Switching · checked 2026-09-06
Best ForumPay alternatives in 2026
Merchants replacing ForumPay land on one of three options. CoinGate suits european merchants who want a flat published rate and every fee line on one page instead of a negotiated bundle. BitPay fits businesses that want daily fiat settlement, a published tier schedule and a US entity, and can carry a higher entry rate. NOWPayments covers merchants who want to keep the crypto they receive, across 350 assets, in a wallet they control. Rates below reflect published rates checked in August 2026.
Quick verdict
CoinGateEuropean merchants who want a flat published rate and every fee line on one page instead of a negotiated bundle.
BitPayBusinesses that want daily fiat settlement, a published tier schedule and a US entity, and can carry a higher entry rate.
NOWPaymentsMerchants who want to keep the crypto they receive, across 350 assets, in a wallet they control.
Crypto.com PaySmall shops that want fiat at a published half a percent with plugins for six platforms and a merchant app for the counter.
Why do merchants look for a ForumPay alternative?
The fee is stated as depending on processing type, volume and average transaction value, so the published 0.5% is a floor a small merchant should not plan on. Checked 2026-09-06 against the provider's own page.
Payments are converted at the moment of receipt by design, so a merchant who wants to hold the crypto it receives cannot do so here. Checked 2026-09-06 against the provider's own page.
ForumPay at a glance
| Processing from | 0.5% |
|---|---|
| Assets | Not published |
| Merchant verification | KYB only |
| Custody | Custodial |
| Checked | 2026-09-06 against its own pricing page |
Plenty of merchants should stay. The reasons above are specific and checkable rather than a general verdict, and at 6.7 on the published weights this provider beats several better-known names. The card lists what it publishes and what it does not.
How do these alternatives compare?
Method| Gateway | Score | From | Assets | Verification | Settles fiat | Discloses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ForumPay | 6.7 | 0.5% | KYB only | Yes | 79% | |
| CoinGate | 6.7 | 1% | 10 | Not disclosed | Yes | 89% |
| BitPay | 5.6 | 2% | 15 | KYB and KYC | Yes | 79% |
| NOWPayments | 8.0 | 1% | 350 | Not disclosed | 68% | |
| Crypto.com Pay | 7.1 | 0% | 20 | KYB only | Yes | 84% |
4 best alternatives to ForumPay
CoinGate
Who it fits. European merchants who want a flat published rate and every fee line on one page instead of a negotiated bundle.
| Processing from | 1% |
|---|---|
| Conversion | 1% |
| Payouts | Crypto withdrawals free; SEPA free; SWIFT 0.50%; crypto payouts EUR 0.50 + 0.5% |
| Assets | 10+ across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin |
| Verification | Not disclosed |
The full CoinGate card has its strengths, its gaps and the fields it declines to publish.
BitPay
Who it fits. Businesses that want daily fiat settlement, a published tier schedule and a US entity, and can carry a higher entry rate.
| Processing from | 2% |
|---|---|
| Conversion | Not published |
| Payouts | Not published |
| Assets | 15+ across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, XRP, Bitcoin Cash |
| Verification | KYB and KYC |
The full BitPay card has its strengths, its gaps and the fields it declines to publish.
NOWPayments
Who it fits. Merchants who want to keep the crypto they receive, across 350 assets, in a wallet they control.
| Processing from | 1% |
|---|---|
| Conversion | Not published |
| Payouts | Not published |
| Assets | 350+ across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Tron, Solana, Polygon, Litecoin |
| Verification | Not disclosed |
The full NOWPayments card has its strengths, its gaps and the fields it declines to publish.
Crypto.com Pay
Who it fits. Small shops that want fiat at a published half a percent with plugins for six platforms and a merchant app for the counter.
| Processing from | 0% |
|---|---|
| Conversion | 0.5% |
| Payouts | 0.5% settlement fee; bank transmittance charges may apply on fiat payouts |
| Assets | 20+ across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cronos |
| Verification | KYB only |
The full Crypto.com Pay card has its strengths, its gaps and the fields it declines to publish.
