10 Best Square Crypto Payment Alternatives in 2026

Businesses are looking for dependable ways to take digital payments outside of Square’s limited Bitcoin support as cryptocurrency adoption picks up speed. The Best Square Crypto Payment Alternatives options enable merchants to safely serve a wide range of clients by offering greater coin acceptance, reduced fees, and worldwide reach.

These systems, which range from developer-friendly APIs like Stripe to enterprise-grade solutions like CoinsPaid, offer flexibility, compliance, and scalability, assisting companies in easily integrating cryptocurrency while safeguarding against volatility and entering new markets.

What Is Square Crypto Payment?

Square Crypto Payment pertains to Square’s (Block, Inc.) efforts to incorporate cryptocurrency transactions in its payment ecosystem. Crypto-enabled transactions let users (merchants and consumers) transac digitally, including receiving and sending payments and processing transactions through bitcoins as opposed to (or alongside) credit and debit cards, as well as mobile wallets.

The objective is to have crypto transactions usable as cash or credit as it is incorporated in Square’s POS systems alongside the Cash App. Square Crypto also sponsors the open-source development of Bitcoin to enhance its operational usability and scalable adaptability.

With the ability to transact in cryptocurrency and close the gap with decentral finance, Square will also sponsor and position merchants alongside its secure systems. Crypto Payments will allow merchants transact seamlessly.

Why Businesses Need Square Crypto Payment Alternatives

Global Reach

Square supports fewer cryptocurrencies than competitors. Alternative payment processors such as Stripe, PayPal, or NOWPayments offers increased coverage allowing businesses to accept payments from customers anywhere in the world.

Lower Fees

Square Payments fees are slightly more expensive than competitors. Payment Depot and Stract Pay offer subscription services and wholesale pricing, allowing high volume merchants to save more on transaction fees.

Crypto Variety

Square only accepts Bitcoin. Competitors such as CoinGate, NOWPayments, and CoinsPaid allow merchants to accept payments in 50 to over 100 different cryptocurrencies, allowing businesses to diversely cater to customers.

Fiat Settlement Options

Businesses that accept payments digitally in cryptocurrencies risk exposure to high volatility. Competitors such as Coinbase Commerce and BitPay allow businesses to automatically convert received payments to fiat.

Customization & APIs

Businesses that are not satisfied with the payment ecosystems offered by Square, Stripe, and Coinremitter offer exceptional customizability and cryptographic payment APIs that allow extensive checkout flow customization.

Compliance & Regulation

Square Payments crypto tools do not sufficient support high compliance use cases like Global Payments and CoinsPaid, which on top of strong compliance support offer comprehensive KYC and AML tools.

Customer Support

Square Payments support is known to be slow and unhelpful. Compared to Square, competitors such as Shopify Payments and Moneris provide better support especially with transaction and settlement issues.

Integration Flexibility

Competitors like BlockBee and SumUp provide WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify plugins, which simplifies the integrations of crypto payments avoiding cumbersome coding and dependence on Square.

Risk Management

Tools for fraud detection, chargebacks and other risk mitigation tools are provided via Stax Pay and PayPal, which helps user struggles crypto with risk, which Square crypto lacks.

Market Expansion

Using competitors like Transak or MoonPay, businesses can leverage fiat-to-crypto onramps and expand into new markets where Square crypto payment solutions are non-existent or unsupported.

Key Point

Platform	Key Point
ShopKeep	Best for omnichannel retail, combining in-store POS, inventory management, and customer data across physical and digital sales channels.
Stax Pay	Best for predictable processing costs with a flat monthly subscription model that eliminates percentage-based transaction fees.
Payment Depot	Best for affordable subscription pricing, offering wholesale interchange rates ideal for high-volume merchants.
Lightspeed	Best for customizable POS and advanced analytics tools, suited for retailers and restaurants needing deep business insights.
Shopify	Best for integrated eCommerce and payment processing, enabling seamless online store creation, checkout, and order management.
Stripe	Best for developer-friendly payment integration with powerful APIs, global scalability, and support for complex payment workflows.
SumUp	Best for low-cost mobile payment solutions, ideal for small businesses and freelancers needing portable card acceptance.
PayPal	Best for international transactions and digital wallet services, supporting cross-border payments and multiple currencies.
Global Payments	Best for global payment processing solutions, serving large enterprises with multi-country acquiring and payment methods.
Moneris	Best for secure and reliable payment processing in Canada, offering strong POS, eCommerce, and bank-backed solutions.

