How to accept payments in an online shop from scratch

The list is shorter than you might think, but you need every item on it – ideally in this order.

• Registered business activity. To trade regularly, you need to register your activity – many people start out as self-employed. Your payment gateway provider will ask for your registration details. The service itself is usually switched on in self-service: you submit your shop for approval and accept the terms. Some providers leave it at that, while others also ask you to sign a separate agreement.
• Somewhere to sell online. This can be your own website, a marketplace, or even a social media account. Your choice decides how much technical work you will face later.
• A payment gateway. It connects your shop to banks and card schemes, so customers can pay without leaving your site. It is run by a separate company, not by your website platform: WooCommerce or Shopify only connect your shop to the provider.
• Shop terms and conditions and a privacy policy. Customers must be able to see who is selling, on what terms, and how to return an item. The law also requires other information, including the 14-day right of withdrawal and its exceptions, the returns procedure, and the seller's details. Providers check for these pages when they review your shop and will not activate the payment gateway without them.

When a customer clicks ‘Pay’, a payment gateway provider sits between the two of you – a company that links your shop to banks and card schemes. It confirms the payment and lets you know that the order is paid and ready to ship. Where the money itself goes depends on the provider. Some hold it in their own account and pay it out to you as often as you choose. Others pass it on straight away, so the amount appears in your account the moment the customer pays.

A customer can pay in one of two ways:

• The first is through their bank. Your shop initiates the payment, so the customer does not have to enter any recipient details. The money moves like an ordinary bank transfer: it can only be returned with the recipient's consent.

• The second is by card. The payment goes through the Visa and Mastercard schemes, which have their own rules on how a customer can get their money back: the customer contacts their bank, and the bank disputes the payment.

This difference matters to you as the seller, too: a card payment can be disputed through the bank, while a bank payment cannot. It determines when the money reaches you and how refunds work.

You do not need every payment method at the start – two are enough: bank and card payments. Add others later, based on how your customers actually pay.

Switch these on straight away:

• Banks in the countries where your customers pay from. If you are just starting out and not sure yet, begin with Lithuanian banks and add other countries once you see where your orders come from. Otherwise, some customers will not find their bank at checkout and will leave.
• Cards. You need them for more than just foreign sales. On mobile, customers often use Apple Pay or Google Pay and confirm with biometrics, such as a fingerprint or face recognition, without typing in any card details. Both run on cards, so they are usually switched on together with card payments.

Leave these for later:

• Buy now, pay later. Worth revisiting once you sell more expensive products.
• Cash payments. Only relevant if your customers ask for them.
• Local payment methods popular in other countries. Every country has its own, and they only matter once you actually sell there. Each extra button at checkout slows the customer down.

An online payment gateway does not cover in-person sales – the same agreement will not apply at a market stall or in a salon. To sell in person, you need two separate things:

• a cash register, which records each sale and sends the receipt data to the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI);
• a card terminal.

The cash register can run on a phone, a tablet, or in a browser, but in a shop a dedicated device is more convenient. A terminal can be bought or rented. At a market or event, a terminal that works on its own, without a phone or computer, comes in handy. Besides cards, customers can also pay by QR code.

The same cash register can be connected to your online shop: the customer orders online and pays when they pick up the order, which is already waiting at the cash register.

With Checkout Modern, bank payments in the Baltic states are free of charge – you only pay a commission on card transactions, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. This version of Checkout is for businesses registered in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, while the older one keeps working for existing clients.

If you sell through Shopify, a 0.50% Shopify fee on the basket total is added on top of the Paysera rate. You can find the pricing on the Checkout Modern page.

Checkout Modern is free to switch on, and payments reach your Paysera account almost immediately. Card payments come with a hold of a few days and a small reserve that is later returned to you, while money from bank payments is yours to use straight away.

If you also sell in person, the Paysera POS virtual cash register can be connected to your online shop: WooCommerce has a ready-made plugin, and other platforms connect through the API. Paid orders turn into invoices in the cash register, so your online and in-person bookkeeping stays in one place. Another option is to let the customer order online and pay when they pick up the order. There is no ready-made plugin for that – the setup is built on the Paysera POS API documentation.

These mistakes cost you quietly: customers do not write to tell you they could not find a payment method that suits them. They simply leave.

• Offering only one payment method. Every customer has their own habits: one pays through their bank, another by card on their phone. With only one method, some baskets are abandoned, and your reports will not show why.
• Skipping a checkout test. Distrust of a page that asks for card details is one of the most common reasons people abandon a purchase. Usually it is not about security but about how the page looks: an unexpected redirect to an unfamiliar page, a broken layout, or a payment form without clear security signals such as Visa and Mastercard logos or automatic card number formatting. Also check the name the payment will appear under on the customer's bank statement: if it does not match your shop name, some people will not recognise the payment and will dispute it. Place an order in your own shop and go through the whole journey as a customer would.
• Leaving refunds unplanned. Your website has to show return rules before the payment gateway can be switched on, so customers can see them from day one. For sellers, though, refunds often remain unclear: where to start one in self-service, how long the money takes to reach the customer, and whether there is a fee. Check this before your first refund – customers expect an answer the same day.

Can I just put my account number on the website and ask customers to transfer the money?

Technically, yes, but in practice it costs more than it seems. Paying an unfamiliar recipient looks suspicious, bank details get mistyped, and your shop gets no automatic notification, so you have to match each payment to an order by hand. A payment gateway automates all of this.

Do I need a developer?

Not necessarily. WooCommerce, PrestaShop, OpenCart, and Shopify have ready-made plugins: you install one and enter your credentials. A custom-built website will need a developer, as the integration goes through the provider's API. If you sell on social media, a payment link is enough.

When will I get paid for my first sale?

Some providers pay out in cycles, while others send the money straight away, and a reserve is common for card payments. With Checkout Modern, money from bank payments is yours to use almost immediately, while card payments come with a hold of a few days and a small reserve that is later returned to you.

Can I accept payments without a website?

Yes. You can send the customer a payment link – they pay in exactly the same way, just without a website. This is handy while you only have a few products, and later you can connect the same service to your website.

Do I need a business account?

It depends on your legal form. If you are self-employed or hold a business certificate, you do not need a business account – the money can go into a personal account. If you run a company, the account must be in the company's name. You can open a business account with Paysera.

How soon can I accept my first payment?

With a ready-made plugin, integration is quick, while a custom website takes longer. Submit your shop for approval ahead of your planned first sale to avoid a last-minute rush.

Accepting payments online is not a one-button job but a combination of several things: registered business activity, somewhere to sell, a payment gateway, and shop terms with a privacy policy.

The order matters more than the choice. Start with what can hold you up: registering your activity and the pages the law requires. Choose payment methods based on how your customers pay – banks in their country plus cards with Apple Pay and Google Pay are enough to begin with. When comparing prices, look beyond the headline rate: reserves, refund fees, and dispute fees determine the real cost of a transaction.

A sale does not happen when you have every payment method. It happens when your first customer clicks ‘Pay’ and completes the payment without a hitch. Sort out what the law requires, switch on your payment gateway, and place a test order yourself – that way, you see the shop as your customers do.