To effectively sell paid meetings, consultations, or service packages on Zencal, you must have a payment gateway. Zencal automates the entire booking process but does not act as an intermediary in the transfer of funds—money from your customers must go directly to your account with your chosen payment provider (Zencal does not charge any additional commission on these transactions).
Without a connected payment gateway, you won’t be able to start selling. If you don’t have one yet, you’ll need to choose and set up an account with the provider that best suits your needs.
What Is a Payment Gateway
A payment gateway is a third-party provider that enables you to accept online payments from customers. It’s through the gateway that transactions via credit card, BLIK, instant transfer, or other payment methods are processed.
Zencal does not process payments—it simply integrates with the payment gateway you choose.
What is a payment gateway used for?
Once you’ve connected a payment gateway, you can charge for:
- meetings,
- events,
- packages.
This allows customers to pay for their reservation immediately upon signing up, and the funds are transferred directly to your account with the payment processor.
Payment Gateways in Zencal
Zencal integrates with several payment providers, including: Stripe, Przelewy24, TPay, AutoPay, PayPal, PayU, and Easy Each gateway offers similar basic features, but may differ in:
- commission rates,
- available payment methods,
- account maintenance fees,
- the option for installment payments,
- support for individual customers (B2C) and businesses (B2B).
Before making a decision, it’s worth comparing the available options and choosing the solution that best suits your business.
Cost and Commission Structure for Payment Gateways
Choosing a payment gateway is an individual decision for every business owner—each provider has a different commission model, different additional fees, and its own commercial offering. We’ve prepared a quick guide for you that explains the costs associated with popular payment systems. Keep in mind, however, that payment gateway offers change rapidly, so you’ll need to analyze the market yourself and decide which solution is best for your business.
- Percentage-based commission: A basic fee charged as a percentage of each order’s value. For Polish payment methods (BLIK, instant transfers), it typically ranges from 1.1% to 2.3%.
- Fixed fee: A fixed cost added to each transaction (e.g., 0.30 PLN or 1.20 PLN). This is most common for card payments (Visa/Mastercard) and the Stripe system.
- Fees depending on the payment method: * Cheapest: BLIK and instant bank transfers.
- Most expensive: Deferred payments (“Buy Now, Pay Later,” e.g., PayPo) and installment plans—here, the commission can range from 2.5% to as high as 4%.
- International transaction costs: If a customer pays with a card issued outside Europe (e.g., the U.S.) or in a different currency, the operator charges a higher commission (up to 3%) and an additional currency conversion fee.
- Costs of refunds and disputes:
- Refunds: When funds are refunded to the consumer, the payment gateway typically does not refund the previously charged fixed commission.
- Chargebacks: If a buyer disputes a transaction with their bank, the merchant is charged a penalty fee (approximately 50–100 PLN per incident).
- Operational Fees: A one-time activation fee (usually between 0 and 19 PLN) and any fees for manual or excess withdrawals of funds from the payment gateway dashboard to the company’s bank account.