Establishing a U.S. LLC provides a gateway to international business. The challenge arises when you need to receive payments from clients across the globe.
Whether you sell on Shopify, run an Amazon FBA store, offer SaaS subscriptions, or freelance, an international payment processor is crucial to your business.
The ideal payment processor for U.S. LLCs facilitates receiving payments in multiple currencies, performs automatic fraud prevention, integrates with Amazon, eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more, and handles multi-currency payment acceptance, automatic fraud prevention, integration with Amazon, eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more, as well currency conversion.
Let’s explore the Top 10 International Payment Processors for US LLCs owners, focusing on non-U.S. residents looking to scale internationally.
1. Stripe
Due to its payment flexibility and scalability, stripe is one of the most reputable names in online payments. Startups and rapidly expanding businesses prefer Stripe.
Coverage & Currencies: Stripe facilitates more than 50 payment methods, including credit card and debit card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and in some regions, buy now pay later services. Stripe supports over 135 currencies.
Pricing: Standard fees begin at $2.9% plus $0.30 for each transaction within the U.S. Stripe incurs an additional 1% charge for international cards. Furthermore, an additional 1% will be charged if currency conversion is needed.
Strengths: Stripe’s most notable advantage is the payment flows, subscriptions, marketplace integration, and managed payments that can be done with split payments for several vendors because of the API. This is in addition to Stripe Radar, which is an advanced system for fraud detection that is included.
Limitations: Stripe is not offered in every country. Entrepreneurs outside the US typically require a US based LLC and bank account in order to be approved.
Best For: SaaS focused tech companies, subscription based platforms, and e-commerce stores, and tech driven companies that need customization.
💡 Example: An Indian entrepreneur uses Bizstartz to create a U.S. LLC, opens a Stripe account and then connects it to Shopify. This allows them to seamlessly sell to US clients, while Stripe auto converts payments into USD and deposits them into their US bank account.
2. PayPal
PayPal is a household name and highly regarded as one of the most reliable payment processors in the world. It has over 400 million users, which is a testament to the security that it offers and it can boosts a checkout conversion rate.
Coverage & Currencies: Over 200 countries are serviced, and from these countries, payments in over 25 currencies is supported.
Pricing: There are charges of 2.9% + 0.30 for domestic transactions. International transactions incur an additional 1.5% fee, and approximately 2.5% for currency conversion.
Strengths: Easy setup, broad adoption, and smooth connections to eBay, Amazon, and Shopify. PayPal also provides buyer and seller protection, which fosters trust between you and your customers.
Limitations: Increased costs for international transactions, potential account restrictions, and account freezes due to unusual activity.
Best For: Freelancers and small online stores. Anyone looking for instant trust and recognition at checkout from users across the globe.
💡Example: A freelancer from Nepal with a US LLC can invoice US clients through PayPal. Freelancers receive payment through PayPal, and funds are converted to USD and can be easily transferred to a US bank account.
3. Square
Besides its prominent reputation for innovative point-of-sale systems in the US, Square has also developed a strong online payment system.
Coverage & Currencies: Square has a limited operating scope, only in US, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland, France, and Spain.
Pricing: For online payments, 2.9% + 0.30. For keyed in card payments, pricing shifts to 3.5% + 0.15.
Strengths: Offers a comprehensive ecosystem that includes a POS system, online store, invoice management, payroll, and inventory management. Ideal for businesses with physical and online locations.
Limitations: Geographically limited. Businesses that target markets outside of these areas may find Square unsuitable.
Best For: Restaurants, cafés, retail, and service businesses. Also, U.S. LLCs intending to operate in-person locations in the U.S.
💡 Example: Pakistan-based clothing brand owner creates a U.S. LLC and sells through Shopify. While attending trade fairs in the U.S., they use Square POS for in-person card payment transactions.
4. Worldpay (FIS)
Worldpay is one of the oldest and largest payment processors, trusted by enterprises worldwide. It is particularly well-known for high-volume, cross-border payment processing.
Coverage & Currencies: Worldpay operates in 146 countries, supporting 135 currencies and a wide array of local payment methods.
Pricing: Worldpay offers tailored pricing based on industry, sales, and transaction volumes.
Strengths: Worldpay offers a robust infrastructure with industry leading fraud and compliance solutions and effortlessly handles large-scale international transactions.
Limitations: Onboarding can be a lengthy process, and the service is best for medium and large businesses.
Best For: International and cross-border e-commerce, high-volume merchants, and global enterprises.
💡 Example: A USA based LLC managing a dropshipping business that sells in North America, Europe and Asia can use Worldpay to accept and process payments in different currencies without any hassle.
5. Adyen
Adyen processes payments for large companies like Uber, Spotify, and Microsoft. It focuses on businesses looking to expand globally but would still like to offer region-specific payment options.
Coverage & Currencies: Adyen has a wide scope covering over 150 countries and pays in more than 200 currencies. It also supports local payment methods like iDEAL from Netherlands and Boleto from Brazil.
Pricing: Adyen charges a base fee and a payment processing fee. It varies based on the payment method. Some payment methods charge a flat fee of 0.13 then add on processing fee of 2-3%.
Strengths: DCC, real time reporting, unified commerce, and other payment methods combined with Betfair.
Limitations: Businesses that lack a robust application and approval process will struggle with Adyen.
Best For: It would be most beneficial to enterprises, international fast growing companies and marketplaces.
