Last updated: April 2026
Choosing a payment processor is one of the technical decisions with the most direct effect on what an online store actually sells. A processor with slightly higher fees can still be the more profitable choice if it cuts cart abandonment, while one with a clumsy mobile checkout will lose customers before they ever confirm the order. This guide compares the five main payment processors operating in Romania - Netopia Payments, PayU, Stripe, euplatesc and the bank-owned alternatives - using only figures the providers publish themselves.
Where the Romanian payments market stands
Romanian eCommerce passed EUR 8.1 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach EUR 8.5 billion in 2026, based on aggregated reporting from MerchantPro, BusinessForum and Romania Insider. Online now accounts for roughly 11% of total retail in the country.
The mix of payment methods is shifting fast:
- Card payments: between 28.8% and 45.62% of transactions in 2025, depending on the source (Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026 and Mordor Intelligence)
- Cash on delivery: falling quickly - anywhere between 30% and 65% depending on the platform and the study, but the direction is unambiguous
- Buy Now, Pay Later: 8.2% of transactions (Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026), and rising
- Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Revolut Pay): growing quickly on the back of smartphone adoption
One technical requirement applies to every processor: PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication. EU Directive 2015/2366 requires strong authentication for online payments across the European Union, which in practice means 3D Secure 2 is mandatory for every online payment in the bloc.
Payment processors for Romanian online stores, side by side
| Processor | Fee | Main methods | 3DS2 | PCI DSS | eCommerce modules | Settlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netopia Payments | Percentage, quoted on request | Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, BNPL, instalments, SMS, payment link | Yes | Level 1 | OpenCart, Magento, PrestaShop, WordPress and 10 more | Next working day, with a NETOPIA Business Card |
| PayU Romania | On request | Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, open banking, BNPL, instalments | Yes | Level 1 | All major platforms, plus a documented API | On request |
| Stripe | 1.5% + RON 1.00 (EEA cards) / 2.5% + RON 1.00 (non-EEA) | Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link | Yes | Level 1 | Official integrations for the major platforms, excellent API | About 7 days for a new account, daily after that |
| euplatesc | From 1.2% per transaction, negotiable above RON 500,000 per month | Visa, Mastercard, BT instalments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay, bLink Pay QR | Yes | Yes | OpenCart, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Magento | On request |
| ING Pay / BT iPay and other bank solutions | On request | Varies by bank | Yes | Yes | Varies | On request |
A note on the figures: Stripe publishes its pricing on stripe.com/en-ro/pricing and euplatesc publishes its fees on euplatesc.ro. The other processors do not publish standard rates - they quote per merchant, based on volume and risk profile.
Netopia Payments
Netopia Payments is the oldest online payment processor in Romania, founded in 2003, fully Romanian-owned and with more than twenty years behind it. According to figures published on netopia-payments.com, the platform handles payments for 25,000 active merchants.
Available methods include Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, mobilPay Wallet, SMS payments, instalments, BNPL through its Oney and PayPo partnerships, payment links and recurring billing for subscriptions. The security certifications listed on the site are PCI DSS Level 1 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013, alongside 3D Secure.
Official eCommerce modules cover OpenCart, Magento, PrestaShop, WordPress and WooCommerce, Shopify, osCommerce, WHMCS and around ten other platforms. Settlement happens the next working day for merchants who hold a NETOPIA Business Card. The fee is a percentage, quoted per merchant according to volume and business profile.
PayU Romania
PayU Romania is part of the Prosus and Naspers group, which operates in more than 50 countries. Based on the information published on romania.payu.com, the platform supports Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, open banking, BNPL through PayLater and Twisto, and instalment payments.
PayU holds PCI DSS Level 1 certification and supports 3D Secure 2. The API is well documented and integrations exist for every major eCommerce platform. Fees and settlement terms are not public - they are set contractually, based on monthly volume and the risk category of the business.
Stripe
Stripe is the only major processor that publishes its standard rates openly. According to stripe.com/en-ro/pricing, the fees for Romania are:
- EEA cards: 1.5% + RON 1.00 per transaction
- Non-EEA cards: 2.5% + RON 1.00 per transaction
- Setup fee: none. Monthly fee: none.
Settlement takes roughly seven days for a new account and moves to daily afterwards. Stripe holds PCI DSS Level 1 and supports 3D Secure 2. Its API is widely regarded as one of the best documented in the industry, with SDKs for every mainstream programming language.
