Accepting payments online for EU, UK and Commonwealth merchants.
A practical guide to accepting payments online — what you need to go live, which methods cover your market, and how BazPay handles cards, wallets, regional alternative payment methods and SEPA Instant on one contract with a named MID.
Built for EU, UK and Commonwealth e-commerce sellers, subscription software firms, professional-services businesses and digital publishers. Direct regional acquiring under the hood — no reseller middle layer, no aggregated MID.
Why accepting payments online on BazPay is a different shape
Aggregator platforms make it fast to accept payments today; they cost you visibility, reporting and settlement timing tomorrow. Four properties keep BazPay honest.
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Fast to live once boarding clears
Sandbox keys are available from sign-up. A named integration manager reviews your first pull request before live keys are enabled, so the switch to production is a decision — not an outage.
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Low PCI scope from day one
Hosted fields keep card data inside BazPay's PCI DSS Level 1 scope. Your integration stays at merchant SAQ A regardless of how many methods you turn on.
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One contract, cards through APMs
Cards, device wallets, local payment methods and SEPA Instant account-to-account rails run under one direct regional acquiring contract with named MID, interchange++ reporting and settlement into your own settlement account.
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Regional compliance without a bolt-on
Strong customer authentication and GDPR handling run natively. 3-D Secure 2.2 with automatic exemption logic keeps most checkouts frictionless while shifting liability where the rules permit.
The methods you can accept on one integration
Four method families sit under the same merchant contract. Turn any of them on from the dashboard — no new contract per method, no separate integration per rail.
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Cards
Accept card payments on your website
Visa, Mastercard, Cartes Bancaires and eftpos clear on our regional acquiring licence. Cards issued outside the region authorise on the same contract, so a regionally boarded merchant can take payments from shoppers globally without a second processor.
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Cartes Bancaires
- eftpos
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Wallets
Apple Pay and Google Pay
Device wallets ride the card rail with a wallet-supplied network token. No raw PAN in the request, and the shopper never leaves your checkout.
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
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Local methods
Local alternative payment methods
iDEAL, Bancontact, BLIK, pay by bank, PayTo and Interac sit alongside cards on the same integration. Each method is priced on its own line and reconciles into the same balance.
- iDEAL
- Bancontact
- BLIK
- Pay by bank
- PayTo
- Interac
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Bank rails
SEPA Instant and open banking
Local-currency bank-to-bank payments through SEPA Instant and open banking. Bank-side authentication keeps cards out of the flow entirely for higher-ticket purchases.
- SEPA
- SEPA Instant
- Open banking
Payment-method depth on card and APM processing. Bank rails on open banking. The acquiring relationship on merchant acquiring.
The surfaces you can accept payments on
Eight integration surfaces cover the ways merchants actually take payments online. Pick the one that fits your build — every surface produces the same canonical charge object.
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Hosted checkout page
A prebuilt BazPay page for merchants that want the fastest path to "take payments online" — no front-end code, just a redirect and a webhook to verify.
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Hosted fields
Card, expiry and CVC inputs served from our PCI environment inside your existing checkout, so shoppers never leave your site.
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Drop-in components
Prebuilt payment forms that render inside your web app or portal with a few lines of JS. Themable to match your product.
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REST API
One versioned endpoint creates a charge across every rail. Full server-to-server control for custom checkout flows.
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Mobile SDKs
iOS and Android SDKs render hosted fields, Apple Pay and Google Pay natively inside your app — the accept-payments-app path.
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Storefront plugins
Maintained plugins for WooCommerce, Magento 2, PrestaShop and Shopware 6 install into an existing storefront in minutes.
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Invoice pay-by-link
Generate a hosted payment link for one-off B2B invoices. Send by email or embed in your existing invoicing tool.
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Recurring billing
Card-on-file, dunning-aware retries and MIT exemptions for subscription and membership revenue.
Prebuilt front-end surfaces on hosted checkout products. Embed patterns on integrated payment solutions. The plugin directory on integrations.
From boarding to your first authorisation
Six stages describe how a merchant goes from KYC submission to a live authorisation posting through their own MID. Sandbox access starts at stage two so integration can run in parallel.
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Board
KYC and underwriting reviewed by BazPay. Documents, ownership and business model checked against the underwriting policy.
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Provision
A named MID is opened with the schemes for your legal entity. Sandbox and live credentials, dashboard access issued.
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Choose surface
Pick hosted checkout, hosted fields, drop-in components, mobile SDK, REST API or a storefront plugin — the one that fits your product.
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Test
Sandbox replays production-shaped decline codes, 3-D Secure 2 flows and dispute events, so a test run matches the live surface.
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Go live
Live keys enabled after a named engineer signs off on your sandbox integration. Real-time analytics show approval quality from the first hour.
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Reconcile
Settlement events land signed on your webhook stream. Funds arrive in your local settlement account with interchange++ line detail per settled charge.
Direct regional acquirer vs no-merchant-account aggregator
“Accept payments online without a merchant account” usually means an aggregator or merchant-of-record model. It is fast to sign up for; the trade-offs land after go-live. The comparison below explains where each model earns its keep.
| Dimension | BazPay (direct acquirer) | Aggregator / MOR |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant contract | Direct with BazPay as acquirer, named MID | Aggregator MID under a MOR |
| Settlement | Per-scheme cycle to your local settlement account | Aggregated payout on delay |
| Chargeback attribution | Attributed to your MID | Diluted across the aggregator pool |
| Reporting | Interchange++ per settled charge | Blended-rate summary |
| Sales-tax handling | Your legal entity — direct merchant | MOR collects VAT on your behalf |
| Boarding path | KYC + underwriting, days | Self-serve, minutes |
| Reach for global cards | International-issued cards authorise on regional contract | Depends on aggregator's contract |
Rate structure on the pricing page. Buyer's shortlist on payment processors.
