Comparison
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs the alternatives
Choose Enterprise Pay Gateway when you want a complete payment stack without engineers and want to keep your own customer relationship. Build directly on Stripe if you have developers and unusual requirements. Use a marketplace if you are buying its demand, not its payments. Open a merchant account if your volume is large enough to negotiate interchange-plus.
Last updated 9 September 2026
| Enterprise Pay Gateway | Building on Stripe yourself | Marketplace platform | Traditional merchant account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who you contract with for processing | Stripe, directly | Stripe, directly | The marketplace | An acquiring bank |
| Time to first payment | Same day | Days to weeks of build work | Same day | 1–4 weeks of underwriting |
| Engineering required | None | Substantial and ongoing | None | Varies, usually some |
| Software cost | $49–$499/mo + 0.20%–0.75% | Your engineering time | Commission, often 10%–30% | Monthly account and gateway fees |
| Processing cost | Stripe's rates, billed to you | Stripe's rates, billed to you | Bundled into commission | Interchange-plus, negotiated |
| Whose name is on the statement | Yours | Yours | The marketplace's | Yours |
| Who owns the customer | You | You | The marketplace | You |
| Dispute liability | You | You | Usually shared or absorbed | You |
| Recurring billing included | Yes | Build it yourself | Sometimes | Usually an add-on |
| Best suited to | Businesses that want a full stack without engineers | Teams with developers and specific requirements | Sellers who want the platform's demand | High volume with negotiating power |
When Enterprise Pay Gateway is the wrong tool
If you already employ engineers who have built on Stripe, our platform fee buys you little. If your entire business depends on a marketplace's built-in demand, the commission is buying customers, not payment plumbing. And if you process several million dollars a year, an interchange-plus merchant account negotiated directly will usually beat any flat-rate arrangement.
When it is the right tool
You want to take card payments this week, you want your own name on the customer's statement, you need recurring billing and a product catalogue, and you would rather pay a predictable software fee than hire a developer.
Costs shown for Enterprise Pay Gateway come from our pricing page. Third-party figures are typical published ranges and change often — verify with each provider before deciding.