Comparing WePay Vs. Stripe for Payment Processing

Synopsis of WePay vs Stripe 

Stripe offers a large selection of online and point-of-sale payment solutions, while WePay’s products and services are more limited in scope and mostly targeted towards online payments; although the company has recently rolled out POS support. WePay is slightly cheaper for card-not-present transactions; its fee is 2.9% + $0.25, while Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30. 

Who is WePay?

WePay is slightly older than its rival here, coming into development in 2008. It was initially developed for peer-to-peer payments via a mobile app. In 2017, it was acquired by JPMorgan Chase. Today, the company provides same-day payouts to accounts held at the banking giant. 

WePay Memberships

WePay offers three subscription plans:

• Link is the entry-level package that links to Chase Integrated Payments. 
• Clear is WePay’s whitelabel software. 
• Core is designed for large businesses with high payment volume. 

Pros

WePay customers often use the payment processor for its whitelabel API, which creates an online checkout platform for Internet shoppers. This of course creates an alternative to PayPal and several other popular payment services. 

WePay offers several payment options for small businesses. These include:

• ACH payment processing: With WePay’s software, ecommerce shoppers can pay directly from their bank accounts, circumventing the need for any type of card. Moreover, these bank account transfers cost just 1% + $0.30.
• Debit card and credit card processing: For ease of use, digital shoppers who want to make a credit card payment or debit card payment at an online store can do so easily with WePay’s digital tools, creating an alternative to companies like Shopify. 
• Online crowdfunding: WePay is a popular choice with groups raising money on crowdfunding sites. 
• Mobile payments: These can be made via the web using Apple Pay or WePay’s Payment Request API. Small businesses that are accepting payments in physical stores can use terminals and mobile card readers that integrate with WePay. The devices are EMV certified and function with both iOS and Android devices. They also provide a method of contactless payments, which are a must in 2020.

Businesses that adopt WePay as a payment solution will receive integrated reporting and instant onboarding. Merchant accounts that have Chase Bank accounts qualify for same-day deposits.

WePay offers a free trial through its website at wepay.com, and there are never any monthly fees for its payment solutions. 

Cons

WePay struggles a bit in the customer support arena. Somewhat surprisingly, it doesn’t offer any phone support. Its website does have a ticket support system, and the company promises a one-business-day turnaround. 

WePay only publishes pricing for the Link subscription plan. Clients who want to sign up for Clear or Core will need to contact WePay to inquire about pricing. Furthermore, the published rate of 2.9% + $0.25 contradicts the rate listed in WePay’s terms of service (2.9% + $0.30).

Who is Stripe?

Founded in 2010 in Silicon Valley, Stripe has been building digital payment systems for less time than WePay; nevertheless, it offers several high-quality funds transfer tools at low cost. As we shall see, some of these payment methods are more than just digital.  

​Pros 

Small business owners who choose Stripe will be able to take advantage of the following benefits:

• Card creation: Although Stripe specializes in digital payment solutions, one really unique service it offers is the ability to create physical payment cards for a business. Stripe customers can design their own cards through Stripe.com and receive their custom-made cards within 2 business days. 
• Virtual cards: On top of its physical card service, Stripe also offers virtual card numbers. These can be loaded into a digital wallet (physical cards can be loaded, too) for safe payments online or at physical stores that accept smartphone payments. 
• SaaS: Stripe offers businesses of all sizes cloud-based tools to manage billing and invoicing, accept global payments (more than 135 currencies are available), monitor and rectify failed payments using machine learning, and much more. 
• Payment gateway: Stripe has an API that online stores can use to process payments. This creates an alternative to using tools from Amazon, Braintree, or Google. 
• Point-of-sale features: Stripe Terminal is the company’s suite of tools that help small businesses complete transactions in physical stores. 
• Financing: Businesses that need an injection of cash can use Stripe Capital, the company’s business loan program. 

Cons

Despite the company’s many strengths, Stripe does have these disadvantages:

• Limited number of countries supported: Although Stripe is compatible with many currencies, it only permits accounts to be opened in 43 countries. 
• Ease of use: Some of Stripe’s digital tools aren’t the most user-friendly. 
• Frozen accounts: Stripe has a history of freezing merchant accounts. 

Quick Comparison

	Stripe	WePay
Transfer Type	Online and POS	Online and POS
Discount	No	Free trial
Mass Payments	Yes	No
Speed	2-3 days	As fast as same day
Mobile App	Yes	No
Virtual cards	Yes	No
Physical cards	Yes	No
International Payments	Yes	Yes

The Global Payments Alternative

WePay and Stripe don’t perform spectacularly in the realm of global payments, and that’s where Tipalti comes in. The digital transfer specialist offers payment solutions for 196 countries across 120 currencies through a variety of methods, including ACH, PayPal, echeck, and wire transfer. 

To reduce errors in these transfers, the company uses more than 26,000 banking rules to prevent payment errors. Businesses that have to send out large numbers of payments simultaneously will also benefit from Tipalti’s mass payment tools. 

Other advantages Tipalti offers include:

• PO Matching: The company’s digital platform provides 2-way and 3-way matching. It can also process hard-copy invoices with optical character recognition, among many other great features. 
• Tipalti Pi™: This is the company’s award-winning artificial intelligence that reduces process risks and errors. 
• Tipalti Detect℠: The company’s software tracks many pieces of information to look for patterns that indicate fraud. Because the system is completely automated, there is nothing for the user to do. 

Finding the Right Payment Tools for Your Business

Although there are many digital payment companies out there today, finding the right one for your business doesn’t have to be a burden. Know what tools you need ahead of time, do your homework online, and you’ll have the right partner for your enterprise in no time.