Accept a first payment through the REST API
One versioned REST endpoint creates a charge across every rail. Idempotency headers make retries safe. Signed webhooks confirm state changes so your order status is never out of sync with the acceptance layer.
POST /v1/charges
Idempotency-Key: 8f1c-2b3a-9e4d
BazPay-Version: 2026-04-01
{
"amount": 4990,
"currency": "EUR",
"payment_method": "card",
"capture": "auto",
"three_d_secure": "required_if_needed",
"descriptor": "ACME EU LTD",
"metadata": { "order_id": "ORD-10842" }
} The response returns a canonical charge object with the authorisation code, the network it landed on and any exemption applied. Full schema in the API reference.
Common ways merchants accept payments online
Four patterns cover most of the traffic BazPay processes for merchants across the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Each uses the same underlying platform primitives — the difference is where the checkout renders.
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Website checkout
DTC storefronts on WooCommerce, Magento 2, PrestaShop or Shopware taking card and APM payments through a maintained plugin. Accept payments on your website without touching PAN.
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SaaS in-product billing
Subscription software billing its own customers with card-on-file, dunning-aware retries and MIT exemptions on renewals.
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Invoice pay-by-link
Professional-services firms sending a hosted payment link for one-off B2B invoices — cards, SEPA Instant or open banking on one page.
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In-app checkout
Native iOS and Android checkout inside your app with Apple Pay, Google Pay and hosted card fields — the same charge object as web.
Recurring flow on recurring billing. Fraud rules on payment fraud prevention. Vertical bundles on payments solutions.
Security and compliance for accepting payments
Card handling runs inside a PCI DSS Level 1 environment assessed each year. Hosted fields keep raw PAN out of your stack — merchant SAQ A stays intact. Authentication runs on every card charge with 3-D Secure 2.2 and automatic exemption logic. In-region data residency and GDPR are default, not tier-gated.
- PCI DSS Level 1
- Annual assessment on the acquiring and gateway environment
- Merchant SAQ A
- Hosted fields and gateway vault keep card data out of your stack
- Authentication
- 3-D Secure 2.2 with automatic exemption logic on every card charge
- GDPR
- In-region data residency; DPA on request
- SEPA / SEPA Instant
- Direct participation for merchant payouts in supported corridors
Questions merchants ask before accepting their first payment
What do I actually need to start accepting payments online?
A registered legal entity, KYC documents on the business and its beneficial owners, a bank account for settlement, a website or product to accept payment on, and a payment gateway. With BazPay you complete boarding, receive sandbox keys immediately, wire the integration and then flip the live key — typical time from boarding submission to live traffic is measured in days for merchants in the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Can I accept payments online without a merchant account?
Some aggregator platforms let you take payments without your own merchant account by pooling merchants under a shared MID with the aggregator as merchant of record. That is fast to sign up for but comes with shared-MID risk, blended reporting and delayed settlement. BazPay is the opposite model — it opens a named MID for your legal entity so you own the merchant relationship, the chargeback ratio and the settlement line. Different trade-offs; both are legitimate.
Does BazPay let me accept altcoin payments or accept payments in cryptocurrency?
No. BazPay does not process cryptocurrency, altcoin or stablecoin payments and does not board crypto-exchange merchants. The acceptance methods are cards, device wallets, local alternative payment methods and SEPA Instant account-to-account rails only.
Can I accept payments globally, or is BazPay regional-only?
BazPay is a regional acquirer, which means the merchant contract is regional-registered — your legal entity is regional or the region. Card networks, however, are international, so cards issued anywhere in the world authorise on the same BazPay contract and settle into your local settlement account. In practice a regionally boarded merchant on BazPay can accept payments worldwide from cardholders, but the merchant itself is underwritten in-region.
How do I accept web payments in currencies other than euros?
Authorisation runs in EUR and more than twenty presentment currencies, so a shopper can pay in their local currency. Settlement lands in EUR into a regional settlement account by default; other named settlement currencies are available on approved corridors. The current schedule is confirmed during boarding.
Is there an accept-payments app I install on my phone?
No consumer wallet app. What BazPay ships is iOS and Android SDKs that a merchant's own app embeds to render hosted card fields, Apple Pay and Google Pay natively. Your customers pay inside your app; you never touch raw PAN because the SDK runs the sensitive inputs inside our PCI environment.
How do I accept all payments across web, mobile and invoicing on one contract?
One BazPay merchant contract covers hosted checkout, hosted fields, drop-in components, storefront plugins, mobile SDKs, invoice pay-by-link and the direct REST API. Every surface produces the same canonical charge object, so your database schema, ledger and webhook handler stay uniform across web, mobile and B2B invoicing flows.
Which merchant types can BazPay board for accepting business payments?
Merchants across the EU, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand: e-commerce sellers, subscription software firms, professional-services businesses, digital publishers and ERP or ISV products that charge their own customers. BazPay does not board adult, gambling, CBD, nutraceutical, forex, CFD, crypto-exchange, debt-collection or MLM merchants, and is not a marketplace of third-party PSPs.
Start accepting payments online on a direct regional acquirer
Share your business model, monthly volume and preferred integration surface. An integration manager will confirm boarding fit and issue sandbox keys inside one working day. See also merchant acquiring, hosted checkout products and integrated payment solutions.