Braintree
A PayPal service for seamless payments
Braintree, a PayPal service, provides a full-stack payment platform that makes it easy to accept payments in your app or website. Braintree offers a seamless checkout experience with support for credit cards, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. With advanced fraud protection and a developer-friendly API, Braintree is trusted by companies like Uber, Airbnb, and GitHub.
At a glance
Implementation Fit
Deep dive
Braintree fees, settlement, and best-fit use cases
Typical fees by method
| Method / flow | Typical fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cards (US standard rate) | 2.59% + $0.49 | Published Braintree standard rate for card-present-less US card transactions |
| Interchange++ (eligible merchants) | Interchange + scheme + markup | Available on approval; typically wins for merchants above roughly $50k-80k monthly volume |
| PayPal / Venmo via Braintree | Negotiated bundle | Common reason to pick Braintree - PayPal wallet flows are native alongside cards |
| Additional payment methods (Apple Pay, Google Pay) | Often included at card rate | Confirm treatment per market; wallets can qualify for lower fraud cost |
| Chargebacks | $15 typical | Dispute fee per case; waived in some programs |
Published list rates; confirm current pricing with the provider for your markets and volume.
Settlement and payouts
- Standard settlement to a US bank account is typically next business day after capture, faster than many legacy gateways.
- Braintree supports next-day payouts in several markets, but eligibility depends on risk profile, account age, and processing history.
- As a full merchant-account processor (not an aggregator), settlement terms and reserves are underwritten per merchant - expect KYC-heavy onboarding.
- Multi-currency settlement is available through multiple merchant accounts; unlike Stripe, there is no single all-currency account model.
When Braintree is the right choice
Merchants scaling past aggregator rates
Braintree's interchange++ path and native PayPal/Venmo support suit mid-market merchants whose volume justifies underwriting and who want one SDK for cards plus PayPal wallets.
Marketplaces already in the PayPal ecosystem
Braintree Marketplace handles split payments and sub-merchant onboarding, and pairs naturally with PayPal infrastructure for commerce platforms.
Not the right fit for small or non-US-first merchants
Early-stage stores get faster approval and comparable effective rates from Stripe or local PSPs; approval is underwritten, dashboarding is thinner, and non-US pricing requires per-market negotiation.
Is Braintree a gateway or a processor?
Braintree vs Stripe: what actually differs?
Can I keep my existing bank with Braintree?
Developers
Integration surface
Everything a technical team usually needs to evaluate implementation effort.
Business
Commercial model and operating profile
A clearer breakdown of pricing structure, settlement, and currency support.
Pricing Model
percentage
2.9% + $0.30
Settlement Time
2-3 business days
Pricing Details
Standard pricing for US transactions. International transactions have additional fees. No monthly fees or setup costs.
Supported Currencies
Capabilities
Core product features
Key merchant-facing functions that usually matter during provider comparison.
Acceptance
Supported payment methods
A scannable view of cards, wallets, local methods, and alternative rails supported by this provider.