Stripe, PayPal, and Square get all the press. But from these payment big guys, a new wave of payment tools is being built. They are more niche-focused, faster, cheaper, and in several cases, solving problems the big players have ignored.

10 of these payment tools are mentioned in this comprehensive guide.

They range from invoicing platforms for freelancers to B2B cross-border infrastructure. None of them is a household name yet, and they should be.

Let’s get started.

1. Apaylo

Apaylo functions as a specialized financial engine for Canadian enterprises managing high-stakes capital flow, doesn’t matter whether you’re operating in B2B, B2C, or hybrid markets. 

The platform is designed for those who require more solid infrastructure than a standard card processor.

It's payment rails extend across:

• EFTs for secure daily settlements up to $2MM

• E-transfers for rapid movement of funds up to $25,000, and same-day domestic or international wire transfers. 

• Billpay network for complex invoice cycles and vendor payouts across Canada.

All of this with a global reach that extends to over 100 countries. 

Whether through a centralized merchant dashboard or a developer-first API, you can integrate these capabilities directly into your operational workflow. 

Key Features:

• You can make up to $2MM ETFs per day, direct secure settlement, non-recourse on pushed funds.

• You also get a merchant admin portal for transaction management and reporting.

• There’s API and developer documentation for businesses that want to add Apaylo to their payment stack.

• You get access to Canada's full Billpay payee network, high per-transaction limits, fast settlement, support for invoice payments, recurring collections, and vendor/supplier payouts.

2. Merchant Pro

Merchant Pro is a US-based payment processing consultancy that has operated for 33 years with a core offer: to stop you from overpaying in card processing fees. They audit what a business currently pays in card processing fees, then move them onto a pricing model that eliminates most or all of those fees - to be live within 48 hours.

If you currently run a business and a lot of your transactions go into card processing fees, or better put, if you’re unsatisfied with how much you’re paying in card processing fees, Merchant Pro gives you zero swipe fee and lets you keep almost every dollar you earn.

Key features:

• You get your current processing costs reviewed before any commitment.

• Up to 95%+ reduction in swipe fees via compliant dual-pricing or cash discount model.

• Next-day deposits guaranteed.

• Different POS systems include (Clover, PAX, Verifone, Ingenico, etc) sourced, installed, and supported on-site.

• ATM placement and management.

3. Damisa

For businesses that are demographically limited because of payment, Damisa gives you the foundation to regularly move money around the world (Africa, LATAM, MENA, Europe, or the US). 

For global businesses that have outgrown their personal bank accounts but don't need the overhead of a full corporate banking relationship, Damisa offers a middle path.

The mechanism built into the platform converts fiat to regulated stablecoins and settles on-chain in under 24 hours.

This covers:

• Global B2B collections (fiat and digital currency).

• Automated payouts and disbursements

• Multi-currency fiat accounts (70+ currencies).

• Treasury management and FX exposure mitigation.

• Virtual IBANs for automated reconciliation.

4. UpGate

UpGate is a full-suite payment orchestration platform that helps increase transaction conversion rates for businesses across different verticals, particularly those in heavily regulated and complex industries.

The platform provides wide EU acquirer coverage via direct connections. Within the user-friendly dashboard, intelligent routing rules can be easily configured across multiple acquirers, successfully saving transactions that might otherwise be lost. Additionally, network tokenization is available to eliminate involuntary churn for complex subscription models.

Key features

• High-risk industry support (iGaming, adult, Forex, dating, streaming).

• Payment links (customisable, generated via back office).

• Centralised risk engine (fraud rules, alerts, and actions across all processors).

• Performance analytics and approval rate monitoring.

• E-commerce platform integration (Shopify, WooCommerce, OpenCart, Magento, referenced for partners).

5. Petl Pay

Let’s start by listing out two problems with most invoicing tools:

• They stop at billing the client. 

• They don't handle project-based work with variable contributors. 

Petl Pay sits in the gap between these two problems. 

Content marketing agencies, design studios, and other project-based businesses that win a client contract and then deliver the work using a mix of contractors and subcontractors spend too much time turning these activities into invoices, splitting payments, and reconciling across currencies. 

Petl Pay solves this with a chat-native workflow. You connect Petl to your existing tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Slack, or WhatsApp. From then on, creating a project, raising an invoice, checking what's outstanding, preparing a pay run, and initiating contractor payments all happen through conversation.

For agencies that want a payment system adapted to the AI world, Petl Pay is the right platform for you.

