Published September 28, 2026.

Selling tickets or paid registrations means choosing who processes the money. The choice looks technical, but it decides whether attendees finish their payment, how your finance team reconciles revenue, and how painful refunds are.

The short answer: choose the payment gateway your attendees already trust in their country, and the one your finance team already has a contract with. For events in Europe and North America, Stripe is a strong default. For international audiences, PayPal helps. Large organizations often keep Adyen or Worldline. In Latin America, Mercado Pago, PayU and Wompi cover the local ways people pay.

This guide explains how to decide, then covers seven gateways one by one. Every example uses Eventtia, which integrates with all seven.

Summary: which payment gateway for which event?

Payment gateway Best for Where Refunds from Eventtia Guide
Stripe Most events, cards and Apple Pay Europe, North America, global Yes Stripe
PayPal International audiences Global No, in PayPal PayPal
Adyen Large brands with an Adyen contract Global, strong in Europe No, in Adyen Adyen
Worldline European organizations on Worldline Europe No, in Worldline Worldline
Mercado Pago Local payment methods Latin America No, in Mercado Pago Mercado Pago
PayU Local payment methods Latin America No, in PayU PayU
Wompi Local payment methods Colombia No, in Wompi Wompi

What does a payment gateway do in event registration?

At registration, the attendee picks a ticket and pays at checkout. The event platform runs the registration form, the pricing, the coupons and the receipt. The payment gateway processes the card or the local payment method, and sends the money to your merchant account.

Two consequences matter for your choice:

  • The money goes to your account, not to the event platform. In Eventtia, you connect your own gateway account to each event. Funds follow your gateway’s payout schedule.
  • You pay the gateway’s fees, and maybe the platform’s. Some event platforms add their own fee on every ticket. Eventtia charges no fee on payments. Your only processing cost is the one in your contract with the gateway.

How to choose: five questions

1. Where are your attendees?

Geography comes first. An attendee in Mexico or Colombia is more likely to finish a payment with a local method they know. An attendee in Germany or the United States usually pays by card or wallet. If your events run in several countries, you do not need one gateway for everything: in Eventtia, the payment provider is set per event.

2. How do they like to pay?

Cards and wallets such as Apple Pay dominate in Europe and North America. Many attendees prefer to pay with an account they already have, such as PayPal. In Latin America, local methods matter: bank transfers, cash payment networks and local wallets. Check which methods each gateway offers in your country, because the list depends on the country and on your contract.

3. Does your finance team already have a gateway?

This question often decides everything. If your company processes all its payments with Adyen or Worldline, keeping event revenue in the same merchant account makes reconciliation and reporting simpler. Ask finance before you open a new account anywhere.

4. How will you handle refunds?

Cancellations happen. With some integrations, you refund from the event platform in one step. With others, you refund in the gateway’s dashboard, then cancel the registration in the platform. In Eventtia, refunds from inside the platform are available with Stripe. With the other six gateways, the refund is made in the gateway.

5. Who will set it up?

Most gateways connect with a few API keys, copied into the event settings. Some need more steps, such as a webhook or an allowed domain. Whatever the gateway, make a test payment before you open registration.

The seven payment gateways, one by one

Stripe

Stripe is a common choice for events in Europe and North America. You connect it with two API keys, per event. Attendees pay by card, and by Apple Pay once you add Eventtia’s domain in Stripe. Refunds run from Eventtia, end to end. EF Education First, France Renouvelables and Merca 2.0 take payments with Stripe on Eventtia. How Stripe works with Eventtia.

PayPal

PayPal lets attendees pay with an account they already have, without entering card details on a new page. That helps with international audiences. You connect it with a sandbox and a live Client ID. Refunds are made in PayPal. How PayPal works with Eventtia.

Adyen

Adyen serves large brands that run all their payments on one platform. Connecting it to Eventtia keeps event revenue in the same merchant account and reports. Setup takes a few more steps: API key, client key, account code, hostname and a webhook. Pernod Ricard, Ralph Lauren and Dior take event payments with Adyen on Eventtia. How Adyen works with Eventtia.

Worldline

Worldline is a European payment provider used by many organizations for all their payment channels. If yours already runs on Worldline, you can keep it for your events. Our team configures the connection with you. TCS Touring Club Suisse uses Worldline with Eventtia for its member events. How Worldline works with Eventtia.

Mercado Pago

Mercado Pago is widely used for online payments in Latin America, and many attendees already have an account. You connect it with a public key and an access token from your production credentials. AMVO, the Mexican Online Sales Association, uses Mercado Pago with Eventtia. How Mercado Pago works with Eventtia.

PayU

PayU is an established payment provider in Latin America, often already in place at universities, associations and companies. You connect it with four values from your PayU module. FISE and Agrilink use PayU with Eventtia. How PayU works with Eventtia.

Wompi

Wompi, from Bancolombia, covers the payment methods Colombian attendees use every day. Wompi reports every payment status back to Eventtia, so you see approved and declined payments on the attendee record. The integration works with Wompi Colombia. ANDI and JLQ Consulting use Wompi with Eventtia. How Wompi works with Eventtia.

Three common setups

A conference in Europe or North America. Stripe on the event. Cards and Apple Pay at checkout, refunds from Eventtia.

A program across Latin America. One event per country, each with the local gateway: Mercado Pago for Mexico, Wompi or PayU for Colombia. Each event takes payments in its own currency, into the right local account.

A global brand with a group payment contract. Adyen or Worldline on every event, so all event revenue lands in the merchant account and reports the finance team already uses.

What about bank transfers and invoices?

B2B attendees often pay by bank transfer against an invoice. In that case, the money arrives outside the platform, and you mark the registration as paid in Eventtia. Eventtia issues a receipt for every transaction. For the full picture of pricing tiers, coupons, VAT and receipts, see event ticketing software.

Before you open registration

  1. Confirm with finance which gateway and which merchant account to use.
  2. Check the payment methods your gateway offers in the event’s country and currency.
  3. Set the currency and the payment provider in the event settings.
  4. Make a test payment and a test cancellation.
  5. Decide who handles refunds, and where.

All seven gateways are listed on the Eventtia integrations page, each with its own setup guide.

FAQ

What is a payment gateway for events?

It is the service that takes the attendee’s payment at registration and sends the money to the organizer’s account. The event platform runs the checkout and the registration. The payment gateway processes the payment.

Which payment gateway is best for events?

It depends on where your attendees are and how they like to pay. Stripe is a strong default in Europe and North America. PayPal helps with international audiences. Adyen and Worldline fit large organizations that already use them. Mercado Pago, PayU and Wompi cover local payment methods in Latin America.

Can I use a different payment gateway for each event?

In Eventtia, yes. The payment provider is set per event, so an event in Spain can use Stripe and an event in Mexico can use Mercado Pago, in the same account.

Does the event platform take a fee on ticket payments?

Some platforms do. Eventtia does not: it charges no fee on payments. The payment gateway charges its own processing fees, under your contract with it.

How do refunds work with a payment gateway?

It depends on the integration. In Eventtia, refunds from inside the platform are available with Stripe. With the other gateways, you make the refund in the gateway’s dashboard and cancel the registration in Eventtia.

Can attendees pay by bank transfer?

Yes. For bank transfers and other offline payments, the organizer receives the money outside the platform and marks the registration as paid.