How to Accept Online Card Payments in the Caribbean
A step-by-step guide for Caribbean businesses to take card payments on their website, paid into their own bank account.
To accept card payments on your website as a Caribbean business, you need three things: a card merchant account from your local bank, a connection between that bank and your website, and a website or checkout that sends customers to pay and updates the order once they have. Lefan is that connection. It links your website to your own bank, the money goes straight into your business account, and Lefan charges one flat monthly price with no transaction fees.
This guide explains each piece, in order, and what to watch out for.
Why is it harder to take online payments in the Caribbean?
Most “how to accept online payments” guides are written for the US or Europe. Their advice is to sign up for a platform like Stripe, paste in some code, and start selling the same afternoon.
In much of the Caribbean, that advice fails at the first step:
- Stripe only accepts businesses based in the countries it supports, and at the time of writing most Caribbean countries, including Saint Lucia and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean, aren’t on that list. You can check Stripe’s list of supported countries.
- PayPal is available in more of the region, but its fees for Caribbean businesses are often around 5.4% plus a fixed fee on every sale. Moving money to a local bank can be slow or limited, and many shoppers would rather pay with the card in their wallet than log in to another account.
- Registering a company overseas to get around this adds cost, tax and legal work that rarely suits a local business.
The route that works well in the region is your own bank, plus the right connection to your website.
What are the pieces you need?
| Piece | What it does | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant account | Lets your business accept card payments, and pays the money into your account | Your local bank |
| Card processing | Approves or declines each card payment and settles the money | Your bank, as part of the merchant account |
| The connection to your website | A secure page where customers enter their card, fraud screening, refunds, and updating your orders | Lefan |
| Your website or checkout | Where customers choose what to buy and where orders are recorded | You, or a checkout we build for you |
A common mistake is thinking a merchant account alone is enough. Your bank can agree to accept card payments for you, but it won’t connect them to your website. That is the gap Lefan fills. Lefan is not a payment gateway or a payment processor: your bank does the processing, and Lefan is the bridge between your bank and your website.
Step 1: Get a card merchant account from your bank
Ask your bank for a card merchant account for online payments. Many businesses already have a card machine in their shop, but taking cards on a website is a separate service, so say clearly that it’s for your website.
Your bank will tell you what it needs. It usually includes your business registration, ID for the owners, and details about what you sell. Ask about their card fees, how quickly payments reach your account, and how refunds and disputes work.
This is often the slowest step. Lefan’s team tells you what to ask for, helps you prepare the application, and follows up with the bank alongside you.
Step 2: Choose how customers will pay on your site
If you run a WooCommerce shop
Install the Lefan plugin for WooCommerce (we can do it with you). Customers choose to pay by card at checkout, pay on a secure page with your logo and colours, and the order completes in WooCommerce.
If you don’t have an online store or booking system
You don’t need to build something complicated first. Lefan’s team can build you a checkout or booking page that runs on Lefan. It suits guesthouses, tour operators, event organisers and service businesses taking bookings and deposits.
If you have your own system or a developer
The Lefan API is being built, so developers can take payments from their own apps and systems. It’s in early access: ask to join and we’ll bring you in first. Larger businesses can also ask about Lefan built into their own systems and workflow by our team.
Step 3: Connect your bank to your website
This is the technical step that stops most businesses, and the one most guides skip. Once your bank approves your merchant account, it gives you details to connect your website. You pass them on, and Lefan’s team:
- sets up your Lefan account securely, including fraud screening;
- matches the payment page to your brand;
- connects your website, so each order updates as soon as it’s paid.
You don’t have to decode bank documentation or hire a developer.
Step 4: Test before your first real customer
Never go live without a test. Lefan has a test mode, where you can pay with no real money moving. A good test checks that:
- a payment goes through and the order appears in your system;
- the customer sees a clear confirmation;
- a refund can be made and shows on the order.
Lefan’s team checks everything end to end before your first real customer pays.
Step 5: Plan for the things that go wrong
Payments are easy when everything works. A reliable setup is one that copes when something doesn’t. Here is how Lefan handles the common problems:
- The customer pays, then closes the tab. Lefan tells your store about the payment straight away, and your store also checks any unpaid orders every 15 minutes, so the order still completes.
- The bank is slow to answer. Lefan doesn’t guess. It tells the customer not to pay again and keeps checking with the bank until it knows whether the payment went through, so nobody is charged twice.
- A payment looks risky. Fraud screening holds it instead of charging it. You accept or reject it from the order, and you’re reminded after 2 days and again after 6.
- A customer wants a refund. On WooCommerce, you refund from the order itself, in full or in part, and the money goes back to the customer’s card.
Read more about how Lefan keeps payments safe.
How much does it cost?
There are two separate costs:
- Your bank’s card fees. Your bank sets these, usually as a small charge on each sale. They apply whatever you use on your website.
- Lefan’s price. Lefan takes no transaction fees: no percentage and no per-sale charge. You pay one flat monthly price in Eastern Caribbean dollars: $25 XCD a month for one person running the business, or $50 XCD a month with staff. See Lefan’s pricing.
Your Lefan cost stays the same whether you take ten orders this month or a thousand. Compare that with a service charging 5.4% plus a fixed fee per sale: on $4,000 XCD of sales a month, that’s around $248 XCD in fees. The savings calculator lets you try your own numbers.
How do you keep customers’ trust?
- A secure payment page. Customers enter their card on a secure page, never on your website, so card numbers are never stored on your site.
- Clear information. Show prices in the right currency, your delivery or booking terms, your refund policy and your contact details.
- Familiar cards. Customers pay with the debit and credit cards they already carry.
Where does Lefan work?
Lefan is available to businesses that bank in these 11 countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.
It suits online shops, restaurants taking orders, tours and activities, events and tickets, services and bookings, and delivery and logistics businesses.
Running a business in Saint Lucia? Read how to take card payments online in Saint Lucia.
Your next step
Taking card payments online in the Caribbean doesn’t mean working around the system or doing it alone. Get a merchant account from your own bank, connect it to your website with Lefan, and let a team help you at every step.
Tell us about your business, and we’ll walk you through the rest, bank included.
Common questions
Do I need a merchant account to use Lefan?
Yes. You need a card merchant account for online payments from your local bank. If you don't have one, the Lefan team helps you get it.
Is Lefan a payment gateway?
No. Your bank provides the merchant account and processes the card payments. Lefan is the bridge that connects your bank to your website, so customers can pay by card online and the money is paid into your own account.
Does Lefan hold my money?
No. Your bank pays card payments into your business account. The money never passes through Lefan.
Does Lefan charge transaction fees?
No. Lefan charges one flat monthly price, with no percentage and no per-sale fee. Your bank's usual card fees still apply.
Which cards can my customers use?
The cards your bank supports on your merchant account. Ask your bank which ones it accepts for online payments.
Can I use Lefan without a WooCommerce shop?
Yes. If you don't have an online store or booking system, the Lefan team can build you a checkout that runs on Lefan.
Do I need to be technical?
No. The Lefan team handles the technical setup with you, from your bank's details to your first live sale.