Choosing the right payment provider is a critical decision for any merchant. It impacts how quickly you get paid, how much you spend on transaction fees, and how smoothly customers complete their purchases.
GoCardless is a well-known player in this space, particularly for businesses that rely on recurring or bank-to-bank payments. However, it is not the best fit for everyone — especially if you need wider coverage, more ecommerce support, or additional payment options like cards and wallets.
In this guide, we’ll look at some of the best GoCardless alternatives available to merchants in 2025, compare their strengths and weaknesses, and help you identify which provider might be the right choice for your business.
Why Look Beyond GoCardless?
GoCardless has carved out a strong position in open banking and recurring payments, but its limitations are clear. Businesses often seek alternatives because:
- Limited global coverage: GoCardless is heavily focused on the UK and European markets, which may not suit merchants with customers in North America, Asia, or beyond.
- Narrow payment options: It primarily supports bank-to-bank payments, with limited support for cards or digital wallets.
- Integration constraints: Some ecommerce platforms and plugins are not fully supported, creating extra work for developers or operations teams.
- Mixed customer support reviews: Merchants report frustration with email-based support and slow response times.
If your business needs a more flexible, scalable, or globally connected solution, exploring alternatives is the logical next step.
Top GoCardless Alternatives in 2025
There are many payment providers on the market, but four stand out as strong GoCardless competitors: Plaid, Stripe, Adyen, and TrueLayer. Each offers something different, from global reach to ecommerce-friendly integrations or specialised open banking services.
1. Plaid
Plaid is a US-based open banking provider best known for its data services. While it does support payment initiation, its strength lies in helping businesses access and verify customer financial data.
Key features of Plaid:
- Open banking data: transaction history, balance checks, identity verification, and asset snapshots.
- Payments: supports variable recurring payments in select countries.
- Compliance tools: AML and PEP screening for financial risk management.
Where Plaid works best: Plaid is strongest for companies that need financial insights and data services alongside payments. For example, fintech apps, lenders, and personal finance platforms often rely on Plaid to streamline onboarding and reduce fraud.
Limitations: Plaid does not provide a full payment gateway with checkout pages or ecommerce plugins. For merchants focused on online sales and smooth customer checkout, it may not cover all requirements.
2. Stripe
Stripe has become one of the world’s most widely adopted payment platforms, with coverage across Europe, the US, Asia, and beyond. Known for its developer-friendly APIs, Stripe also offers plug-and-play solutions like Stripe Checkout for merchants who don’t have in-house technical teams.
What Stripe offers:
- Global reach: supports payments in 46 countries and 135+ currencies.
- Multiple payment methods: cards, wallets, bank transfers, and alternative payment methods (APMs).
- Tools for growth: billing, subscription management, accounting integrations, fraud prevention, and marketplace payouts.
- Ecommerce integration: direct support for platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.
Best for: Merchants seeking international coverage and flexibility. Stripe is ideal for scaling ecommerce businesses, SaaS providers, and marketplaces.
Watch out for:
- Higher fees compared to some rivals, particularly for international and cross-border transactions.
- Complexity — smaller businesses sometimes find Stripe overwhelming, especially when they don’t need all its advanced features.
3. Adyen
Based in the Netherlands, Adyen is a heavyweight in the European payments space. It acts not just as a gateway but also as an acquirer, which can improve acceptance rates and reduce intermediaries in the payment chain.
Adyen’s strengths:
- Local acquiring: improves conversion rates across European markets.
- Unified commerce: one platform for both online and in-store payments.
- Wide method support: from cards and wallets to local APMs like iDEAL, Klarna, and Sofort.
- Fraud control: RevenueProtect system for advanced risk management.
Who it suits: Adyen is ideal for large enterprises, omnichannel retailers, and marketplaces with complex payment needs. It’s particularly strong for businesses operating across multiple European regions.
Challenges: Adyen can be complex to set up and often requires higher transaction volumes or minimum turnover to unlock its best pricing. For SMEs or startups, this may be a barrier.
4. TrueLayer
TrueLayer is a UK-based provider focused entirely on open banking. It offers streamlined payment initiation and data services through APIs, and it was the first provider to launch non-sweeping Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) in the UK.
What TrueLayer brings to the table:
- Payment initiation services across 21 European countries.
- Payouts and data access features.
- Specialisation in open banking innovation, such as VRPs.
Who benefits most: Businesses that want to stay at the cutting edge of open banking technology will find TrueLayer compelling, especially for UK and European markets.
Limitations: TrueLayer does not offer a full payment gateway with no-code checkout options or ecommerce plugins. Its focus is narrow compared to global players, which may limit suitability for merchants needing broader payment support.
How to Choose the Right GoCardless Alternative
With so many options, how should a business decide which provider to use? The right choice depends on your specific priorities.
If your focus is data and compliance: Plaid stands out with its open banking insights and risk tools.
If you want global reach and flexibility: Stripe is the strongest option, offering multiple payment methods and international coverage.
If you need enterprise-level control: Adyen provides local acquiring, omnichannel solutions, and advanced fraud protection.
If you want pure open banking innovation: TrueLayer delivers cutting-edge recurring payments and API-driven services.
When evaluating providers, consider:
- Where your customers are located (regional coverage and local methods).
- Which payment types they prefer (cards, wallets, bank transfers).
- Your business model (subscription, ecommerce, marketplace, SaaS).
- Integration requirements (plug-ins vs custom API builds).
- Costs (not just transaction fees, but also FX, chargebacks, and hidden costs).
Future of Payment Gateways
The payments landscape is shifting quickly. Cards are losing ground as local methods and Open Banking rise in popularity. By 2025, cards are expected to account for just one-third of ecommerce payments in Europe. For merchants, this means greater choice — but also greater responsibility in picking a payment partner that can evolve with these changes.
Providers that can offer reliability, low fees, strong integrations, and customer trust will be the winners in the long run.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
GoCardless is a solid option for recurring payments in Europe, but it won’t meet every business need. If you want stronger ecommerce integrations, broader payment support, or global reach, there are better options available.
- Plaid: best for data-driven businesses.
- Stripe: best for global coverage and flexibility.
- Adyen: best for large enterprises and omnichannel retailers.
- TrueLayer: best for open banking specialists.
The key is to map your business goals against each provider’s strengths. By choosing the right among all GoCardless alternatives, you can streamline payments, reduce costs, and create a smoother experience for your customers.
