The right payment mix depends on where and how you sell.
Quick answer. Use the platform’s built-in payment for live-selling (Whatnot handles it automatically), Stripe and often PayPal for your website and one-off sales, and GoCardless for recurring billing. Turn on the native Xero integrations so payments reconcile themselves and fees are captured automatically.
How you collect payment shapes your fees, your cash flow and your admin. Most card businesses use more than one method, matched to the channel. Here are the main options and how they compare.
On live platforms like Whatnot, payment is built in — the buyer pays through the platform and you receive a net payout, so you don’t choose a gateway at all there. For your own website and direct invoicing, Stripe and GoCardless are the two workhorses, and PayPal remains widely expected by buyers. The table below sets out the practical differences (fees are UK, correct at the time of writing and worth re-checking).
|
Method |
Typical UK fees | Xero integration | Best for |
|
Stripe |
~1.5% + 20p UK cards; higher for international cards. No monthly or setup fee. | Yes — native. Payments mark invoices paid; fees posted; payouts every ~2 working days. |
Website and one-off card payments; fast, familiar checkout. |
|
GoCardless |
~1% + 20p, capped at £4 (domestic); international 2% + 20p. No monthly/setup fee on standard. | Yes — native. Auto-reconciles to invoices; fee posted as an expense. |
Recurring / subscription billing and higher-value invoices (bank-to-bank, not cards). |
|
Whatnot (in-platform) |
Commission ~4–8% + payment processing (~2.9% + $0.30). Set by the platform. | No direct Xero link today; reconciled via bank feed + platform statements. |
Live-selling — it’s automatic and buyers expect it. |
| PayPal | Roughly 2–3% + fixed fee depending on transaction type. | Yes — can attach to Xero invoices. |
Buyer trust and marketplace/off-platform sales. |
Choosing your mix
Use the platform’s built-in payment where you’re live-selling; add Stripe (and often PayPal) for your website and ad-hoc sales; and consider GoCardless if you bill anything on a recurring basis. Wherever a native Xero integration exists, turn it on — it means payments reconcile themselves and the fees are captured automatically, which is a real time-saver at volume.
