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Payment gateways for WooCommerce

Gateway pages

About WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free, open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress, published by Automattic. Its WordPress.org listing shows more than 7 million active installations. Because it runs inside the merchant's own WordPress site, the merchant controls the hosting, the data and which extensions are installed. It handles physical and digital products, and extensions add subscriptions, bookings and memberships. Developers can work through hooks, filters and a REST API.

Payments are pluggable. Automattic runs its own processor, WooPayments, in a limited list of countries, and there are more than 100 third-party gateway extensions. A gateway is a WordPress plugin that extends the WC_Payment_Gateway class and registers itself with the woocommerce_payment_gateways filter. WooCommerce's docs describe four gateway types: redirect (form), iframe, direct (fields on the checkout page) and offline.

There are two checkout surfaces. Stores created after WooCommerce 8.3 (November 2023) default to the Cart and Checkout blocks, and the older shortcode-based classic checkout is still available. To appear in the block checkout, a gateway needs an extra integration: client-side registration through registerPaymentMethod or registerExpressPaymentMethod, plus a server-side AbstractPaymentMethodType class. If only incompatible gateways are active, the block checkout shows no payment methods at all.

WooCommerce can be developed locally like any WordPress plugin. For example, wp-env starts a Docker-based site at localhost:8888 and installs plugins listed in a config file. Gateways that rely on inbound webhooks or wallet domain verification still need a public HTTPS address for testing.

How payments work on WooCommerce

Built-in payments
WooPayments1
Third-party gateways
Open. Any gateway can ship as a WordPress plugin that extends WC_Payment_Gateway and registers through the woocommerce_payment_gateways filter. More than 100 gateway extensions exist, including Stripe, PayPal and Square.1
Checkout extensibility
Two checkout surfaces: the Cart and Checkout blocks (the default for stores created after 8.3) and the classic shortcode checkout. To appear in the block checkout, a gateway must register a separate blocks integration (registerPaymentMethod on the client, AbstractPaymentMethodType on the server).2

What we checked

  • WooCommerce is a free, open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress, published by Automattic, with more than 7 million active installations.1
  • WooCommerce offers its own processor, WooPayments, in a limited set of countries, alongside more than 100 third-party gateway extensions such as Stripe, PayPal and Square.1
  • Third-party WooCommerce gateways are plugins that extend WC_Payment_Gateway and register through the woocommerce_payment_gateways filter; the docs describe form, iframe, direct and offline gateway types.3
  • A payment method appears in the Cart and Checkout blocks only after it registers on the client with registerPaymentMethod or registerExpressPaymentMethod and on the server with an AbstractPaymentMethodType class.2
  • Cart and Checkout blocks are the default for stores started after WooCommerce 8.3 (November 2023), and merchants can transform them back to the classic shortcode.4
  • WooCommerce's documentation hub covers setup, payments, orders, taxes, shipping and store design, and the site names Automattic as its owner.5
  • wp-env sets up a Docker-based local WordPress environment at localhost:8888 and can install and activate plugins listed in its config file.6

Sources

  1. https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce/marketplace listing · checked 2026-09-10
  2. https://developer.woocommerce.com/docs/block-development/extensible-blocks/cart-and-checkout-blocks/checkout-payment-methods/payment-method-integration/official documentation · checked 2026-09-10
  3. https://developer.woocommerce.com/docs/features/payments/payment-gateway-api/official documentation · checked 2026-09-10
  4. https://woocommerce.com/document/woocommerce-store-editing/customizing-cart-and-checkout/official documentation · checked 2026-09-10
  5. https://woocommerce.com/documentation/official documentation · checked 2026-09-10
  6. https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/packages/packages-env/official documentation · checked 2026-09-10

Last verified 2026-09-13 · Reviewed by a person 2026-09-14

Integration capabilities, requirements, pricing, availability, and vendor policies may change over time. UAT-Ops documents information based on the authoritative sources and testing available at the time of review.

Where newer information, testing, or vendor documentation materially changes a published claim, UAT-Ops may revise the page to reflect the most current verified information. Readers should confirm time-sensitive requirements with the relevant vendor before making production or purchasing decisions.