Stripe, PayPal or Scalapay for Your Italian E-commerce — Costs, Benefits and How to Choose Payment Gateways

Why choosing online payment methods is a balance sheet decision, not a catalog pick

If you're opening an e-commerce in Italy — or if your existing store is losing orders at checkout — the problem is likely not the cart design. It's the payment method. At Meteora Web, we see this every time we audit a client's online store. The customer arrives, clicks, adds to cart, reaches the payment page… and if they don't find their preferred method, they close the window. Simple as that.

And in Italy, the situation is even more complex than elsewhere. Cash still has a strong cultural grip, credit cards are less common than in the US, and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options like Scalapay are growing at breakneck speed. But every choice has a cost — fees, technical integration, and impact on margins. We come from accounting: we've handled balance sheets, double-entry bookkeeping, and managed the ERP of a clothing store from the inside. We know that a single percentage point on transactions can eat an entire season's profit. So we won't give you one answer — we'll give you the tools to calculate the best mix for your specific case.

What are the online payment options for e-commerce in Italy today?

Let's map the terrain. In Italy, the most common payment gateways for SME e-commerce fall into three macro categories:

• Cards and traditional wallets: Stripe, PayPal, Nexi, Braintree – accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay.
• Instant bank transfers: Satispay, MyBank, Bancomat Pay – very popular among Italian users who avoid cards.
• Buy Now Pay Later: Scalapay, Klarna, PayPal (which can also offer installment plans) – split payments into 3, 4 or more interest-free installments for the customer.

Each has a different impact on your profit and loss. Let's look at the two most used – Stripe and PayPal – and then Scalapay.

Why choose Stripe for online payments for your e-commerce in Italy?

Stripe is the gateway we recommend most often. Why? Own your stack, don't rent it. With Stripe you're not locked into a proprietary cart: it integrates with WooCommerce, Shopify, Laravel, anything. And the fees are transparent and competitive for Italian standards: 2.9% + €0.35 per card transaction, 2.5% + €0.25 for wallets. No monthly fee, no setup costs.

Additionally, Stripe offers a platform for subscription management, automatic invoicing, and an integrated fraud prevention system (Radar) that you can customize. For an Italian e-commerce, the advantage also lies in localization: it supports payments via Satispay, Bancomat Pay and instant bank transfer (through partners) – but you need to check current availability, as Stripe's European rollout is progressive.

How to integrate Stripe in WooCommerce or Shopify

On WooCommerce: install the official Stripe Payment Gateway plugin, enter your API keys (publishable and secret) from your Stripe dashboard, and you're set. On Shopify: Stripe is the default processor for card payments (Shopify Payments). Just activate it from the admin panel. Zero code, but careful: Shopify Payments requires a connected Stripe account, and fees depend on your Shopify plan, not Stripe directly.

// Example Stripe API call to create a PaymentIntent (PHP with Stripe SDK)
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
\Stripe\Stripe::setApiKey('sk_test_...');
$intent = \Stripe\PaymentIntent::create([
  'amount' => 1099, // cents in euro
  'currency' => 'eur',
  'payment_method_types' => ['card', 'ideal'],
]);
echo $intent->client_secret;

Real benefit: one of our clients – a clothing e-commerce – saved about €1,200 per year in fees by switching from PayPal to Stripe. For an SME, that's the margin of a Google Ads campaign.

Does PayPal still make sense for online payments in your Italian e-commerce?

PayPal is the most recognized name, and for many Italian users it is the payment method, not one of many. If you don't offer it, you lose a chunk of customers. But the cost is high: in Italy, fees are 2.9% + €0.35 per transaction (similar to Stripe), but PayPal has hidden costs: a refund fee (€0.50) and currency conversion fees if you sell in euros but your account is in dollars. Plus, you cannot customize the checkout flow like with Stripe – the customer is redirected to PayPal, and that can hurt conversion.

