Adyen is a global payment platform that enables businesses to accept payments online, in mobile apps, and in physical stores. The platform combines a payment gateway, global acquiring, and risk management into a single infrastructure so merchants can process card payments, local payment methods, and alternative payments across many currencies and regions. Adyen is used by mid-market and enterprise customers as well as by marketplaces and platforms that need unified reporting and settlement.
Adyen supports both direct acquiring in many regions and a multi-acquirer model when required by local markets. It provides point-of-sale (POS) terminals and connected terminal management for in-store payments, together with a single reconciliation flow that maps online and offline transactions to the same accounting records. Its product set is built to scale across geographies and sales channels while centralizing compliance and reporting.
The company focuses on a modular architecture: merchants can adopt the full-suite (acquiring + gateway + risk) or integrate specific components such as the Checkout API, Terminal API, or Payouts. Technical integrations are supported through SDKs, server-side libraries, and detailed developer documentation.
Adyen processes payments and manages associated workflows for merchants and platforms. Its core functions include payment authorization, settlement, dispute handling, refunds, and payout orchestration for sellers or vendors. The platform also provides device management for in-person payments and reconciliation tools that consolidate transactions across channels.
Adyen provides payment method coverage that includes major card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), regional schemes (e.g., Girocard, iDEAL, Bancontact), and wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay). It additionally supports bank-based methods such as SEPA Direct Debit and local real-time bank transfers where available, which helps merchants capture revenue in markets with different payment preferences.
Risk management and fraud prevention are built-in via rule-based systems and machine-learning models. The platform offers configurable fraud rules, scoring, and a review console that allows operations teams to accept, reject, or challenge transactions. Additional services such as chargeback management and automated dispute responses reduce manual effort.
Other notable features:
Adyen offers these pricing plans:
Adyen does not publish uniform per-user subscription tiers like consumer SaaS; pricing is negotiated and depends on transaction volumes, vertical, risk profile, and geographic footprint. Check Adyen's pricing overview for merchant pricing models and regional details.
Adyen starts at $0/month for the core gateway in the sense that there is no standardized per-month consumer-style subscription fee published; commercial terms are typically transaction-based, and any monthly platform or service fees are negotiated for specific accounts. Many merchants experience no fixed monthly charge from Adyen outside negotiated service-level agreements or enterprise add-ons.
Adyen costs $0/year in the sense that there is not a published flat annual license fee for the gateway component; total annual cost depends on transaction volume and the aggregated transaction fees (percentage + fixed cents) across all processed payments. Large enterprise customers will receive bespoke annual agreements that may include minimums or blended rates.
Adyen pricing ranges from $0 to ~3.0% + $0.30 per transaction. Smaller e-commerce merchants often pay higher effective rates due to card mix and region; larger enterprises and high-volume merchants typically receive lower blended rates through negotiated interchange++ or blended fee models. The final cost is a function of interchange, card type (premium vs debit), country of issuance, and additional services such as dispute handling, chargeback guarantees, or dedicated support.
Check Adyen's regional pricing and payment method coverage for the most current examples and to request a merchant-specific quote.
Adyen is used to accept and process payments for e-commerce storefronts, mobile apps, subscription services, marketplaces, and physical retail locations. It suits businesses that need unified payment flows across channels and the ability to reconcile payments and settlements centrally. The platform is also used by marketplaces to route funds to multiple sellers and apply fees or commissions during settlement.
Common verticals include retail and fashion, digital services and marketplaces, travel and hospitality, gaming, and on-demand services. Enterprise use cases often require support for multiple currencies, advanced fraud detection, and tailored reporting to meet accounting and tax requirements across jurisdictions.
Operational teams use Adyen to automate settlements, reconcile daily transactions, manage refunds and chargebacks, and implement recurring billing. Technical teams use the available APIs and SDKs to embed checkout experiences and integrate tokenization for secure storage of payment details.
Adyen has a number of strengths and trade-offs that researchers should consider when evaluating the platform.
Strengths:
Limitations and considerations:
Adyen does not offer a traditional time-limited free trial in the same way many SaaS products do because payment processing requires merchant verification, regulatory checks, and live acquiring relationships. Instead, Adyen supports sandbox environments for development and testing that replicate production APIs, payment methods, and webhook behavior. Developers can use the sandbox to test Checkout flows, tokenization, and reconciliation workflows before going live.
Merchant onboarding to production requires KYC checks and bank account validation, which is standard for payment service providers. During the onboarding process, businesses can test end-to-end flows in the sandbox and arrange a staged rollout to production once the account is approved.
For organizations evaluating the platform, Adyen’s documentation and developer tools provide sample code, integration guides, and test cards to exercise all standard flows without transacting real money.