1. ShopKeep

ShopKeep is fully integrated with Lightspeed with a cloud-based POS system available for $69/month plus vendor-processor transaction fees. You can pay by credit, debit, or mobile. Customer support is 24/7 for North America with regional support in the UK and Australia.

It’s best for small retailers and service businesses with POS needs and some analytics. Using Square cryptocurrency payment alternatives really is with Stripe and Shopify Payments and for the sophisticated digital payment solutions.

ShopPay is geared towards the brick-and-mortar seller, whereas the rest are for the more sophisticated digital payment solutions.—

ShopKeep (by Lightspeed)

• Intuitive cloud-based POS system that is a good fit for small businesses.
• Provides employee management and inventory management features.
• Offers customizable receipts and reporting tools.
• Offers offline payment support for improved reliability.
• Now fully integrated into the Lightspeed ecosystem.

ShopKeep (by Lightspeed) Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Easy-to-use POS system for small businesses	Limited advanced features compared to full Lightspeed suite
Affordable monthly pricing (~$69/month)	Now fully merged into Lightspeed, less standalone identity
Offline payment support ensures reliability	Limited global reach outside North America
Strong analytics and reporting tools	Not ideal for large enterprises

2. Stax Pay

Stax Pay charges $99 per month for subscription services (0% transaction markup) and supports ACH, credit, debit, surcharging, and recurring billing with + billing. Customer Account Managers (CAMs) provide US based customer support.

Square and Stax Pay have crypto integrations, but alternatives such as PayPal and Stripe have a wider support for crypto payments.

Stax’s transparent pricing, enterprise grade, and exceptional tools position Stax Pay as one of the strongest competitors for SMBs and SaaS platforms as organizations begin outgrowing traditional transaction per fees.

Stax Pay

• Subscription-based service with transaction markup of 0%.
• Wholesale interchange rates to promote cost transparency.
• Offers support for ACH, credit and debit cards, and recurring billing.
• Provides advanced tools for fraud prevention and surcharging.
• Provides dedicated customer support through account managers.

Stax Pay

Pros	Cons
Subscription-based pricing with 0% markup	Higher upfront monthly fee ($99+)
Wholesale interchange rates save money for high-volume merchants	Best suited for US-based businesses only
Supports ACH, cards, recurring billing	Limited international expansion
Dedicated account managers for support	Complex for very small businesses

3. Payment Depot

Payment Depot, which Stax acquired, is a wholesale integrated membership service that starts at $79, has many integrations with POS systems, and supports card payments, ACH. US based customer support is provided via phone and email.

Best for large volume merchants in need of affordable simplicity. Square crypto payment alternatives such as Stripe and PayPal provide more advanced crypto acceptance while Payment Depot focuses on affordability and simplicity.

Payment Depot is ideal for businesses where monthly fees on a per transaction basis are more predictable as large transaction volumes are processed.

Payment Depot (by Stax)

• Membership-based pricing model with access to wholesale rates.
• Charges a flat monthly fee with no per-transaction markup.
• Offers support for card payments, as well as POS integrations.
• Provides a clear pricing structure for high-volume merchants.
• Prioritizes ease of use and affordability.

Payment Depot (by Stax)

Pros	Cons
Membership-based pricing with wholesale rates	Acquired by Stax, less independent branding
Transparent monthly fees ($79+)	Limited advanced features compared to Stax Pay
Great for high-volume merchants	Not ideal for startups or micro-merchants
Simple integration with POS systems	US-focused, limited global reach

4. Lightspeed

Lightspeed has point of sale along with payment processing for $69/month and around $0.10 along with 2.6% for payment processing. You can use cards as well as mobile wallets and get payment for your sales anywhere.

Their customer support is quite great and global. Ideal for retail, restaurant, and hospitality. When it comes to payment processing for crypto using Sqauare is better and Square, Stripe, and Shopify provide better crypto support, but inventory management and analytics is where Lightspeed excels.

When businesses require unified point of sale and payment along with multiple locations, Lightspeed works well.