The real pain point? Fund freezes. If you get a sudden sales spike, PayPal may freeze your account for verification. We've assisted clients who lost two weeks of revenue. With Stripe that doesn't happen (as long as you manage chargebacks properly).

Where to use PayPal: as an additional method. We recommend having it, but not as the sole gateway. Offer it alongside Stripe in the checkout and let the customer choose. You only pay the fees when they use it.

Scalapay and BNPL: a game-changer for online payments in your Italian e-commerce?

Buy Now Pay Later is reshaping the game, especially for fashion, furniture, and electronics. Scalapay is the leader in Italy: it lets customers pay in 3 installments at 30, 60, and 90 days with no interest. For the merchant, fees are higher: roughly 5-6% per transaction plus a fixed fee. That seems steep, and it is. But the trick is that it increases conversion rate and average order value.

At Meteora Web, we followed a furniture e-commerce client: after enabling Scalapay, the average cart went from €120 to €210. The extra fees (from 2.9% to 6%) were more than compensated by the revenue increase. For products above €100, BNPL tends to convert much better.

But caution: not all sectors are suitable. If you sell low-margin products (e.g., groceries) or items under €50, BNPL eats your profit. Also, Scalapay pays the merchant after the first installment (about 30 days), not immediately like Stripe. So you need cash flow to cover any advances.

How to integrate Scalapay in WooCommerce and Shopify

On WooCommerce, there's an official Scalapay plugin (paid, around €49/year). On Shopify, you can add it as an external payment method in the Payments section. In both cases, you need a Scalapay merchant account, which requires a business evaluation (turnover, history, etc.).

// Example JavaScript configuration for Scalapay (frontend)

Operational tip: first test BNPL on a high-margin product category (e.g., premium clothing). Monitor conversion rate and average cart. If the positive delta outweighs the extra fee cost, keep it active.

What hidden fees do payment gateways have and how to calculate the real cost?

The cost of a gateway is not just the percentage per transaction. Here's what you need to check:

• Fixed fee: €0.25 – €0.50 per transaction. On small orders (e.g., €10) that becomes an extra 5%.
• Chargeback fee: €15 – €25 per dispute. PayPal applies it even for refunds after fraud.
• Monthly subscription: some gateways (e.g., Nexi) have it. Stripe and PayPal do not.
• Integration costs: if you need to hire a developer or buy premium plugins.
• Currency conversion costs: if you sell in euros but the gateway is based in USD.

Practical calculation: suppose you sell 100 products at €50 each. With Stripe (2.9% + €0.35) you pay 100 × (€1.45 + €0.35) = €180. With PayPal, same formula, but if you have two chargebacks (€50 extra fees) you reach €230. With Scalapay (6% + €0.50) you pay 100 × (€3 + €0.50) = €350. Use BNPL only if the average cart rises enough to cover the €170 difference.

What to do now: a checklist for choosing your e-commerce payment methods

Here are the steps we walk our clients through when helping them set up or revise payment methods:

1. Analyze your average product value and margin: if you often sell under €20, avoid BNPL and look for low-fixed-fee gateways (e.g., Satispay).
2. Offer at least two methods: one for cards (Stripe) and one for wallets (PayPal). Add Satispay or Scalapay only if your target audience demands it.
3. Measure checkout abandonment: use Google Analytics 4 or your CMS analytics tool. If it exceeds 70%, payment methods may be the issue.
4. Calculate total annual cost: take your expected number of orders, multiply by the average fee, add chargeback costs. Compare to the expected revenue increase from BNPL.
5. A/B test: enable Scalapay on one category for a month. Compare data with the previous month (adjusting for seasonality).

Internal link: If you haven't chosen your e-commerce platform yet, read our comprehensive guide to WooCommerce vs Shopify – we explain how each platform handles payments differently.

External link: Dive deeper into Scalapay's latest terms with their official developer documentation: Scalapay Developer Docs.