Who this applies to: This article is for clients who have paid a WebEaze ecommerce fee. Standard WebEaze plans don't include ecommerce or payment processing unless your hosting provider includes it as part of their platform, or you have separately paid a hosting provider whose plan bundles a payment system.

When you pay the ecommerce fee, we'll handle all of the design, setup, and integration work for your online store. You as the merchant will need to create and verify your own payment account.

Why you have to do this yourself: Payment accounts are legally tied to your business identity, tax information, and bank account. The processor needs to verify that you're the business owner. We're not able to create or verify an account on your behalf.

What's a payment or merchant account?

A payment account is what allows your store to actually collect money. When a customer checks out on your site, the payment processor (like Stripe or PayPal) collects the payment and deposits it into your bank account. Without one, the store can't accept payments.

Which platform should I use?

The right choice depends on your store setup. The most common options are:

  • Stripe: Our preferred option. Clean dashboard, easy setup, widely supported. Works with most website platforms we use. Transaction fee: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction.
  • PayPal: Familiar to buyers, easy to set up. Works well alongside Stripe if you want to offer both. Transaction fee: 3.49% + 49 cents (standard) or lower with a business account.
  • Square: A good option if you also sell in person and want one dashboard for both online and in-store payments.
  • Shopify Payments: If your store runs on Shopify, Shopify Payments is the built-in option. It simplifies things because the payment processing and store management are in the same place.

If you're not sure which to use, go with Stripe. It's what most of our ecommerce builds connect to and the setup process is straightforward.

What does the setup process look like?

Setting up a Stripe account (as an example) takes about 15 to 30 minutes:

  1. Go to stripe.com and create a free account using your business email
  2. Fill in your business details: name, type (sole proprietor, LLC, etc.), address, and phone
  3. Provide your tax ID (EIN or Social Security Number for sole proprietors)
  4. Link a bank account where payments will be deposited
  5. Complete Stripe's identity verification if prompted

Once your account is verified, Stripe gives you API keys. Send those to us and we'll connect your store to your account so payments start flowing to you directly.

What happens if I already have a Stripe or PayPal account?

Great, you're ahead of the game. Just let us know during setup and provide your API keys (Stripe) or your merchant email (PayPal) and we'll plug it in.

What about regional or specialized processors?

Some businesses, especially those operating in the Caribbean, Latin America, or other regions outside the US, may be required to use a regional payment processor instead of Stripe or PayPal. Common examples include:

  • Tilopay (Central America and Caribbean)
  • Powertranz (Caribbean)
  • 2Checkout / Verifone (global, popular in emerging markets)
  • PayU (Latin America, Eastern Europe, South Asia)
  • Elavon (used by some hospitality and retail businesses internationally)
  • First Atlantic Commerce (FAC) (Caribbean and Latin America)

These processors work differently from traditional payment gateways and aren't always plug-and-play with standard ecommerce platforms. If your business requires a specific regional processor:

  • You'll still need to create and verify your own merchant account with them directly. This involves business registration, banking details, and approval by the processor, which can take several days to weeks.
  • Some regional processors provide a hosted payment page that can be linked from your site without custom coding. That's the kind of integration we can support.
  • We do not perform custom backend development, server-side connector coding, or manual API integration for regional payment systems. That work is outside the scope of what we offer, violates our Terms & Privacy Policy, and taking on projects of that depth would slow down service for all of our clients.
Important: If your regional processor requires custom backend development to function, that's not something WebEaze handles. You'll need a dedicated developer for that piece. We're happy to continue building and managing the rest of your site while you handle that separately.

If you know your processor ahead of time, tell us before the project kicks off so we can confirm whether a supported integration path exists.

What if my store needs something more specific?

If your store requires custom payment logic, like split payments, subscription billing, international currencies, or specific gateway requirements, that counts as custom development and may carry additional project cost beyond the standard ecommerce fee.

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