Online Payment Gateways for Individual Entrepreneurs in Georgia (Sakartvelo)

researchgeorgiapaymentsfintechindividual-entrepreneur

Bottom line

As an Individual Entrepreneur (IE) registered in Georgia, you can obtain online payment acceptance through multiple licensed providers. Payze is no longer an option - it exited Georgia and stopped global onboarding. Among active providers, UniPAY offers transparent public pricing (2.5% + 0.25 GEL), Keepz offers a low-barrier entry with no fixed fees and 2.5% on card volumes up to 10,000 GEL. TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia dominate acquiring but require direct negotiation. A draft National Bank of Georgia (NBG) proposal to cap merchant fees at 0.5% could reshape pricing if enacted. Current market rates typically range from 1.5% to 3.0% for card transactions. All providers require a registered Georgian IE, a local business bank account, and standard KYC documentation.

Key findings

  • Finding: Payze has completely exited the Georgian market. Its website states: "PAYZE is no longer operating in Georgia and isn't onboarding new clients globally." This removes what was previously a well-known fintech option for Georgian merchants.
  • Finding: UniPAY publishes clear, non-negotiated rates: 2.5% + 0.25 GEL per transaction, no setup fees, minimum transaction 1 GEL, settling in GEL with support for cards, UniPAY wallet, and QRPAY. This makes it the most price-transparent option found.
  • Finding: Keepz operates under a no-fixed-fee model for lower volumes. 2.5% on bank card payments for monthly volumes up to 10,000 GEL, with custom pricing above that threshold. It also uniquely supports open banking (pay-by-bank), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cryptocurrency wallets (USDT, BTC, ETH), and holds Georgia's first open banking license.
  • Finding: TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia are the dominant bank acquirers with full REST APIs, but neither publishes IE-specific merchant discount rates publicly. Market-wide card acquiring fees in Georgia typically fall between 1.5% and 3.0%, with setup fees ranging from GEL 100–500 according to industry analysis.
  • Finding: The NBG has announced a draft proposal to cap the Merchant Service Fee at 0.5%. Current domestic interchange averages 1.6–1.7%, so if enacted, this would force a major restructuring of acquiring economics. It remains draft legislation as of late 2025/early 2026.

Background

Georgia's e-commerce market surpassed $500 million in 2023 with ~20% year-over-year growth, and digital payment transaction volumes approached $1 billion. Over 70% of the population has internet access, smartphone penetration exceeds 75%, and more than 60% of online purchases are mobile-initiated. The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) licenses and supervises all Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and electronic money institutions. For merchants - including Individual Entrepreneurs - accepting card payments online requires a merchant account (to receive settlements) and a payment gateway (the technical layer that captures and encrypts card data).

Current state

Active providers assessed

Provider Type Known Fees (cards) Key Methods IE Onboarding
TBC Bank Bank acquirer Not public; market est. 1.5–3.0% Visa, MC, Georgian Card, wallets Yes, via merchant application
Bank of Georgia Bank acquirer Not public; market est. 1.5–3.0% Visa, MC, Amex Yes, via merchant application
Liberty Payments Bank-affiliated (Liberty Bank) Not public Cards, PAY.ge ecosystem Yes
UniPAY Licensed PSP/aggregator 2.5% + 0.25 GEL, no setup fee Cards, UniPAY wallet, QRPAY Yes
Keepz FinTech PSP 2.5% (0–10k GEL volume), no fixed fee Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, open banking, crypto Yes
United Payment Georgia Licensed PSP (NBG reg. 405546075) Not public Unknown Unknown
Payze FinTech Not available - exited Georgia N/A Closed

Individual Entrepreneur context (2026)

The IE structure remains viable in 2026. With Small Business Status, eligible IEs pay 1% tax on turnover up to the statutory threshold (about 500,000 GEL annually). But non-resident IEs face new regulatory pressure. If you don't live in Georgia, you may need a work permit, D1 visa, or residence permit (and 183+ days physical presence) to maintain IE status and the 1% regime beyond 2026.

