Business

Stripe vs Worldpay: Which is Better for UK Businesses?

Paola Faben Oliveira

22.01.24 (updated more than 1 year ago)

Read time 5 minutes

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Payment service providers (PSPs) are essential to allow UK companies to process customer payments on and offline. There are plenty to choose from, which each have their own features and fees. If you’re looking for a major global PSP to suit your own specific needs, you might be debating between Stripe¹ vs Worldpay².

Join us as we walk through a Worldpay vs Stripe review.

Stripe vs Worldpay - Comparison overview

Before we get into our Stripe payments vs Worldpay review in detail, an overview.

It’s worth saying upfront that Worldpay provides custom built solutions based on an individual organisation’s needs, size, sector and average payment value. That means that the exact services you can get from Worldpay may vary depending on the type of business you have - however, their overall product and service range is extremely comprehensive, as we’ll see in a moment.

Stripe has a somewhat easier to navigate range of solutions which you can discover online without needing to generate a personalised quote. More on that later.

Service	Stripe	Worldpay
Pricing	Pay as you go, or negotiated subscription	Custom pricing based on turnover, average transaction value and sector
Trustpilot rating	2.7 out of 5 ⭐	4.7 out of 5 ⭐
Invoice payments	Available	Available
Recurring payments	Available	Available
International payments	Available	Available
API integrations	Available	Available
Checkout solution	Available	Available
Payment links	Available	Available
In-person payments	Available	Available

Worldpay reviews

Worldpay is now part of FIS Global, and offers a comprehensive range of services including options for SMEs, enterprises, platforms and marketplaces. Generally, it markets itself as a company which provides custom made solutions, so the information available online is relatively limited as you’re encouraged to talk to the sales team to learn more about how Worldpay may work for your business.

Overall, though, some of the Worldpay solutions you may be interested in for your UK business include:

Take payments online and in person

300+ payment methods available, covering 126+ currencies

Support billpay

Manage payments to others at home and abroad

Issue payment cards and offer banking as a service solutions

Comprehensive back office support

Access business financing

Worldpay gets an excellent 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot³, with a pretty solid 65% of reviews rating the service as 5 stars.

Worldpay fees

Worldpay fees depend on the type and size of business you have. You can generate an indicative quote using the Worldpay pricing quote generator⁵, or call the team for more information. To generate an indicative quote you’ll need to enter your approximate annual card payment volume, and the average cost per transaction, as well as the industry sector you’re in.

To give an example, we’ve included some indicative pricing for retail businesses in the UK at different turnover volumes. Bear in mind that all information is indicative only, and you’ll need to get a personalised quote to learn more.

Transaction type	Indicative quote Business with £100,000 turnover	Indicative quote Business with £1 million turnover
In-person payments	0.9% - 2.6% depending on the card type	0.8% - 2.4% depending on the card type
Online payments	0.5% - 2.2% depending on the card type	0.4% - 2% depending on the card type
International	Get more details directly from Worldpay - not included in indicative quote
Refund	Not specified in indicative quote
Chargeback	£20

For in-person or online payments an additional cost of 0.045 GBP (4.5p) applies for each transaction

Stripe payment reviews

Stripe is a large global business offering ways to get paid on and off line. Stripe has a pretty straightforward product and fee structure, allowing you to either access off the peg services or custom make a package to suit your own specific needs.

There are easy no code options to allow newer businesses and people with limited technical knowledge to get started quickly, as well as more complicated products which require technical help or know-how. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the options you may get with Stripe:

Ways to get paid from 47 countries, using 50+ payment methods and 135 currencies

Stripe payment terminals for in-person card payments

Tools to accept payments with a smartphone

Reusable payment links for customer transactions

Invoicing and billing tools

Different subscriptions and payment methods including pay per usage

Prebuilt and optimised checkout for online card payments

Platform payments and finance automation for enterprise customers

At the time of writing, Stripe scores a poor 2.7 star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot⁶. However it’s worth mentioning that 47% of the reviews are 5 stars.

Stripe’s score is significantly pulled down because 42% of reviewers only give Stripe 1 star. As it seems to be a platform which divides customer opinion, reading through some of the reviews and comments may help you form your own view of their suitability for you.

Stripe payment fees

If you opt for the Stripe off the shelf package, you’ll be able to easily see all your payment options and the costs involved online. This means you can compare these costs against alternatives like Worldpay to see which might work best.

Below we’ve got a roundup of the most important Stripe fees to know about.

Service	Stripe UK fee⁹
Accept payments from local credit or debit cards	1.5% + £0.20 for standard UK cards 1.9% + £0.20 for premium UK cards
Accept payments from international credit or debit cards	2.5% + £0.20 for cards issued in the EEA 3.25% + £0.20 for cards issued anywhere else 2% fee applies if currency conversion is needed
Accept payments with link (Stripe one click checkout)	1.2% + £0.20 for UK cards International card fees apply for cards issued elsewhere
Settle and pay out in additional currencies	1%
Refund	Processing fees are not refunded - other charges may also apply depending on payment type¹⁰
Chargebacks (disputes)	£20 per dispute
Recurring billing	0.5% value of bill paid
Invoicing	0.4% value of paid invoice
Instant pay out from Stripe	1% (standard payout is free, but takes longer)

Stripe vs Worldpay fees - Head to head comparison

As we’ve seen, the way that Stripe and Worldpay work is quite different, particularly when it comes to fees. Worldpay has custom made fees based on the business type and size, while Stripe has a more straightforward structure. That means that to compare the 2 on fees you’ll need to generate an indicative quote from Worldpay based on your own business type.

Below we’ve used an example for a Worldpay customer which has a 100,000 GBP/annum turnover and an average transaction of 10 GBP, in the retail sector.

Transaction type	Stripe fee	Worldpay fee
In-person payments	1.4% + ££0.10 for cards issued in the EEA 2.9% + £0.10 for cards issued anywhere else	0.9% - 2.6% depending on the card type An additional cost of £0.045 (4.5p) applies for each transaction
Online payments	1.5% + £0.20 for standard UK cards 1.9% +£ 0.20 for premium UK cards	0.5% - 2.2% depending on the card type An additional cost of 0.045 GBP (4.5p) applies for each transaction
International	Online: 2.5% + £0.20 for cards issued in the EEA 3.25% + £0.20 for cards issued anywhere else In person: 1.4% + £0.10 for cards issued in the EEA 2.9% + £0.10 for cards issued anywhere else 2% fee applies if currency conversion is needed	Not specified - get a quote based on your specific business situation
Refund	Variable - Processing fees are not refunded	Not specified - get a quote based on your specific business situation
Chargeback	£20 per dispute	£20 per dispute

Use this guide to help decide which payment service provider might suit your specific business needs.

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Sources used in this article:

Stripe
Worldpay
Trustpilot - Worldpay
FCA records - Worldpay
Worldpay pricing quote generator
Trustpilot - Stripe
Stripe PCI compliance
Stripe security
Stripe pricing
Stripe help - refunds
Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

Sources last checked January 16, 2024

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.