Best BigCommerce Payment Gateways: Fees, Setup, and High-Risk Options

BigCommerce payment gateways determine how smoothly — and how profitably — your store turns shoppers into paying customers. BigCommerce supports a wide array of gateways, from mainstream names like PayPal and Stripe to specialist high-risk providers, and offering the right mix of payment options helps reduce cart abandonment at checkout. In this guide, we compare the best BigCommerce payment gateways side by side, break down credit card processing fees, walk through gateway integration step by step, and explain what to do if mainstream providers won't approve your business.

What Is a BigCommerce Payment Gateway and How Does It Work?

A payment gateway is the technology that securely captures your customer's payment details at checkout and passes them along for authorization. It acts as a bridge between your customer's payment method and your merchant account, encrypting card data so every transaction stays secure.

BigCommerce offers robust native payment integrations and supports multiple gateways, so you can tailor the checkout experience to your customers and your industry. Here's how a BigCommerce payment gateway handles a typical transaction:

1. Customers enter their payment details on the checkout page.
2. The payment gateway encrypts the data and securely transmits it to the payment processor.
3. The payment processor communicates with the customer’s bank to confirm available funds.
4. Funds are transferred to the merchant account, completing the transaction.

Payment Gateway vs. Payment Processor: What BigCommerce Merchants Need to Know

The two terms get used interchangeably, but a payment gateway and a payment processor do different jobs in your BigCommerce payment stack:

• Payment gateway: the software layer at checkout. It encrypts the customer's card details, sends them out for approval, and returns an approved-or-declined response to your store.
• Payment processor: the service that moves the money. Once the gateway hands off a transaction, the processor communicates with the card networks and banks to authorize the charge and route the funds.
• Merchant account: the account where those funds settle before being deposited into your business bank account.

Many popular providers bundle all three into one service, which is why the distinction is easy to miss. So when you're evaluating BigCommerce payment processors, you're really evaluating all three layers — and whether one provider or several should supply them. The distinction matters most when a bundled provider won't accept your business: in that case, you pair a dedicated merchant account with a compatible gateway, the setup high-risk BigCommerce merchants rely on.

What to Look for in a BigCommerce Payment Gateway

Before you compare providers, know the criteria that separate a good fit from an expensive mistake:

1. Security and Fraud Protection

• Look for advanced encryption, tokenization, and real-time fraud detection, plus 3D Secure support for an added layer of protection.

2. Supported Payment Methods

• Make sure the gateway supports the payment methods your customers actually use, including:
  • Credit cards and debit cards
  • Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay
  • Contactless payments
  • International payments and multiple currencies

3. Ease of Integration

• Prioritize gateways with seamless BigCommerce native integrations to minimize setup time and effort.

4. Transaction Fees

• Compare per-transaction costs, monthly fees, and gateway charges — and watch for hidden fees in the fine print.

5. Global Reach

• If you sell internationally, look for multi-currency support and fair conversion rates.

6. On-Site vs. Off-Site Payments

• On-site payment gateways keep customers on your domain, enhancing brand trust; redirect payment gateways send shoppers to a third-party page, which can affect conversion rates.

Best BigCommerce Payment Gateways Compared

There's no single best payment gateway for BigCommerce — the right pick depends on what you sell, where you sell it, and how banks classify your industry. Here's the at-a-glance comparison, followed by a verdict on each. Providers update their published rates periodically and pricing often varies by plan and volume, so confirm current fees on each provider's site before committing.

• PayPal — Pricing: published standard rates. Setup: quick native connection. High-risk friendly: no. Best for: broad customer reach and international checkout.
• Stripe — Pricing: transparent published rates. Setup: fast natively; more effort for custom builds. High-risk friendly: no. Best for: tech-savvy merchants who want custom checkout experiences.
• Authorize.Net — Pricing: published gateway and per-transaction rates. Setup: straightforward. High-risk friendly: limited. Best for: fraud tools and recurring billing.
• Square — Pricing: published competitive rates. Setup: quick. High-risk friendly: no. Best for: merchants selling both in person and online.
• Adyen — Pricing: varies by market and payment method. Setup: geared toward larger merchants. High-risk friendly: limited. Best for: global, multi-currency selling at scale.
• PayKings — Pricing: custom rates based on your risk profile. Setup: guided, with integration handled for you. High-risk friendly: yes — it's the specialty. Best for: CBD, supplements, and other hard-to-place industries.

