Connecting a payment processor

Connect Squarespace Payments, or a third-party processor, to start accepting payments.

Last updated January 22, 2025

To activate Squarespace Commerce and start accepting payments, connect Squarespace Payments, or a third-party payment processor, in payment settings. After you connect a payment processing solution, customers will find its payment options at checkout.

You can connect a payment processing solution, like Squarespace Payments, or a third-party processor such as Stripe, PayPal, or Square. Choosing which processor to use for your online store depends on a few factors, like where you're located and which payment methods you want to offer.

You can also use Square as a payment processor for Squarespace point of sale in the Squarespace app, or enable buy-now-pay-later services like Afterpay or Clearpay, for customers. This guide covers these options and tips on selecting the best one for your needs.

Payment processors in Commerce are separate from any other payment processors you have connected to Squarespace, such as in Scheduling.

Note

Upgrade to paid service to accept payments on your site.

Get started in payments settings

Open the Store payments panel.

Squarespace Payments

When you connect Squarespace Payments, you can accept the following payment methods:

You can use Squarespace Payments as a payment solution for orders placed in your store and through digital product blocks. Squarespace Payments isn’t currently available for Squarespace point of sale transactions or Acuity Scheduling.

Note

Squarespace Payments is available to merchants in the US, UK, and CA. We'll be rolling out Squarespace Payments to more countries soon.

Stripe and PayPal

Connect both Stripe and PayPal to support a wide range of payment methods.

PayPal is popular internationally, while Stripe lets customers pay with debit and credit cards without creating or logging into an account. By offering both, you support customers checking out with their preferred payment method.

stripe-and-paypal.png

stripe-and-paypal.png

Note

If you’re using Squarespace Payments, you can't connect Stripe to your Squarespace Commerce.

What happens to my Stripe account after I connect Squarespace Payments?

If you currently have Stripe, connecting Squarespace Payments will replace Stripe as your payment processing solution for your site.

Your Stripe account will remain active, and will continue to process payments for existing subscriptions. Transactions that are processed through Stripe won’t appear in your Squarespace Payments dashboard. To learn more about Squarespace Payments, visit Getting started with Squarespace Payments.

Note

It's not possible to have both Squarespace Payments and Stripe connected to your Squarespace Commerce.

Stripe

When you connect Stripe, customers can pay with their debit and credit card without creating or logging into an account. With Stripe, you can accept payments from these cards:

  • Visa (credit and debit cards)
  • MasterCard (credit and debit cards)
  • American Express
  • Discover (US merchants only)

You can also accept Apple Pay from customers checking out on a supported device.

After connecting your Stripe account, you'll receive a confirmation email from Squarespace. The payment section of your checkout page will look like this:

stripe-only.png

stripe-only.png

Stripe on trial sites

You can connect a Stripe account to a trial site and run orders in test mode. It isn't possible to process payments on a trial site.

PayPal

Connecting a PayPal Business account lets customers check out using their PayPal or Venmo accounts.

After connecting your store to a PayPal account, you'll receive a confirmation email from Squarespace.

Customers can click Continue with PayPal to log into their PayPal account and complete the purchase. Customers on mobile devices will also see the option to check out with Venmo.

Stripe and Paypal International support

To connect Stripe and PayPal, your country must be supported by both payment processors. For a list of supported countries, visit Stripe’s and PayPal’s documentation.

The available currencies depend on the location of the bank account connected to your Stripe account. It's not possible to select more than one currency. To learn more, visit Supported countries and currencies for Squarespace Commerce.

PayPal’s broad international support makes PayPal a great option for countries where Stripe isn’t yet available or credit card use is less common.

Visit PayPal’s Global page to see a list of their supported countries. You can use any of our supported currencies with your PayPal Business account. To learn more, visit Supported countries and currencies for Squarespace Commerce.

Square

With Squarespace point of sale, you can use Square to process in-person cash and card payments that integrate with your online store. You’ll set up this integration in the Squarespace app.

Keep in mind:

  • You can only connect Square if you're on the Basic, Core, Plus, Advanced, Commerce Basic, or Commerce Advanced plans, or the most recent Legacy Commerce plan.
  • Square can only be used for in-person payments via Squarespace point of sale. It can't be used for checkout on a computer.
  • Square can only be used to process payments in the United States.

What's the difference between Squarespace and Square?

Squarespace and Square sound alike, but are different companies. We’re Squarespace, and we sell websites, domains, and other tools to help you run your online store. Square makes credit card readers that connect to your smartphone, and other point of sale devices for accepting payments in person. You might have seen Square’s card readers in cafes and shops in your neighborhood.

To contact Square, visit their help site.

Afterpay or Clearpay

With Afterpay and Clearpay, customers can pay for products in installments with zero percent interest. You can enable Afterpay or Clearpay as a payment method if you've connected Stripe or Squarespace Payments as a payment solution, and if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Processing fees

Squarespace Payments, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Afterpay, and Clearpay all charge processing fees.

Squarespace Payments

To learn more about fees associated with Squarespace Payments, visit Transaction fees and payment processing fees.

Stripe

Stripe’s processing fees vary by country. Visit Stripe’s documentation for details:

If you don’t see your country listed above, contact Stripe for help.

PayPal

Visit PayPal’s documentation for details.

Square

Square’s processing fees vary based on how the payment is made. Visit Square’s documentation to learn more.

Afterpay and Clearpay

Afterpay's processing fee is 6% of the order total, plus $0.30. Clearpay's processing fee is 6% of the order total, plus £0.30. Both include Stripe’s processing fee.

More help

In addition to our guides and video tutorials, we offer other resources to help you get the most out of your Squarespace online store:

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  • Get help from our community

  • Get help from our community on advanced customizations.

  • Hire a Squarespace Expert

  • Stand out online with the help of an experienced designer or developer.

Connecting a payment processor