Anyone trying to run a business in Europe might need to find a European payment gateway. Merchant accounts are essential for many online businesses who want to make money online.

What is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is a type of site which processes your payments for you. These accounts are normally merchant accounts which will receive money from your customers. Once a month the money will be transferred to your bank account where it can be saved, spent or invested.

Paypal
[URL="http://www.paypal.com"]www.paypal.com[/URL]

One of the easiest options to accept payments in Europe is PayPal. PayPal isn't strictly a merchant account however it can be used to process payments. Paypal is a worldwide brand which is recognized all around the world. Paypal is extremely popular in Europe and can be used to accept payments in all of the currencies including Euros and Pounds.

WorldPay
[URL="http://www.worldpay.com"]www.worldpay.com[/URL]

WorldPay is another well known payment processing company. They recently acquired Bibit which was a popular European merchant account. Worldpay is an affordable way to receive money. However you will need to specify the currencies that you want to accept, each one will cost an additional setup fee.

BarclayCard Merchant Services (aka ePDQ)
[URL="http://www.epdq.co.uk/"]www.epdq.co.uk[/URL]

BarclayCard is another name that people trust. This can be used to accept payments from all over Europe and the world.

PAY@db - Deutsche Bank
[URL="http://www.deutsche-bank.de/"]www.deutsche-bank.de[/URL]

PAY@db is a well known brand in Germany which can be used by European companies.

All of the fees charged by the different merchant accounts will generally depend on the number of currencies you want to accept and where your company is based. Spend time researching the different payment options so that you can save money and make sure your business is as profitable as possible.