Mastering SEPA Payments in WordPress: 2 Simple Methods to Boost Your Business

Upon discovering SEPA payments, we recognized the significant savings European businesses could achieve compared to traditional credit card processing.

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payments usually incur much lower fees than credit card processors, potentially saving businesses hundreds or even thousands of euros annually.

Fortunately, integrating SEPA payment acceptance into WordPress is simpler than many assume. We have researched and tested various methods to identify reliable solutions for European businesses and their customers.

In this guide, we will present two effective methods for accepting SEPA payments on your WordPress site.

Both methods are straightforward to implement, secure, and will enable you to provide your European customers with their preferred payment option while reducing transaction costs.

Benefits of Using SEPA Payments in WordPress

The Single European Payments Area (SEPA) is an initiative by the European Union designed to simplify and facilitate payments within and between the 36 member countries.

It establishes a unified market for Euro payments across Europe, applying the same rules and standards for both domestic and cross-border money transfers.

This allows you to use your bank account to send Euro payments to anyone within the SEPA region, regardless of their bank or country.

Integrating SEPA payments on your WordPress site enables you to accept payments directly from your customers’ bank accounts, ensuring a seamless and straightforward experience.

This payment option simplifies transactions and incurs lower fees compared to traditional cross-border payment methods.

Additionally, if you operate an online store or a membership platform, incorporating SEPA payments can help you reach a broader audience across Europe, enhancing your market potential.

Now, let’s explore how to effortlessly accept SEPA payments in WordPress, step by step. We will discuss various methods, and you can use the quick links below to navigate to your preferred option:

Method 1: Accept SEPA Payments in WordPress with WP Simple Pay (Recommended)

This method is ideal for membership sites or for collecting donations, as it allows you to receive funds through a straightforward payment form. It’s also a suitable choice for small online stores.

In this method, we will utilize WP Simple Pay, the leading Stripe plugin for WordPress that enables you to accept online payments without the need for a shopping cart.

Our testing revealed that it features an easy-to-use payment form builder, ready-made templates, secure payment processing, and the ability to accept SEPA payments. For more details about our experience, check out our review of WP Simple Pay.

First, install and activate the WP Simple Pay plugin. For comprehensive instructions, refer to our step-by-step guide on installing a WordPress plugin.

After activation, a setup wizard will appear on your screen. Simply click the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button to proceed.

You will then be directed to the next step, where you must enter your license key and click the ‘Activate and Continue’ button.

You can find this information in your account on the WP Simple Pay website.

Next, you will need to connect the plugin to your Stripe account. Stripe is a top-notch payment gateway that allows you to easily accept online payments.

To connect, click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button.

Next, log in to your Stripe account to link it with WP Simple Pay.

If you haven’t created an account yet, you’ll need to do so to enable SEPA payments in WordPress. For detailed guidance, refer to our tutorial on accepting payments with Stripe in WordPress.

After connecting your account with the plugin, the setup wizard will prompt you to configure your email settings.

You can toggle various options to receive email notifications for payment receipts, upcoming invoices, and payment updates. Then, enter the email address where you would like to receive these notifications.

Finally, click the ‘Save and Continue’ button.

Important Note: If you encounter issues with sending or receiving email notifications, please refer to our guide on properly configuring your email settings.

You can now exit the setup wizard and proceed to create a payment form for SEPA payments.

To do this, navigate to the WP Simple Pay » Add New section from the WordPress admin sidebar.

This will direct you to the ‘Select a template’ screen, where you’ll find a variety of pre-designed templates available for your website.

From this list, find the SEPA Direct Debit Form template and click the ‘Use Template’ button below it.

You will be taken to the ‘Add New Payment Form’ page, where you can begin by entering a title and description for your payment form.

Next, select the payment type for your form as ‘On-site payment form’.

Then, navigate to the ‘Payment’ tab in the left column. Here, you can choose your preferred tax collection rates under the ‘Tax Collection’ option.

After that, enter the price for the product or service associated with your form in the ‘Amount’ field.

Scroll down to the ‘Payment Methods’ section, where you will see that the ‘SEPA Direct Debit’ method is already selected.

If you wish to include additional payment gateways such as Klarna, Alipay, Affirm, or iDeal, simply check the boxes next to these options.