Lightspeed

• Dual POS and payments solution for Retail and Restaurants.
• Exceptional inventory management and analytics.
• Supports multiple sales channels – in-store and online.
• Offers multiple subscription plans with payments provider.
• Provides customer support in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Lightspeed

Pros	Cons
Unified POS + payments for retail & restaurants	Higher pricing tiers for advanced features
Advanced inventory management & analytics	Transaction fees add up for small merchants
Omnichannel support (online + offline)	Complex setup for beginners
Global support in North America, Europe, Australia	Less crypto payment support compared to Stripe

5. Shopify

Shopify Payments is around $0.30 and 2.9% for payment processing. For higher tier plans, the payments processing fees get lower. Shopify payments supports cards along with wallets as payment options and is cross-border payment processing in more than 175 countries which is over $175.

Their customer support for Shopify is 24/7 and over more than one channel: chat, email and phone. Ideal for ecommerce merchants which use Shopify.

When it comes to payment processing for crypto using Square is better but Shopify Payments provides the most for online sellers that want simple solutions and global access without processing from other parties.}

Shopify Payments

• Includes a payment processor built for Shopify merchants.
• Offers cards, digital wallets, and payments in multiple currencies.- With Shopify stores, you can integrate with it easily.
• Fight fraud and PCI compliance.
• Offers support and help in over 175 countries, all over the world, all the time.

Shopify Payments

Pros	Cons
Seamless integration with Shopify stores	Only available to Shopify merchants
Supports multi-currency payments in 175+ countries	Transaction fees (~2.9% + $0.30) can be high
PCI compliance and fraud protection included	Limited customization compared to Stripe
24/7 global support	Crypto support weaker than PayPal or Stripe

6. Stripe

Stripe’s payment processing fees range from 0 to 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and are more costly for international and ACH transactions. Supports payment via card, BNPL, crypto, and integrations for crypto payment acceptance.

Documentation is developer-centric and customer service is offered globally. Ideal for SaaS, marketplaces, and online-first businesses. As a crypto payment processor, Stripe is more advanced than most competitors.

It is well-suited for highly scalable and flexible businesses that are developer-centric, needing supportive payment processing tools for international payments.

Stripe

• Have flexible pay-as-you go with also affordable developer-friendly APIs.
• Get support with a variety of payment options including cards, wallets, ACH, BNPL, and crypto.
• Excellent features for invoicing and managing subscriptions.
• Has the ability to pay in a variety of currencies.
• Good features to help with detection of fraud and also to help stay in compliance.

Stripe

Pros	Cons
Developer-friendly APIs with global reach	Requires technical expertise to integrate
Supports cards, wallets, ACH, BNPL, crypto	Fees add up for small merchants (2.9% + $0.30)
Advanced fraud detection & compliance tools	Customer support less personalized
Ideal for SaaS, marketplaces, online-first businesses	Complex pricing for international payments

7. SumUp

SumUp’s payment processing fees are approximately 2.75% + $0.30 per transaction and offers inexpensive card readers ($19 – $69 for select models). Transaction support includes card payments, wallet payments, invoicing, and payments via links.

Customer support is offered to Europe, North America, and parts of Latin America. More suited for micro-merchants, such as cafes, salons, and mobile vendors. It’s more suited for businesses that require mobile payment processing at a lower cost and with a more simplified user agreement.

SumUp

• Affordable card readers with mobile and also with easy to use POS.
• Simple, low fee for every transaction (~2.75%).
• payment links, invoices, and gift cards.
• Designed for micro-merchants and small businesses.
• Works in much of Europe and all of North, and Latin America.

SumUp

Pros	Cons
Affordable card readers ($19–$69)	Limited advanced POS features
Simple per-transaction fee (~2.75%)	Not ideal for high-volume merchants
Supports invoicing, payment links, gift cards	Smaller global footprint than PayPal or Stripe
Great for micro-merchants & mobile businesses	Limited customer support in some regions

8. PayPal

PayPal has a standard fee of about ~2.9% + fixed fee per transaction. Discounts are available for non-profits and volume sellers. PayPal operates in over 200 countries and has customer support available 24/7 worldwide via chat and phone.

PayPal works best for freelancers and e-commerce and sells internationally. In the Square crypto payment alternative space, PayPal is the best option since they allow direct crypto buying, selling, and holding.

PayPal is also one of the best in the industry for a business that needs global access and provides easy integration with other marketplaces.

PayPal

• Services in over 200 countries.
• Supports multiple payment methods including crypto.
• Has features to protect both buyer and seller.
• Works easily and is compatible with a lot of online stores.
• Supports customers 24/7 and globally.

