores Elavon typically offers support for major cards, digital wallets and local payment methods depending on the region. It also has options for multi-currency processing and dynamic currency conversion. That means you can show prices and accept payments in local currencies while still getting paid in your home currency which can be useful if you sell internationally.
Elavon leans heavily into security and risk management. You’ll see features like fraud scoring, 3D Secure support, address verification and advanced rules to reduce chargebacks. This can be especially important for higher risk industries or brands selling higher value products.
Pricing with Elavon is usually custom rather than one-size-fits-all. Your rates will depend on your region, industry, transaction volume and if you are using Elavon for ecommerce only or for in-person payments as well.
Elavon may be a good fit if you want one provider across online and offline payments, if you sell in multiple currencies or if you are looking for enterprise grade security and banking relationships. For a Penni Cart store Elavon is the payments engine in the background while Penni Cart handles the cart and checkout experience your customers see.
Stripe: Modern, Flexible and Global Payment Solution
Stripe is one of the most popular modern ecommerce payment platforms. It’s used by startups, SaaS companies and ecommerce brands because it’s developer friendly, easy to get started with and powerful enough to scale as businesses grow.
The biggest advantage of Stripe is its flexibility and global reach. With one integration you can accept major credit and debit cards, wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay and many local payment methods depending on the country. Stripe also lets you price in multiple currencies and serve customers in many regions while keeping your backend setup relatively simple.
Stripe is known for its APIs and developer experience but you don’t need to be a developer to benefit from it. Over time Stripe has built tools for hosted checkout, subscription billing, invoicing and more. Stripe enables businesses to create custom checkout experiences and support preferred payment methods, tailor the process to customer preferences and regional requirements.
For ecommerce specifically Stripe focuses on conversions by offering features like address and card validation, saved payment methods and one-click payment options when supported. Stripe’s features include customer data security, PCI DSS compliance and mobile optimization, biometric authentication and frictionless payments.
In many countries Stripe’s pricing is very transparent. You’ll usually see a per-transaction structure that’s a percentage and a small flat amount. This makes it easier to model your costs as you grow. High volume or enterprise merchants can often negotiate custom pricing.
Stripe is a good fit if you want a modern, flexible payment platform that can grow with you, if you plan to sell internationally or if you need access to a wide range of payment methods and features over time. With Penni Cart Stripe is one of the easiest options to connect your custom Webflow checkout to a global payments infrastructure.
How to Decide Between Them
All three providers, Authorize.net, Elavon and Stripe, can handle ecommerce payments and move money from your customers to your bank. Choosing the right e-commerce payment processor means evaluating your transaction volumes, business models and technical capabilities to ensure the best fit for your business needs. It’s not about which one is “best” but how you sell and what you need.
If you’re an established business with a merchant account you like and want a stable, well known gateway Authorize.net might be the obvious choice. If you have an operation that spans physical stores and online sales and want banking, merchant services and payments under one roof, Elavon might be more appealing. If you’re building a modern ecommerce brand, especially with global ambitions or need for flexibility and clear pricing Stripe is often the easiest to start with and grow into.
The key is to think about where your customers are, how they pay, how complex your setup needs to be and how much you want to manage on the banking side yourself.
Where Penni Cart Fits In
Penni Cart’s role in all of this is simple. Penni Cart lets you build and control your store, cart and checkout inside Webflow. You decide how it looks and how it feels. Penni Cart enables seamless integration with supported payment gateways so you can have a smooth and hassle free setup. Then you connect your checkout to one of the supported gateways, Authorize.net, Elavon or Stripe, to actually process payments.
That means you’re not locked into a single gateway or forced into a specific payment provider just because of your design stack. You can start with the option that fits you best today and still have the freedom to change your ecommerce payments setup later as your store grows or your needs change without rebuilding your front end from scratch.
Related reading
Want flexible payment routing for your Webflow store? See Penni Cart, multiple processors, your design, no third-party checkout redirect.
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