Key features:

• Project creation and contributor management

• Invoice generation from logged work.

• Multi-party invoicing with options to pay by bank.9 

• Stablecoin (USDC) settlement for cross-border payouts + open banking, supporting over 150 banks for instant bank-to-bank payments across the UK and EU.

• Slack, ChatGPT, and Claude integration for finance actions in chat.

6. Alunafi

Alunafi is targeting SMBs that need business banking infrastructure beyond what traditional banks offer without the complexity or cost of enterprise treasury tools. 

The team behind the platform combined a lot of payment features like multi-currency accounts, card issuance, SEPA/SWIFT transfers, and mobile access into one payment platform.

With an onboarding flow that takes minutes rather than weeks, you can get started with your business payment needs in minutes.

Some key features are:

• Multi-currency business accounts and SEPA and SWIFT transfers. 

• Virtual card and plastic card issuance (EU/EEA countries)

• Live cash flow insights and payment tracking.

• iOS and Android mobile apps.

• International IBAN and SWIFT details for receiving payments.

7. Lattice

Lattice is as close to an all-in-one payment orchestrator as one gets. Purpose built for ISVs to bring enterprise access and intelligence to SMBs and mid-market merchants, businesses can get paid in various methods - pay with bank, card, terminals, or crypto and stablecoin rails.

Lattice lets you do all this through a single integration. 

The benefit is that you never have to rebuild your payment setup to add a new method. If you're taking cards today and want to offer open banking payments tomorrow, you can just activate it through the same connection that's already live.

Key features:

• Single integration covering cards, digital wallets, BNPL, crypto/stablecoins, pay by bank, peer-to-peer, and gateways.

• New payment methods activate through the existing integration.

• Smart routing optimises each transaction in real time across connected providers.

• Pre-built connections to Stripe, Square, Fiserv, Braintree, Global Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay.

8. Gratis Payment Processing

Gratis starts by auditing what you currently pay in card processing fees, then finds you a better rate through its network of major processing partners including TSYS, Worldpay, and Fiserv. 

Their model covers every way a business takes payments: 

• In-person terminals and virtual terminals for phone and email payments 

• Mobile card readers

• E-commerce gateways

• Electronic invoicing

• Recurring billing for subscriptions or memberships. 

All of it integrates with the accounting, POS, and CRM tools most businesses already use.

Key features:

• Free audit of current processing costs before any recommendation is made

• In-person terminals, mobile card readers, and full EPOS via Clover

• Recurring billing for subscriptions and memberships

• Check processing and gift and loyalty card support

• Integrates with tools you’re already acquainted with (QuickBooks, Xero, Clover, Aloha, Micros, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho).

9. NRTH

About 7.4 million people are freelancing in the UK. Of this number, a big chunk sends their invoice, the due date passes, and then spend the next few days (or even weeks) chasing invoices. NRTH is positioned as a solution to this frustration. 

Its fix is Direct Debit. Your clients sign a mandate once, and from that point, every invoice that comes out of your accounting software gets collected automatically on the due date. No chasing, no late payment, no manual bank transfers.

Can integrate with existing tools like Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage.

Key features:

• Direct Debit invoice collection with auto-retry on failed payment attempts.

• Subscription, milestone billing, and one-off payment links.

• Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage two-way sync.

• AI cash flow forecasting that can predict shortfalls and seasonality.

• Real-time payment tracking with 160+ currency support.

10. Guala

Especially for small businesses, Guala gives you one QR code that accepts any payment method - cards, digital wallets, peer-to-peer apps - without needing a separate tool for each. It combines robust features into one platform that makes transacting easier.

Customers scan your provided QR code and pay however they prefer. Product listings, payment links, and in-person checkout all live in the same place, with no website or card reader required to get started.

Some of its key features:

• One QR code accepts payments from any method.

• Built-in shareable transaction pages.

• Product listings, payment links, and in-person checkout all in one app

• Tipping built in

• Card fee splitting between merchant and buyer

Other tools worth keeping an eye on

These didn't fit neatly into a single category entry, but deserve a mention:

• Wise Business: Still the most practical benchmark for transparent FX and international transfers. Worth comparing any cross-border tool against.

• Polar: Open-source payments for developers and indie hackers; popular in the same circle as Tiun's target audience.

• Dodo Payments: Another Merchant of Record aimed at SaaS companies; Tiun positions directly against it on fees.

• Lemon Squeezy: MoR platform with a strong indie developer following; it lets you sell your digital products easily online.