PayPal

Pros	Cons
Global reach in 200+ countries	Transaction fees (~2.9% + fixed fee) can be high
Supports cards, wallets, crypto payments	Account freezes reported by some users
Buyer & seller protection	Limited customization for merchants
Easy integration with marketplaces	Not ideal for very large enterprises

9. Global Payments

Global Payments has enterprise-level solutions with custom pricing for each business, depending on volume and industry. global Payments offers card services, ACH/wallet services, and POS integrations.

Customer support is global with a strong focus in North America, Europe, and Asia. It’s best for large enterprises and for financial institutions.

Global Payments does not offer crypto support that Square, Stripe, and PayPal boast, however Global Payments has the upper hand in size, compliance, and issuer services. It’s best for large global enterprises.

Global Payments

• Processing solutions for large businesses.
• Has features to support cards, ACH, wallets, and POS systems.
• Offers custom pricing for businesses with a lot of customers
• Has a strong global presence.

Global Payments

Pros	Cons
Enterprise-grade payment solutions	Complex pricing, not transparent
Supports cards, ACH, wallets, POS	Best suited for large-scale merchants
Strong compliance & issuer services	Overkill for small businesses
Global presence across North America, Europe, Asia	Limited crypto support compared to Stripe

10. Moneris

As the largest acquirer in the country (Canada), Moneris is known to have tiered pricing and transaction fees of around 2.65% + $0.10. Supports cards, wallets, billing, and POS systems. Moneris offers fully English and French bilingual customer support.

It is best suited for Canadian SMBs and Enterprises. Moneris competes with strip and paypal and offers some crypto support, to be reliable domestically though.

Businesses that have local and regional and compliance with Interac along with country-based banking services, Moneris is suited for them.

Moneris

• Moneris is the large merchant acquirer ing in all of Canada.
• Supports multiple payment methods including crypto, and recurring billing.
• Has a number of pricing policies including demand in transaction fees (~2.65% + $0.10).
• They can offer Customer support in French and English.

Moneris

Pros	Cons
Canada’s largest merchant acquirer	Primarily focused on Canadian market
Supports cards, wallets, recurring billing	Limited global expansion
Bilingual support (English & French)	Fees (~2.65% + $0.10) can be high
Strong local compliance with Interac	Less flexible than Stripe or PayPal

Key Factors to Evaluate When Choosing a Square Crypto Alternative

Accepted Cryptocurrency

Businesses should overview the number of coins that are accepted. Is it just Bitcoin, or do they accept 50 or more? Broader support means you will meet more customer needs and preferences.

Settlement in Stablecoin

Settlement in currencies like USD, EUR, or local currencies is necessary to protect the business from crypto volatility. Settlement in crypto without the possibility to toggle from crypto to stablecoin exposes a business to crypto volatility.

Cost Structure

In ability to compare the transactional fees, are there monthly costs? How are the hidden costs? Subscription models like Stax, Payment Depot can save money for high-volume merchants.

Geographic Coverage

The provider not only needs to support your business location, but also your customer locations. Square is not the only provider with wide international reach. PayPal, Stripe, NOWPayments also have international reach.

Ease of Integration and Available APIs

Integration with your Point of Sale (POS) systems, websites and mobile applications can save you time and money. For instance, Stripe and Coinremitters offer customizable scalable APIs.

Regulatory Compliance and Security

Providers should have KYC/AML compliance, fraud detection, and PCI standards. CoinsPaid and Global Payments offer the best security with their enterprise-level services in the highly regulated space.

Service Level Agreements on Customer Support

For prompt resolution of payment problems, providers should have 24/7 support; however, customers (regional support granted to providers like Moneris in Canada, Shopify globally) can also be a deciding factor.

Conclusion

To sum up, even though Square Crypto Payments is easy to use for businesses for the first time dealing with digital currency, there are many other options with more features, lower pricing, and wider features.

Stripe and PayPal are the top options for international coverage and strong crypto support. NOWPayments and CoinGate have great settled options with more coins accepted. For larger businesses, compliance and scalability with CoinsPaid and Global Payments works.

However, micro-merchants at SumUp and Coinremitter really benefit with their easy and cheap platforms. The optimal Square alternative for a business is determined by its size, location, and payment options with the goal of keeping crypto volatility low, the customer base high, and the business is protected.

FAQ