Online payments on your website in Romania: Stripe, processors and what you need to get paid by card

The most fragile moment in an online sale is when the customer has the card in hand, decided to pay, and hits a form asking them to type in your IBAN and make a manual transfer from their banking app. Most of them stop right there. Not because they didn't want the product, but because you handed them work in the exact second they were ready to give you money.

Taking card payments directly on your site means removing that step. The customer taps a button, enters the card, done. And you watch the money come in without touching anything. This article tells you, in plain language for someone who doesn't work at a bank, what you need to get there in Romania.

Why you need a legal entity before the card

A payment processor won't give you an account in your personal name like a streaming subscription. It has to send money into an account that belongs to an entity that issues invoices. In practice that means:

• PFA (sole trader) — the simplest and cheapest to open, fine for a freelancer, a clinic, a small service. Enough to be accepted by almost any processor.
• SRL (limited company) — the natural step if you sell products, have partners, or want to fully separate your money from the company's.

You don't need an SRL to take card payments. Many people believe this and delay for months. A PFA with a business bank account and a connected processor gets you running in a few days. If you're still unsure you need the whole setup, first read why I need a website.

Processor vs. gateway: who does what

Two terms will hit you everywhere, let's clear them up fast:

• The processor is the one that moves money from the customer's card into your account and takes a commission.
• The gateway is the technical layer that connects the pay button on your site to the processor. Often the same provider gives you both, so you don't juggle two contracts.

For you, the business owner, the simple idea is: you pick a provider, it gives you an account and a way to stick it on the site. The rest is the developer's job.

What options you have in Romania

There are two roads, and the right choice depends on who your customers are.

Romanian processors — Netopia (formerly mobilPay), EuPlatesc, PayU, Twispay. They're built for the local market: good support for Romanian cards, Romanian-standard 3D Secure, money lands in your account in one to two business days, and support speaks Romanian when something jams.

Stripe — global, extremely clean for developers, ideal if you also sell abroad and want to take multiple currencies. It's available in Romania and you can start without paper contracts. On the other hand, for a new RO account the money can reach you slower than with a local processor, and the fee on a European card is generally higher.

Rule of thumb: selling mostly in Romania, go with a local processor. Customers across several countries or selling subscriptions, Stripe is worth it. It's not a lifetime choice; it can change.

Fees: what it actually costs you

Every card payment has a cost. There's no "free", only who pays it. The fee almost always has two parts: a percentage of the amount plus a small fixed charge per transaction.

According to a WebGhid comparison of Romanian processors, real fees in 2026 sit between roughly 1.4% plus 0.6 RON at local processors on a standard plan and roughly 2.9% plus 1 RON at Stripe for European cards, with discount thresholds above a high monthly volume. The numbers change often and depend on your volume, so treat them as an order of magnitude, not law.

What matters for you to remember:

• On a small amount, the fixed charge hurts more in percentage terms — a 20 RON payment feels 0.6 RON differently than a 400 RON one.
• Above a certain monthly volume, almost everyone negotiates the commission down. Worth asking after the first few months.
• "When the money lands" (settlement) matters as much as the percentage. Local usually means one to two days; a new Stripe RO account can take longer at first.

What it costs to put this on your site

On the processor side, opening the account is usually free — you only pay the commission when you take money. What's left is the technical integration on the site: the pay button, the secure page, order confirmation.

The processor commission is separate and you pay it directly to them as you sell. If you want the full budget picture for a site that sells, we have a dedicated guide on how much a website costs.

Mistakes that cost you customers

• Bank transfer or cash-on-delivery only. You lose the person who wanted to pay right now, at night, from their phone.
• Not showing accepted cards and the security lock. Trust is won visually, in two seconds.
• A long payment form. Every extra field is an exit. Ask only what's strictly needed.
• No clear confirmation after payment. The person has to see in black and white that it worked, otherwise they call or ask for a refund out of doubt.

The rule we work by is simple: any step between "I want" and "I paid" that can be removed, gets removed.

How you actually start

In short, the road is: you sort out your legal form (a PFA is enough at the start), open an account with a processor, and we wire the pay button onto the site and test it with a real transaction before launch.

If you want to see how it'd look for your case, we'll build you a free demo — a short site with a pay button on it, so you understand exactly what you get before paying anything. Message us on WhatsApp at wa.me/40750257140 and we'll reply with the steps for your business.