Next, go to the ‘Form Fields’ tab in the left sidebar. Here, you can add various form fields to your payment form and adjust their settings by expanding the tab.

For instance, you can include a coupon field in your payment form if you frequently offer discounts and promotions on your website.

You can also change the order of the form fields by dragging and dropping them as needed.

Once you have completed that, navigate to the ‘Confirmation Page’ tab in the left column.

You can enter a message here that will be shown to users after they successfully complete a payment on your website.

If you would like to send an email notification to users after they make a purchase, please go to the ‘Email Notifications’ tab.

Here, you can enter the custom email that will be sent to users after they complete a purchase using the SEPA payment form.

Next, navigate to the ‘Payment Page’ tab and check the ‘Enable a dedicated payment page’ option.

WP Simple Pay will now enable you to create a custom page for your SEPA payment form without needing to create an entirely new page on your website.

New settings will appear on the page where you can customize the permalink, color scheme, image, and footer text for your form.

Once you finish customizing, click the ‘Publish’ button on the right to save your settings.

Now, visit your WordPress site to see the payment form page.

Alternatively, if you want to integrate the SEPA payment form into an existing page, make sure to click the ‘Publish’ button after adding the form fields and setting up confirmation messages.

After that, open a page of your choice in the WordPress block editor and click the ‘+’ button to add a block.

Begin by locating the WP Simple Pay block on your page and selecting the SEPA payment form from the dropdown menu within the block.

Finally, click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to save your changes.

Now, you can visit your WordPress site to see the SEPA payment form in action.

Method 2: Accept SEPA Payments in WooCommerce with the Free FunnelKit Stripe Payment Gateway Plugin

If you operate a WooCommerce store and want a free solution for accepting SEPA payments, this method is ideal for you.

First, install and activate the Stripe Payment Gateway for WooCommerce. For detailed instructions, refer to our beginner’s guide on installing a WordPress plugin.

This free plugin from FunnelKit allows you to easily integrate various payment gateways.

After activation, navigate to the WooCommerce » Settings page in the WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Payments’ tab.

Here, select the ‘Stripe Gateway’ option to access additional settings.

On the new page, check the ‘Enable Stripe Gateway’ box. You can also provide a title and description for the payment gateway.

Next, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your settings, and then click the ‘Stripe API Settings’ link at the top.

You will be redirected to a new page where you need to click the ‘Connect to Stripe’ button to link the payment gateway with your online store.

Next, you will see a new screen prompting you to enter your Stripe username and password. If you don’t have an account, you can create one from this page.

For further information on this process, refer to our tutorial on accepting payments with Stripe in WordPress.

After connecting your WooCommerce store to your account, click on the ‘SEPA’ link at the top. Here, make sure to check the ‘Enable Stripe SEPA Direct Debit’ option.

You can also add a title, description, company name, and specify the selling locations where this payment method will be available.

Finally, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your settings.

You have successfully activated the SEPA payment method on your WooCommerce store, and it will now appear on your store’s checkout page.

Bonus: Integrate PayPal with WordPress and WooCommerce

In addition to Stripe and SEPA, you can also utilize PayPal to accept payments throughout Europe.

PayPal is a leader in the payment industry, offering a wide range of services for personal, business, and eCommerce needs. It boasts a substantial user base in Europe, with over 400 million active accounts.

PayPal offers built-in fraud protection, supports recurring payments, and facilitates easy cross-border transactions, making it a trustworthy and versatile choice for online retailers.

Integrate it seamlessly into your website with WPForms, the leading WordPress PayPal plugin that features a user-friendly drag-and-drop builder, ready-made templates, and robust spam protection.

The PayPal add-on allows you to effortlessly accept payments, donations, and online orders directly from your website.

At CanadaCreate, we frequently utilize WPForms for our contact forms and conduct our annual surveys with it, due to its user-friendly interface for creating custom forms and analyzing responses.

For a comprehensive overview of its features and a comparison with other solutions, be sure to read our detailed WPForms review.

We hope this article has guided you on how to easily accept SEPA payments in WordPress. You may also want to explore our guide on connecting WordPress to PayPal Commerce and our top recommendations for popular digital products to sell online.

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