One caveat that matters in Romania: Stripe does not offer BNPL or interest-free instalments in this market. If either method matters to your customers, you will need a different processor or a separate integration alongside Stripe.
euplatesc
euplatesc is the payment arm of Banca Transilvania, one of the largest Romanian banks, and it publishes its fees directly on euplatesc.ro: from 1.2% per transaction, negotiable for monthly volumes above RON 500,000.
Supported methods include Visa, Mastercard, instalments through BT and partner banks, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Click to Pay and bLink Pay QR codes. Official eCommerce modules cover OpenCart, PrestaShop, WooCommerce and Magento, and both PCI DSS and 3D Secure are confirmed on the site.
What sets euplatesc apart from the independent processors is how tightly it sits inside the Banca Transilvania ecosystem. That is worth something if you already bank with BT and would rather have one point of contact for both banking and card processing.
Bank-owned solutions: ING Pay, BT iPay, Revolut Pay
Several banks offer their own card processing alongside the independent providers. They work differently: the terms are tied to your existing banking relationship, and they can be attractive if you are already a business customer of that bank.
Public information on these solutions is thin. Terms are agreed directly with the bank, based on your business profile and history with them. Worth a conversation if you already hold a business account there, less so otherwise.
PSD2 and SCA, in plain terms
The PSD2 directive (2015/2366/EU) requires Strong Customer Authentication for online payments across Europe. Every online payment has to be authenticated with at least two of three factors: something you know (a PIN or password), something you have (a phone or physical card), or something you are (biometrics).
In practice this is implemented through 3D Secure 2, the modern version of the authentication protocol. It is far less intrusive than the original 3DS, since in most cases the customer is no longer bounced to a separate page. Every processor in this guide supports it.
There are exemptions for low-risk transactions that can go through without extra authentication:
- Transactions under EUR 30, within cumulative limits
- Recurring payments of a fixed amount, such as subscriptions
- Merchants whose fraud rate sits below the EBA thresholds
- Merchant-initiated transactions
Your processor applies these exemptions automatically, so there is nothing to implement by hand. It is still worth understanding the mechanism if you plan to run subscriptions or recurring billing, because that is where the configuration matters.
How to choose, without the marketing
There is no single best processor. The right one depends on what you sell and to whom. These are the criteria worth weighing:
| Criterion | Why it matters | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Fee per transaction | Comes straight out of your margin | Work out the monthly cost at your expected volume |
| Payment methods offered | BNPL lifts average order value, instalments lower the price barrier | Confirm BNPL and instalments are actually live in Romania |
| Fit with your platform | An official module costs hours, a custom integration costs weeks | Is there a maintained module for your platform? |
| Settlement speed | This is your cash flow - when the money actually lands | Daily, weekly, or on request? |
| Technical support | An outage on Black Friday is lost revenue, not an inconvenience | Is support available around the clock? Is response time guaranteed? |
| International customers | Non-EU cards carry different fees, and you may need several currencies | Does the processor handle multi-currency and international cards? |
Connecting the payment processor to the store is part of the standard build on every online store we deliver at Pronet Design.
You will find the full picture of what else plugs into a Romanian store in our guide to eCommerce integrations in Romania.
Frequently asked questions about online payments
Can I run more than one payment processor at the same time?
Technically yes, and some stores do let the customer choose. In practice most Romanian stores run one main processor and add cash on delivery or bank transfer as secondary options. Every extra processor adds technical and operational overhead - reconciliation, refunds, support - so the second one has to earn its place.
Is BNPL worth integrating?
Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026 data puts BNPL at 8.2% of online transactions in Romania, and the share is climbing. It also lifts average order value, because customers will commit to a more expensive product when they can spread the cost. The case is strongest for higher-ticket categories: electronics, furniture, equipment.
What happens if the processor goes down on Black Friday?
Downtime at peak means lost orders, full stop. Check the service level agreement, ask about the incident history, and find out whether a failover plan exists. Larger stores sometimes keep a second processor configured as a backup for exactly this scenario.
Are processor fees negotiable?
With every provider that does not publish fixed rates - PayU, Netopia, and euplatesc above a certain volume - yes. Negotiation usually becomes realistic somewhere around RON 50,000 to 100,000 in monthly volume. What moves the number: your monthly volume, average transaction value, the risk category of what you sell, and your chargeback history.
