Comgate

Comgate: Evidence-Based Overview For Merchants

Comgate is a payment service provider that offers an online payment gateway for e-commerce and payment terminals for in-store acceptance. For merchants selling in Central and Eastern Europe, Comgate focuses on card payments, local bank transfers, Apple Pay and Google Pay, PayPal, and selected buy now pay later options, with localization into 24 languages and acceptance in 9 currencies.

What Comgate Is And Where It Fits

Comgate provides a single payment gateway with more than 100 payment methods available, including international card schemes and local options for Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. The service is available in 24 languages and supports payments in 9 currencies: CZK, EUR, PLN, HUF, USD, GBP, RON, NOK, and SEK.

Best fit scenarios:

• Merchants selling into Czechia, Slovakia, or Poland who want card payments plus local bank transfer buttons and QR payments.

• Stores that value a simplified pricing option with a flat rate and no fixed fee, or a more granular plan that differentiates card categories.

• Businesses needing fast settlement to bank accounts in Czechia or Slovakia, with transfers in the original payment currency and no provider-side conversion.

Payment Methods And Coverage

Core Methods

• Cards: Visa and Mastercard, with Apple Pay and Google Pay available.

• PayPal: Offered as an essential method alongside card payments.

• Bank transfers: Bank payment buttons in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland.

• QR payments: Local QR standards are supported where applicable.

• BNPL and installments: Options include Twisto, Skip Pay, and PlatímPak in Czechia; installment products include Cofidis, ESSOX, Home Credit; Skip Pay installments and Tatra banka installment sale are available for Slovakia.

Localization

• Languages: 24 interface languages for the payment gateway.

• Currencies: 9 currencies for acceptance as listed above.

• Regional methods: Examples include Blik in Poland and bank payment buttons in Czechia and Slovakia.

Comgate Pricing And Plans

Comgate publishes four plan types for online payments. The key differences are whether you need a single predictable rate for all methods or differentiated rates by card type and method.

Start Plan

• Who it is for: Merchants with their first card acceptance contract.

• Fees: For the first six calendar months after signing, card payment fees up to 50,000 CZK per month are free. Above this volume and for other methods, the fee is 0.98% + 0 CZK.

• Other fees: Monthly fee free; gateway activation free; daily transfers free; refund 2 CZK; chargeback 990 CZK.

• Transition: After month six, the account moves to the Easy plan.

Easy Plan

• Model: One rate for all methods, no fixed fee.

• Fees: 0.98% + 0 CZK for cards, bank transfers in CZ/SK/PL, and supported BNPL or installment methods (with listed exceptions in Slovakia shown as EUR).

• Other fees: Monthly service free for monthly volume above 100,000 CZK, otherwise 100 CZK; refund 2 CZK; chargeback 990 CZK; gateway activation and daily transfers free.

• Note: If more than 30% of your volume is on non-EU regulated consumer cards, Comgate can move you to the Profi plan at the start of a month.

Profi Plan

• Model: Differentiated fees by card category and method.

• Card fees:

  • EU consumer debit and credit: from 0.62% + 0.7 CZK

  • EU business and other cards: 1.98% + 0.7 CZK

  • Non-EU consumer: 2.89% + 2.90 CZK

  • Non-EU business and other cards: 3.47% + 2.90 CZK

• Bank transfers: 0.57% + 0 (CZK in Czechia, EUR in Slovakia) and 1.11% + 0 PLN in Poland.

• BNPL and installments: Published rates vary by method and country (for example, Czech BNPL at 0.39% + 0 CZK).

• Other fees: Monthly fee free or 100 CZK; refund 2 CZK; chargeback 990 CZK; activation and daily transfers free.

• Optional: Monthly aggregated fee billing available for 0.1%.

Custom Plan

• Who it is for: Monthly volumes above 3 million CZK or merchants needing tailored pricing.

• Fees: Custom.

Settlements, Payouts, And Currency Handling

• Transfers: Daily transfers to the merchant’s bank account are free.

• Speed: Automatic D+1 transfers for payments credited on the same day, often paid out the same business day.

• Currency handling: Payments are sent in the same currency they were received. Comgate does not perform currency conversion on payouts, which helps merchants avoid conversion fees.

• Bank destination: Transfers to existing merchant bank accounts in Czechia or Slovakia are supported without needing to change banks. SEPA EUR payments are free within EU, EEA, and other European countries.

Integration Options And Developer Tooling

• Display modes:

  • Redirect to gateway URL.

  • Inline nested window.

  • Inline pop-up.

  • Checkout SDK that places payment methods directly in the cart.

• Checkout SDK: JavaScript library to embed methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly into the checkout.

• APIs and SDKs: Merchant API (REST and HTTP POST) for creating payments, checking statuses, handling recurring payments and preauthorization, and querying available methods; PHP SDK available.

• Platforms: Connection to more than 100 e-shop platforms and ready-made modules for open-source platforms are referenced.

• Accounting support: Exports in ABO, CSV, PDF; daily and monthly statements; automated export for bookkeeping.

Security, Licensing, And Scheme Participation

• Licensing: Comgate states it holds a European payment institution license and is regulated by the Czech National Bank.

• Card schemes: Comgate states it is a Principal member of Visa and Mastercard as a card acquirer.

• PCI: Comgate states it holds PCI DSS Level 1 certification, renewed annually.

These claims are presented on Comgate’s official website. Merchants can verify licensing using the public lists of the Czech National Bank and, at EU level, the EBA’s central register.

Surcharging For Corporate And Non-EU Cards

• Passing on the fee: Comgate offers a feature to pass through the incremental cost of non-regulated cards to the payer.

• Regulatory boundary: Surcharging is prohibited for regulated consumer cards issued in the EU. For non-regulated cards, merchants may charge up to direct cost.

• Wallets caveat: Due to technical limitations, surcharging cannot be enabled for Apple Pay and Google Pay, because card type is not available in real time when the wallet is used.

Onboarding, Support, And Operations

• Contracting: Contract without obligation is available online. Activation of the payment gateway is free.

• Time to live: Comgate indicates deployment in days, with Start plan incentives for new card-accepting merchants.

• Support hours: Weekdays 08:00 to 20:00 local support, with phone, email, chat, and a public support portal.

• Testing: A demo environment is available to preview payment gateway flows.

Strengths

• Clear, published pricing with both flat-rate and differentiated options.

• Coverage of regional methods for CZ, SK, and PL, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.

• Strong localization with 24 languages and 9 settlement currencies, with payouts in the original currency.

• Free daily transfers and D+1 standard settlement.

• Multiple integration models including an embeddable Checkout SDK.

When Comgate Is A Good Fit

• You sell mainly in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland and need local bank transfers and QR alongside cards and wallets.

• Predictable costs with a flat 0.98% rate are preferable to MIF++ pricing, or you want clear differentiated fees by card category.

• You want to avoid currency conversion on payouts and receive funds in the transaction currency.

• You value a localized checkout and support in many languages with straightforward developer options.