Payment Gateways for Ecommerce:
The Emerging Markets Guide

Payment friction is the silent revenue killer in ecommerce. A checkout process that doesn't support the payment methods your customers prefer, or a gateway that can't settle funds to your bank account, can cost you a significant percentage of potential sales. For businesses in the Caribbean, South America, and Central Asia, payment gateway selection is more complex — and more consequential — than most guides acknowledge. Here's what you need to know.

Payment infrastructure is the part of ecommerce that most new store owners underestimate — until it breaks. The payment gateway you choose determines which customers can buy from you, what currencies you can accept, what fees you pay, and whether your revenue actually reaches your bank account. For businesses in the Caribbean, South America, Central Asia, and other emerging markets, payment gateway selection is a genuinely complex decision with meaningful commercial consequences.

The Major Global Gateways and Their Emerging Market Coverage

Stripe is widely considered the best payment gateway for most ecommerce businesses — excellent developer tools, competitive fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in the US), strong fraud protection, and support for 135+ currencies. However, Stripe's availability varies significantly by country. It supports payouts in approximately 46 countries — meaning businesses in many Caribbean, African, and Central Asian markets cannot receive payouts directly, even if they can process customer payments.

PayPal has broader global reach and is trusted by consumers in virtually every market. However, its fees are higher (3.49% + $0.49 for standard transactions), its dispute resolution process historically favours buyers, and its business accounts in some markets have significant withdrawal limitations. PayPal is essential as a consumer-facing option but should not be your only gateway.

Square is strong in the US, Canada, Australia, and UK but has limited presence in emerging markets. For businesses in those regions, Square is typically not the primary gateway.

Emerging Market-Specific Solutions

For businesses in the Caribbean: PayWise, WiPay (Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados), and Fygaro offer regional payment processing with local bank settlement. For Brazil: Mercado Pago and PagSeguro are market-leading solutions with broad consumer trust. For Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan): Kaspi Pay and local bank payment integrations are often necessary alongside global gateways. For Venezuela and Ecuador: dollar-based PayPal and Stripe (through workarounds) plus local transfer options are common.

Multi-Gateway Strategy Is Best Practice

Relying on a single payment gateway creates concentration risk — if that gateway has an outage or freezes your account (which happens more often than most merchants expect, particularly to new businesses with unusual transaction patterns), your store stops generating revenue entirely. The best practice is to implement two or three payment options: a primary international gateway (Stripe or PayPal), a local/regional gateway where available, and an alternative method such as bank transfer or mobile money for customers who can't or won't use card payments.

Understanding Gateway Fees and Their Impact on Margins

Payment gateway fees are often overlooked in ecommerce margin calculations. A 3% transaction fee on a product with a 30% gross margin represents 10% of your gross profit disappearing to payment processing. On high-volume, lower-margin products, gateway fee selection can meaningfully impact profitability. When evaluating gateways, calculate your fully-loaded cost per transaction — including the percentage fee, the fixed fee per transaction, any currency conversion fee, and any monthly account fee.

Buy Now, Pay Later Is No Longer Optional

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) options — Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, Paidy — have become a significant factor in ecommerce conversion, particularly for higher-ticket items. Stores that offer BNPL options typically see a 20–30% increase in average order value and a meaningful uplift in conversion rate. In markets where BNPL is not yet available from international providers, offering instalment payment plans through local financing partners achieves a similar effect.