How to contact local PSPs and compare quotes

Treat provider selection as a small tender

When you enter a new market, the payment provider you choose affects your cost, your checkout conversion, and your cash flow for years. The mistake most small merchants make is to sign the first gateway that answers a call. A better approach is to run a light tender: pick three to five candidates, send them the same requirements, and compare answers on your terms. This forces providers to be specific instead of vague, and it gives you a paper trail if something goes wrong later. You do not need a procurement team to do this. A simple spreadsheet and a standard email to each provider is enough to make a confident choice.

• Shortlist three to five local PSPs or aggregators.
• Send the same requirement list to every candidate.
• Compare written answers, not sales calls.
• Keep a simple scorecard so the choice is defensible.

What to send in your first message

Your first message should state the basics so the provider can quote accurately. Include the countries you sell to now and in the next six months, the payment methods your buyers prefer (cards, wallets, bank rails, BNPL), your average order value, your monthly volume, and whether you price in the shopper's currency but settle in your own. Also state your platform (WordPress, Shopify, custom app) and whether you have developer resources. Providers quote very differently once they know your mix, so vague enquiries get vague quotes. A clear brief also signals that you are a serious merchant, which tends to get you to a priced response faster.

• List target countries and near-future markets.
• Name the payment methods your buyers use.
• Share average order value and monthly volume.
• State your platform and developer availability.

The fee questions that actually matter

The headline percentage is only one part of your cost. Ask for the full schedule: percentage fee per payment method, fixed per-transaction fee, setup fee, monthly or annual fee, refund fee, chargeback or dispute fee, and any cross-border or FX spread. FX spread is often larger than the visible fee, so a low percentage with a wide spread can be dearer than a higher percentage with a tight spread. Ask for a dummy statement built on your own traffic mix so you can see the real all-in cost per transaction. Public pricing is only a first filter. Actual pricing changes with country, industry, volume, settlement currency, integration method and contract terms. Confirm against the provider's official pricing page or a written quote before you go live.Also ask whether teaser rates rise after six months, and whether there are monthly minimums that bill even when you are quiet.

• Ask for per-method percentage and fixed fees.
• Include setup, monthly, refund, and chargeback fees.
• Check the FX spread, not just the headline rate.
• Request a dummy statement using your own volume mix.

Settlement, currency and compliance

Two things decide your cash flow. The first is settlement timing: how many days from capture to payout, and in which currency. Slow or opaque settlement ties up working capital. The second is licensing: confirm the provider is authorised in each market where you collect, because a provider without the right licence can expose you to regulatory risk and frozen funds. Ask who is responsible for tax collection and remittance in each market, and what KYC or business documents you must supply. For cross-border sellers, also confirm whether you can settle in your home currency or must hold local currency, and what that costs.

• Confirm days from capture to payout and the currency.
• Verify the provider's licence in each market.
• Clarify who handles tax collection and remittance.
• Check local vs home-currency settlement and its cost.

Test before you commit

Before signing, ask for sandbox access and bring your developer or integrator into the call. A clean API, clear webhook retry behaviour, and client libraries in your language cut weeks off integration. Measure how fast the provider answers a technical question during the test period, because a slow answer in testing often means a slower answer during a live outage. Run a small amount of real traffic, perhaps 15% to 30%, in parallel with your current setup for a few weeks, then compare authorisation rate, latency, and net margin. This pilot turns marketing claims into measured facts before you move your whole business.

• Request sandbox access and involve your developer early.
• Judge support speed during the test, not after.
• Pilot 15% to 30% of traffic in parallel first.
• Compare authorisation rate, latency, and net margin.

Scorecard and contract checks

Turn the shortlist into a scorecard with weights that match your strategy, for example 35% total cost, 25% approval or conversion rate, 20% integration effort, 10% compliance coverage, and 10% support quality. The highest score wins, but before you sign, read the contract for exclusivity clauses, exit fees, and auto-renewal. High-growth merchants often outgrow their first provider within a year or two, so flexibility is valuable. Lock pricing for at least two years where you can, and keep a second provider warm so a single outage does not stop all sales. Finally, keep the written quote on file; it is your reference if the live fees differ from what was promised.

• Weight cost, conversion, integration, compliance, support.
• Check exclusivity, exit fees, and auto-renewal.
• Lock pricing for at least two years if possible.
• Keep a second provider ready as backup.

Questions merchants ask

Public sources

• Payment provider for a business with international clients
• Cross-border payments: 10 factors to consider when choosing a provider
• Expert tips for comparing payment providers: a strategic guide for 2026