1. PayPal

PayPal is one of the most versatile BigCommerce payment gateways, handling domestic and international payments and supporting credit cards and digital wallets alongside PayPal balances. The native connection is quick, and the familiar checkout button reassures first-time buyers. The trade-off: like most mainstream providers, PayPal restricts many regulated categories, so high-risk merchants can face holds or account closures.

2. Stripe

Stripe is known for transparent pricing and robust APIs, making it the go-to for tech-savvy merchants who want a customized checkout. It's quick to enable natively on BigCommerce, with far deeper developer options if you need them. Its terms exclude many high-risk industries, though, and accounts flagged after approval can be frozen with little warning.

3. Authorize.Net

Authorize.Net is a long-standing, reliable gateway with built-in fraud prevention and recurring billing — a solid choice for subscription sellers on BigCommerce. Because it typically pairs with a separate merchant account rather than bundling everything, it offers some flexibility for harder-to-place businesses, though genuinely high-risk merchants usually still need a specialist provider behind it.

4. Square

Square offers seamless integration with BigCommerce and competitive rates for both card-present and card-not-present transactions, which makes it a natural fit for merchants who sell in person as well as online. Setup is among the fastest available. Like other mainstream gateways, though, it declines or offboards many high-risk categories.

5. Adyen

Adyen is built for global reach, with support for multiple currencies and a wide range of international payment methods. It suits larger merchants scaling across borders; smaller stores may find onboarding more involved than with plug-and-play alternatives, and high-risk support is limited. If worldwide expansion is on your roadmap, it's worth a look.

The high-risk pick: PayKings

If you sell in a category mainstream gateways won't approve — or won't keep approved — PayKings pairs a high-risk payment gateway with a merchant account underwritten for your actual business. Trusted by more than 10,000 merchants, PayKings adds chargeback management and real-time fraud monitoring, and our team handles the BigCommerce integration so you can start processing quickly. For CBD, supplements, and similar verticals, it's the option built for your risk profile instead of against it.

How to Integrate a Payment Gateway with BigCommerce (Step by Step)

A standard BigCommerce payment gateway integration takes only minutes for natively supported providers. Here's the flow:

• Step 1 — Log in to your BigCommerce admin. Open your store's control panel.
• Step 2 — Go to Settings → Payments. You'll see the list of gateways BigCommerce supports natively.
• Step 3 — Select your provider and connect your account. Sign in to (or create) your account with the gateway and authorize the connection.
• Step 4 — Configure your options. Set accepted card types, currencies, and any fraud or 3D Secure settings your gateway offers.
• Step 5 — Run test transactions. Use the gateway's test or sandbox mode to confirm payments authorize, decline, and refund correctly.
• Step 6 — Go live. Switch out of test mode and keep a close eye on your first real orders.

Custom and API integrations: if your gateway isn't on the native list — common for high-risk processors — developers can connect a custom payment gateway through BigCommerce's APIs and checkout tooling. PayKings handles this integration work for its merchants, so a high-risk setup doesn't have to mean a heavy development lift.

Easiest Payment Gateways to Set Up on BigCommerce

If speed is the priority, these options typically get you selling fastest:

• PayPal — connect an existing account through the native integration in minutes.
• Square — seamless BigCommerce integration with a quick, guided connection.
• Stripe — fast to enable natively, with room to customize later via its APIs.
• PayKings (for high-risk stores) — underwriting takes longer than an instant signup, but once approved, our team manages the entire BigCommerce integration for you.

BigCommerce Credit Card Processing Fees

BigCommerce credit card processing costs break down into a few components:

• Per-transaction fees — a percentage of each sale, often plus a small fixed charge.
• Monthly fees — recurring service, statement, or minimum-volume charges from some gateways and merchant accounts.
• Gateway fees — a separate charge for the gateway itself when it isn't bundled with processing.
• Hidden and incidental fees — chargeback fees, currency conversion markups, and compliance charges can add up, so read the full fee schedule before signing.