Technical or implementation details

Bank of Georgia (BOG)

  • API: RESTful over HTTPS, JSON payloads, OAuth 2.0 + JWT authentication.
  • Flow: Synchronous order creation → redirect to hosted payment page → asynchronous callback/webhook on completion.
  • Card saving: Supported for recurring or one-click future payments.
  • Docs: api.bog.ge/docs/en/payments/introduction

TBC Bank

  • API: RESTful with JWS (JSON Web Signature) required on requests/responses.
  • Requirement: Must be registered as a TBC E-Commerce Merchant to receive API access tokens.
  • Docs: developers.tbcbank.ge/docs/checkout-api-overview (Cloudflare-protected; developer portal requires registration).

UniPAY

  • Integration: Ready-made plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, Wix, nopCommerce, and UniShop.
  • API: Merchant ID + Secret Key model; hosted checkout.
  • Min transaction: 1 GEL.

Keepz

  • Model: Fully digital onboarding; QR-POS via mobile app.
  • Settlement: Real-time fund transfers into linked business bank accounts.
  • BNPL: Integrated buy-now-pay-later option powered by Credo Bank (100 GEL minimum transaction).

Evidence, comparisons, and related context

Fee benchmarking

  • PayAtlas (2026): Typical PSP fees in Georgia are 1.5–3.0% for card transactions, 0.5–1.5% for local payment methods, setup fees of GEL 100–500, and chargeback fees of GEL 20–50.
  • UniPAY (Wix): Fixed at 2.5% + 0.25 GEL - competitive for small merchants who can't negotiate bank-acquirer rates.
  • Keepz: 2.5% for sub-10k GEL volumes; above that, custom pricing applies.
  • NBG draft cap: A proposed 0.5% MDR ceiling is under review. Current domestic interchange is 1.6–1.7%, so the proposal would squeeze acquirer margins significantly and may lead to higher fixed fees or reduced issuer rewards if passed.

Consumer payment behavior

  • Visa and Mastercard dominate online.
  • Local wallets (TBC Pay, Liberty Pay) and QR payments are widely used.
  • GEL is the expected checkout currency; foreign-currency pricing increases abandonment.
  • 3-D Secure and SMS OTP are standard fraud controls.

Competitor/alternative context

  • Stripe / PayPal: Not directly available for Georgian-registered IEs in the way they're in EU/US markets. Georgian merchants often rely on local acquirers or regional aggregators.
  • Global PSPs (Adyen, Nuvei): Available in Georgia primarily for international merchants or via local partnerships; often overkill for a solo IE.

Limitations and critiques

  • Source gap on exact bank pricing: Neither TBC Bank nor Bank of Georgia publishes standard merchant discount rates for IEs online. Actual pricing is negotiated after KYC and risk scoring. The PayAtlas range (1.5–3.0%) is the best independent benchmark available.
  • Source gap on Liberty Payments: The libertypayments.ge portal returned minimal crawlable content, and no public fee schedule was located.
  • Source gap on United Payment Georgia: While the NBG registry confirms its license (reg. 405546075, March 2023), no public documentation, fee schedule, or integration guide was found.
  • NBG fee cap uncertainty: The 0.5% MDR cap is draft legislation. Its passage date and final form are unclear; merchants shouldn't bank on it until enacted.
  • IE regulatory risk: The 2026 tightening of rules for non-resident IEs (work permits, physical presence) could affect banking and PSP relationships if an IE loses Small Business Status.

Open questions

  • What are the exact merchant discount rates TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia offer to low-volume Individual Entrepreneurs?
  • Does Liberty Payments offer a competitive online gateway for e-commerce IEs, or is it focused on POS/utility payments?
  • What are United Payment Georgia's products, pricing, and integration methods?
  • Will the NBG's 0.5% MDR cap be enacted, and if so, when and with what exceptions?
  • How will the 2026 IE rule changes (work permits/residency) affect non-resident founders' ability to maintain merchant accounts?

Practical takeaways

  • Eliminate Payze from your shortlist immediately. it's no longer operating in Georgia.
  • Start with UniPAY or Keepz for fast, transparent setup. Both have published pricing and lower onboarding friction, making them ideal for an IE testing the market.
  • Apply to TBC or Bank of Georgia if you expect high volume (or need strong bank-brand trust), but budget 2–4 weeks for KYC and expect to negotiate rates.
  • Prepare your documents before applying: IE registration certificate, tax ID, Georgian business bank account, passport/ID, working website with refund and privacy policies.
  • Monitor the NBG fee-cap proposal. If the 0.5% MDR cap becomes law, acquiring pricing could drop sharply - but providers may introduce monthly fees to compensate.

Sources used