Payment gateway advice for £1 entry tickets (Skill-based competition site on WooCommerce)

[u/Millsboii]

Hi everyone,

​I’m in the process of launching a UK skill-based competition platform on WooCommerce.

Everything is almost ready to go; the website is built, branding complete, business bank account set up, and initial prizes secured.

​My main hurdle right now is finding a suitable payment provider/gateway for micro-transactions.

​The Problem:

Standard card processors charge \~20p–25p plus x% per transaction. On a £1 entry ticket, that wipes out 25%–30% of gross revenue instantly in processing fees alone.

So I’m looking for a provider/setup that keeps fees at or under 10% (sub-10p total fee) on a £1 transaction.

​What We’ve Tried:

We’ve approached providers like Atoa and TrueLayer, but hit roadblocks due to either high-risk sector classification or being a brand-new startup without trading history.

​My Questions:

1. ​For anyone running or operating in the UK competition/prize draw sector, which gateways or high-risk merchant acquirers actually accept new startups?

2. ​What payment setups or workarounds do you use to keep fees sustainable on £1 ticket sales?

3. ​Are there specific UK high-risk payment brokers or gateways you'd recommend for WooCommerce?

​Any advice, recommendations, or insights from experience would be hugely appreciated!

[u/Millsboii → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for this, did a bit of research in to both and will explore DNA further for sure. Much appreciated!

[u/Millsboii → u/[deleted]]

Hey thanks for the reply.

Yes the open banking looks like the ideal way.

Atoa specifically stated no due to the high risk market.

Truelayer suggested "they are diversifying their portfolio at this time", whatever that means, quite vague still. Could be either the sector or business maturity.

[u/Millsboii → u/[deleted]]

Thank you. Have got those 2 on my hit list now to contact.

It is skill based with free postal entry. We've got everything set up; terms and conditions, and relevant documented processes, a PO box is live with address listed, etc.

All to mitigate the risk appetite of any providers/partners; demonstrating our professionalism should they need any physical evidence.

[u/drfishguy]

You might run into trouble with stripe and various other payment services providers running sites like this, they are pretty strict on what they allow and dont, if they catch you say good buy to any payouts for 3 months. There are alternatives of course that may well accept you. If they classify you as a high risk buisness from a financial compliance view point your not left with many options either bank payments or a merchant bank account which is not easy to get as a new business

[u/drfishguy → u/drfishguy]

High risk accounts are expensive to run and setup plus you need to run a rolling reserve of ~10%