Why do two stores get quoted such different rates? Because payment processing pricing follows risk. Your industry, chargeback history, average ticket size, and monthly volume all shape what a processor charges. Low-risk retail typically qualifies for standard published rates, while high-risk merchants pay more to cover the extra underwriting and monitoring their accounts require.

BigCommerce Payment Methods and Options

The gateway — or combination of gateways — you choose determines the BigCommerce payment methods your store can accept:

• Credit and debit cards — the baseline every store needs.
• Digital wallets — Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal speed up mobile checkout.
• ACH and bank payments — a lower-cost option for larger orders and B2B sales.
• Recurring payments and subscriptions — supported through gateways with stored-card and subscription billing features, such as Authorize.Net.
• Multi-currency and international payments — gateways like Adyen and PayPal let you price in local currencies and accept cards from shoppers worldwide.

Offering multiple popular payment options isn't just a convenience: shoppers who see their preferred payment method at checkout are less likely to abandon the cart.

High-Risk Payment Processing on BigCommerce (CBD, Supplements, and More)

Mainstream BigCommerce payment gateways work well — right up until they decide your industry is a problem. Providers like PayPal, Stripe, and Square often approve accounts quickly and review them afterward, which is why merchants selling CBD, supplements, nutraceuticals, and other high-risk products can see frozen funds, payout holds, or sudden offboarding once their transactions are examined.

The durable fix is processing built for your risk level from day one:

• Start with a high-risk merchant account. A specialist underwrites your business upfront, so your account is approved with full knowledge of what you sell — no shutdowns triggered later by your product category.
• Pair it with a compatible high-risk gateway. It connects to your BigCommerce checkout just like mainstream options do, with encryption, tokenization, and fraud screening built in.
• Layer in fraud and chargeback protection. Chargeback management and real-time monitoring help keep dispute ratios down and your account in good standing.

Selling CBD specifically? Card-brand and banking rules make it one of the hardest verticals to place, and many mainstream gateways won't support it at all. A dedicated CBD merchant account is the compliant way to take CBD payments on BigCommerce.

BigCommerce Merchant Services: Pairing a Gateway with the Right Merchant Account

A gateway is only one piece of your payment stack. Full-service BigCommerce merchant services typically bundle:

• A merchant account matched to your industry and risk profile
• A payment gateway with native or API-based BigCommerce integration
• Fraud prevention, chargeback management, and transaction monitoring
• Ongoing support for disputes, rate reviews, and account health

For standard retail, all-in-one providers handle most of this automatically. For merchants in complicated or high-risk verticals, choosing a merchant services provider that underwrites your specific business model is usually the difference between processing that lasts and an account that disappears mid-growth.

Optimizing Your BigCommerce Checkout

Your checkout page is the final step in converting visitors into customers, and small improvements compound. Pair the right gateway with these fundamentals:

1. Streamline Design: Keep the page clutter-free and intuitive.
2. Offer Multiple Payment Methods: Include credit card processors, digital wallets, and local payment options.
3. Enable Guest Checkout: Reduce friction by allowing customers to complete purchases without creating accounts.
4. Highlight Security Features: Display trust badges, SSL certifications, and fraud prevention measures.

Combined with an on-site gateway that keeps shoppers on your domain, these optimizations help turn more visits into completed orders.

Choose the Right BigCommerce Payment Gateway Today

The right BigCommerce payment gateway comes down to your industry, your fee tolerance, and how much integration help you need. Standard retail stores can plug in a mainstream option in an afternoon; high-risk merchants need a provider that underwrites their business properly from the start.

That's where PayKings comes in. Trusted by over 10,000 merchants, we specialize in tailored payment solutions for e-commerce businesses — including the ones mainstream gateways turn away.

What Sets PayKings Apart?

• High-risk payment gateway expertise for businesses in challenging industries
• 99% approval rate
• Advanced fraud protection, including chargeback management and real-time monitoring

Seamless Integration with BigCommerce

Our team ensures quick and hassle-free integration with your BigCommerce store, so you can start processing payments without the guesswork.

Ready to upgrade your BigCommerce payment setup? Get started with a PayKings high-risk payment gateway today and process payments with confidence.