💡 Example: Adyen is best suited for US LLCs selling software throughout the world where they offer payments in Euros, Asia and Latin America and paying in local methods instead of solely on credit cards.
6. 2Checkout (Verifone)
Verifone has taken over 2Checkout and they continue to be very welcoming to global users, especially for digital merchants.
Coverage & Currencies: 2Checkout supports over 200 countries, over 100 currencies and 45 payment methods.
Pricing:
– 2Sell Plan: 3.5% + $0.35
– 2Subscribe Plan: 4.5% + $0.45
– 2Monetize Plan: 6% + $0.60
Strengths: These are ideal for businesses that sell digital products, software, online courses, or any other service with recurring payments. These are good for managing global taxes and VAT compliance, too.
Limitations: Costs are higher than those of competitors, Stripe and PayPal.
Best For: Companies providing Software as a Service (SaaS), digital courses, or international service providers.
💡 Example: Online education businesses with a U.S. LLC can use 2Checkout for global course sales, subscription management, and VAT compliance.
7. Braintree
Braintree is a subsidiary of PayPal. It offers more comprehensive solutions, providing more flexibility than PayPal alone.
Coverage & Currencies: 45+ countries and over 130 currencies.
Pricing: 2.59% + $0.49 with an additional 1% for international cards.
Strengths: PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay acceptance, to name a few. Strong mobile applications and subscription billing for other service providers.
Limitations: Paypal-like approval processes.
Best For: Tech-oriented businesses, marketplaces, or mobile-first startups.
💡 Example: U.S. LLC mobile app subscription businesses use Braintree for global payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay.
8. Checkout.com
Checkout.com is a modern payment processor for global enterprises.
Coverage & Currencies: Checkout.com processes payments in over 45 countries and supports 150+ Currencies.
Pricing: Checkout.com processes payments with Interchange++. Pricing transparency is high, but differs by business type.
Strengths: Checkout.com offers fraud prevention, real-time data analytics, and a modern API-based infrastructure.
Limitations: Companies with fluctuating sales volume may not find it effective.
Best For: Mid market businesses with significant sales volume and a need for global reach.
💡 Example: Checkout.com helps a high volume Shopify store LLC in the US save on cross-border fees through real-time analytics.
9. Payoneer
Freelancers, marketplaces, and businesses that operate globally often use Payoneer.
Coverage & Currencies: Has a presence in over 200 countries and offers virtual receiving accounts in USD, EUR, GBP, and others.
Pricing: Payoneer has a fee structure in place wherein credit card payments attract a fee of approximately 3% and transactions between Payoneer accounts attract a lower fee.
Strengths: Receiving payments from U.S. companies like Amazon, eBay, Upwork, and Fiverr is seamless. Offers working capital loans for e-commerce sellers.
Limitations: Advanced point of sale systems and in-store payments are not covered.
Best For: Service providers, freelancers, and e-commerce sellers.
💡 Example: A seller on Amazon FBA based in Nepal sets up a US LLC and uses Payoneer to access US virtual accounts for payments, bypassing expensive international transfer costs.
10. Elavon
For decades, Elavon has been a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, and has ventured into providing vertical market payment systems.
Coverage & Currencies: Available in over 30 countries and supports 135 currencies.
Pricing: Set price based on industry and business type.
Strengths: Offers DCC, multilingual customer support, and tailored for hospitality, healthcare, and retail businesses.
Limitations: Less friendly to startups.
Best For: Global expansion focused retail, hospitality, and healthcare businesses.
💡 Example: An Elavon hotel management system LLC based in the U.S. region allows guests to pay in different currencies which are automatically converted.
Key Takeaways for U.S. LLC Owners
Stripe & PayPal → Ideal for freelancers, startups, or online shops.
Square → Best for physically online hybrids.
Worldpay, Adyen, Checkout.com → Best for global high volume enterprises.
2Checkout and Braintree → Best for SaaS, mobile apps, and other digital service providers.
Payoneer → Best for freelancers and those selling on Amazon and eBay.
Elavon → Best for reservation and industry specific businesses such as hotels, and healthcare.
👉 You can form a U.S. LLC and get a PayPal or Stripe business account in under one hour. Even with account restrictions from your country, Bizstartz helps you bypass these hurdles.
How Bizstartz Helps You Set Up a U.S. LLC and Get Payment Processors
Having a PayPal or Stripe payment processor account can be complicated for business owners based outside the U.S. that do not hold a U.S. LLC, but with a U.S. LLC, these payment processors can be accessed easily.
Obtaining payment processors can be quite tedious for a non-U.S. resident. These payment processors have strict requirements like a business entity, a registered EIN (Employer Identification Number), and a business bank account in the U.S. to even consider an application. Without these, your application might get denied.
This is where we come into play with Bizstartz. We assist founders with all steps of setting up a business in the United States:
- U.S. LLC Formation: We assist in registering the company in the state of choice by the client.
- EIN Application: We help in acquiring taxation identification number with the IRS which is a must for opening the required accounts.
- U.S. Business Bank Account: Bizstartz assists in opening a bank account remotely for the clients even if they do not reside in the United States.
- Payment Processor Setup: After the LLC and the bank account is active, we help in the guides for setting up stripe, paypal, payoneer and other payment processors which are best for the clients business.
- Ongoing Support: Bizstartz offers ongoing support for BOI filing and bookkeeping, ensuring that the client’s U.S. LLC is compliant.
👉 You not only get a company with us, also get a complete operational business in the US that supports receiving global payments with no inconvenience.