No, Adyen is not a free payment processor. There is no published consumer-style free plan; costs are transaction-driven and depend on the payment mix, volumes, and services required. However, the sandbox developer environment is available at no cost for integration and testing purposes.
Adyen offers a comprehensive set of APIs and SDKs that cover payment acceptance, payouts, terminal management, and reconciliation. The API surface includes the Payments API for authorizations and captures, the Checkout API for client-side integration and hosted payment pages, the Payouts API for sending funds to bank accounts or cards, and the Terminal API for in-person payment interactions. There are also specialized endpoints for recurrence (stored credentials), refunds, and dispute management.
APIs support tokenization and secure handling of card data to reduce PCI scope. Webhooks provide asynchronous event notifications for payment status changes, chargebacks, and payout updates. Adyen publishes official client libraries in several languages (Java, PHP, Python, .NET, Node.js) and SDKs for mobile platforms (iOS, Android) to simplify integration.
For platform and marketplace models, Adyen offers split-settlement and sub-merchant onboarding APIs that allow orchestration of funds between a platform and its vendors. The documentation includes sample flows for common use cases such as SCA (Strong Customer Authentication), 3DS, recurring payments, and cross-border processing. See Adyen's API documentation and developer guides for detailed endpoints, request examples, and integration patterns.
Adyen is used for global payment processing and acquirer services across online, in-app, and in-person channels. Businesses use it to accept cards, local payment methods, and wallets, handle settlements and reconciliations, and implement fraud mitigation. It is commonly chosen by merchants and platforms that need a single provider for multi-channel payment flows.
Yes, Adyen supports marketplaces and split settlements. Adyen provides APIs for onboarding sub-merchants, routing payments, and performing split settlements to multiple parties while handling KYC and payouts. These features are part of the platform offerings for platforms and marketplaces and are typically implemented under commercial agreements.
Adyen meets industry security standards and supports PCI compliance and data encryption. The platform offers tokenization, secure vaulting of payment credentials, role-based access, and support for SCA/3DS flows. Adyen also publishes information on certifications and compliance in its security documentation.
Adyen accepts credit and debit cards, wallets, bank-based methods, and regional payment schemes. Supported methods include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, and many local options depending on the country. Payment method availability depends on merchant location and contracting.
Yes, Adyen supports recurring payments and stored credentials. The platform includes tokenization for card-on-file use, scheduled captures, and APIs to manage subscription flows and retry logic for failed payments. These capabilities help merchants run subscription businesses and handle card updates.
Yes, Adyen provides a sandbox environment for developers. The sandbox simulates production APIs, test card numbers, and webhook events so teams can validate integration and reconciliation flows before going live. It is the standard method to test Checkout, tokenization, and Terminal integrations.
Adyen provides dispute management tools and chargeback workflow automation. Merchants receive dispute notifications via webhooks and can submit evidence through the Adyen merchant interface or API. Additional managed dispute services are available under commercial arrangements to automate responses and reduce manual handling.
Adyen offers official client libraries and mobile SDKs in major languages and platforms. Supported languages typically include Java, PHP, Python, .NET, and Node.js, with mobile SDKs for iOS and Android, plus JavaScript for client-side checkout. These SDKs simplify tokenization, 3DS flows, and server-to-server integrations.
Yes, Adyen supports in-person payments via certified POS terminals and a Terminal API. The platform includes device provisioning, remote updates, and transaction reconciliation for brick-and-mortar stores. Hardware availability and certification depend on region and local card scheme requirements.
Time to go live varies but typically ranges from days to several weeks. Development teams can integrate using the sandbox quickly, but production onboarding requires merchant verification (KYC), bank account validation, and sometimes acquirer setup in target countries. Complex marketplace configurations or enterprise-grade setups may require more time due to contractual and compliance steps.
Adyen hires across engineering, product, risk, sales, and operations roles focused on global payments infrastructure. Career opportunities often emphasize experience in payments, finance, compliance, and large-scale distributed systems. Technical roles typically require strong experience in API-driven development, security, and systems design.
Large organizations seeking enterprise support can often request dedicated account managers and technical onboarding as part of commercial agreements. Prospective applicants and hiring managers can review job listings and the company’s hiring pages for available openings and role descriptions.
Adyen does not operate a public consumer-style affiliate program like software marketplaces; instead, the company works through direct sales and partnerships with platform integrators, ISVs, and systems integrators. Firms that partner with Adyen typically enter reseller or referral agreements to integrate Adyen’s payments flow into broader commerce solutions. For partnership details, consult Adyen’s partner and ISV information.
Independent customer reviews and analyst reports are available on platforms that aggregate merchant feedback and industry analysis. For peer reviews and customer sentiment, view Adyen’s profiles on sites such as G2 and Trustpilot, and consult payment industry analyst reports for performance benchmarking. See Adyen’s listing on G2 by visiting the page for merchant feedback and user ratings.