🇩🇪Europe

Start an online store in Germany.

Sofort/Klarna instant bank + PayPal dominate. Cards secondary. Invoice-after-delivery still common.

Payment gateways

5 gateways available in Germany.

Open Gateway Finder

Global gateways available here

Stripe

Developer-first, best API in the industry, most platform integrations anywhere

PayPal

Global trust — older + cross-border buyers expect it

Adyen

Enterprise + global merchants needing interchange-plus pricing at scale

Braintree

PayPal ecosystem with card processing bundled

2Checkout (Verifone)

Merchant-of-record (MoR) service — handles global tax + compliance for digital goods

Checkout expectations

What Germany buyers expect to see at checkout.

Missing any of the dominant methods below typically costs 15-40% of conversions. Pick a gateway that covers these:

🇩🇪

Sofort / Klarna Pay Now

Germany / Austria instant bank transfer

🌸

Klarna (BNPL)

Buy now, pay later — strong in EU + US

🅿️

PayPal

Global wallet checkout

💳

Credit / Debit Cards

Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover

🇪🇺

SEPA Direct Debit

EU bank debit

Questions about Germany

Founders ask these a lot.

What's the best ecommerce platform for Germany?+

Shopify is the safest default for most Germany merchants at $0-5K/month revenue — it pre-integrates with the payment gateways available locally. WooCommerce wins if your budget for platform fees is $0 and you're comfortable with WordPress. See the recommended platforms above for detail.

Which payment methods do Germany buyers expect at checkout?+

Sofort/Klarna instant bank + PayPal dominate. Cards secondary. Invoice-after-delivery still common.

How many payment gateways are available in Germany?+

We track 5 payment gateways operating in Germany: Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, Braintree, 2Checkout (Verifone).

Nearby markets