E-commerce payment methods in Finland: Paytrail, Klarna or Stripe?
The payment methods Finnish shops actually use
Finland is a bank-button market. A shopper who does not see their own bank at checkout often assumes the shop is foreign, and abandons. Before you compare providers, know the baseline a Finnish buyer expects:
- Online bank payments from OP, Nordea, S-Pankki, Danske, Aktia, POP, Säästöpankki and Handelsbanken
- Debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard)
- MobilePay
- Invoice or instalment, usually Klarna or Walley
- Increasingly Apple Pay and Google Pay on mobile
You do not contract each of these separately. You pick a payment gateway that bundles them.
Paytrail: the Finnish default
Paytrail is the most common gateway in Finnish webshops for one reason: one contract covers every Finnish bank button, cards, MobilePay and Klarna-style instalments, with settlement and reporting in a format Finnish accounting understands.
- Typical cost: a monthly fee in the range of 50 to 60 euros plus roughly 0.35 to 0.50 euros per transaction, with card payments charged a percentage on top
- Ready plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify and most Finnish platforms
- Finnish customer support and Finnish documentation, which matters more than it sounds when a settlement does not match
Paytrail is the safe default for a shop whose customers are mostly Finnish.
Klarna: invoice and instalments
Klarna is not really a replacement for a gateway, it is a conversion tool. It lets the buyer receive the goods first and pay later, or split the payment. That reliably lifts average order value on higher-priced products.
- Costs more per transaction than a bank button, often in the 2 to 3.5 percent range depending on the product
- Klarna carries the credit risk, you get paid regardless
- Works best above roughly 100 euros per order. On a 15 euro order the fee eats the margin
Add Klarna when your basket is large enough to justify the fee, not by default.
Stripe: international by design
Stripe is the strongest option for card payments across borders, subscriptions and any custom checkout you build yourself.
- Typical cost in Europe: around 1.5 percent plus a fixed fee for European cards, more for cards issued outside the EEA
- Excellent developer tooling, which matters for a [custom or headless webshop](/verkkokauppa)
- Weak on Finnish bank buttons. Stripe supports some, but not the full set a Finnish buyer expects
If more than half your revenue is Finnish, Stripe alone will cost you conversions. Paired with Paytrail it works well.
What the buyer expects at checkout
Payment choice is only half of it. The other half is how the checkout behaves:
- Show the payment logos on the product page and in the cart, not only at the final step
- Do not force account creation. Guest checkout is the single biggest checkout conversion fix
- Show the total including VAT and shipping before the payment step
- Keep the whole flow on one page or in clearly numbered steps
- Test the return path from the bank. A broken return URL means paid orders that never register
If your checkout leaks despite offering the right methods, the cause is usually structural. We go through the common ones in [why your webshop is not selling](/blogi/miksi-verkkokauppa-ei-myy).
How we usually set it up
For a Finnish SME opening a shop, the setup that works in most cases:
- Paytrail as the main gateway, covering banks, cards and MobilePay
- Klarna enabled if the average order is above 100 euros
- Stripe added only when export sales are real, not hypothetical
- Every method tested with a real order and a real refund before launch
Payment integration is part of the fixed price when we handle [verkkokaupan perustaminen](/verkkokauppa). Before you sign any contracts, it is worth checking the [legal checklist for opening a webshop](/blogi/verkkokaupan-perustaminen-muistilista) and the [full cost picture](/blogi/verkkokauppa-perustaminen-hinta-ja-aikataulu).
Want the payment stack reviewed for your case? [Request a free quote](/yhteystiedot).
Frequently asked questions
Which payment gateway should a Finnish webshop choose?
For most Finnish webshops Paytrail is the best starting point, because a single contract covers every Finnish bank button, cards and MobilePay. Add Klarna if your average order exceeds 100 euros, and Stripe when a meaningful share of sales comes from outside Finland.
What do e-commerce payment methods cost?
Typical total cost lands between 1.5 and 3 percent of order value plus a fixed fee per transaction. Bank buttons are cheapest, cards mid-range, invoice and instalments the most expensive. Gateways also charge a monthly fee of roughly 50 to 60 euros.
Do I need both Paytrail and Klarna?
Not necessarily. Paytrail already includes instalment options. A separate Klarna contract is worth it mainly when you want the recognisable Klarna brand at checkout and your average order is large enough to absorb the higher fee.
Published · Kaspar Eevald
Bluefour – Helsinki digital agency | hello@bluefour.fi | +358 45 850 4236