On this page
What you would be giving up#
One fee that includes conversion, screening and settlement, daily settlement above a minimum, and a hardware terminal that treats the counter as a first-class flow. For a physical retailer that combination is rare, and only one of the replacements below sells a terminal at all.
A merchant leaving should separate the reasons. If it is the unpublished tier schedule, two replacements print theirs. If it is the forced conversion, one replacement keeps the asset. If it is the counter, the list gets short.
If the negotiated fee was the reason#
The floor is real and it is reached by volume, which a small merchant with low tickets will not have. CoinGate charges a flat 1% and prints every other line, and BitPay prints its tiers from 2% down to 1% at stated thresholds. Both are more expensive than the ForumPay floor and more predictable than the ForumPay entry rate.
Crypto.com Pay publishes zero on the transaction and half a percent at settlement, which is cheaper than any of them for a merchant whose currency it settles.
If holding crypto was the reason#
ForumPay converts at payment by design, and asking it not to is asking for a different product. NOWPayments is that product: non-custodial, 350 assets, settlement into a wallet you control, and no fiat leg at all.
That trade removes the bank from the flow entirely, which is either the point or a problem depending on the finance function. The volatility guide covers what holding actually costs.
Where each replacement is genuinely better#
CoinGate on disclosure: the most complete fee table in the index against a bundled number. BitPay on cadence and history: daily settlement since 2011. NOWPayments on custody and breadth. Crypto.com Pay on published fiat cost and plugin count.
None of them sells a hardware terminal. A retailer for whom the counter is the point should read the ForumPay card again before reading any of these.
What the switch costs#
Online, little: the replacements cover WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop and OpenCart between them. In store, the terminal has no like-for-like successor here, and the merchant app on the Crypto.com side is the nearest thing.
The daily settlement cadence is the other loss. BitPay matches it; the rest settle on request or weekly, and cash-flow planning changes accordingly.
Before you move#
Ask ForumPay for the tier schedule in writing before deciding the fee is the problem. A written table may put your actual rate closer to the floor than the entry conversation suggested, and switching on a misunderstanding is expensive.
Then ask each replacement the same three questions on the same day: the rate at your volume, the settlement currency to your country, and the verification timeline. Score the written answers.
How to migrate from ForumPay
- Get the settlement cadence on paper. ForumPay settles at the end of each business day above a minimum. Confirm the replacement's cadence in writing, because moving from daily to weekly or on-request settlement changes cash-flow planning more than the fee does.
- Export transaction and settlement records. Download the full transaction history and every settlement statement while the account is active. The pages publish no retention commitment, and the conversion rate applied to each payment is not recoverable from chain data.
- Plan the counter separately. If you used the terminal or the point-of-sale app, treat in-store acceptance as its own migration. No replacement here sells a hardware terminal; the nearest option is a merchant app with a QR code, and staff will need to be retrained on it.
- Run the online replacement alongside. Install the replacement's plugin next to the existing checkout and route a share of traffic to it for one settlement cycle. Compare the effective rate on real payments with the written schedule you were given.
- Close after the final settlement. Wait for the last end-of-day settlement to reach the bank and for the balance to read zero before removing the checkout. A balance under the settlement minimum at closure is the loss to avoid.
Questions merchants ask
Why do merchants leave ForumPay?
The fee is stated as depending on processing type, volume and average transaction value, so the published 0.5% is a floor a small merchant should not plan on. Payments are converted at the moment of receipt by design, so a merchant who wants to hold the crypto it receives cannot do so here. Both points were checked against the provider's own pages on 2026-09-06.
What is the closest alternative to ForumPay?
CoinGate is the closest substitute for most merchants: European merchants who want a flat published rate and every fee line on one page instead of a negotiated bundle. It scores 6.7 against 6.7 on the same published weights.
Is switching crypto payment gateway difficult?
Small technically, larger operationally: reconciliation and refunds change, and neither appears in an integration guide.
Will I lose payment history when I switch?
Not if you export before closing, which is the step everyone does last. No retention period is published.