Is Tapaya a ThePay alternative?

For a software company or merchant that wants online and in-person payments from one provider, yes. If you only need online payments and ThePay's published pricing and platform integrations already fit, ThePay is a credible, well-established option on its own terms.

Do I have to be a software company to use Tapaya?

No. Tapaya works for direct merchants too: sign up, verify your business, and start taking payments online and in person, approved in about 48 hours. The same underlying infrastructure is also available as an SDK for software companies that want to embed payments into their own product — one platform serving both audiences, not two separate products.

Does ThePay offer in-person payments?

No product for this was found in ThePay's public materials — it's positioned as an online payment gateway. Tapaya's SDK covers both online payments and in-person Tap to Pay from the same integration.

Can I embed ThePay's payments into my own platform for other merchants?

ThePay's Partner Program is a referral arrangement: agencies and developers refer clients and earn a commission, but each client signs up for their own ThePay account directly. It isn't a white-label product. Tapaya's SDK is purpose-built for a software company to embed payments under its own brand for its own merchants.

All comparisonsUpdated 2026-08-31

ComparisonOnline payment gateway (CZ/SK)

Tapaya vs ThePay

ThePay is a Czech online payment gateway, live in Czechia and Slovakia with published tiered pricing. Tapaya is one SDK a software company embeds for both online payments and in-person Tap to Pay, under its own brand, with no separate integration for each channel.

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At a glance

How Tapaya and ThePay differ

ThePay is an established Czech online payment gateway, EU-licensed as an Electronic Money Institution and live in Czechia and Slovakia, with published, tiered pricing and no monthly contract. Its public materials describe an online-only gateway, no in-person or card-present product was found, and its "Partner Program" is a referral/reseller arrangement rather than a white-label embed for other platforms. Tapaya covers both online payments and in-person Tap to Pay from the same SDK, so a software company that wants both channels, or a merchant that wants to take payments in-store as well as online, doesn't need a second provider for the second channel.

Tapaya compared with ThePay
Capability	Tapaya	ThePay
Who it's built for	Software companies that want in-person and online payments to be one native, branded part of their own product (POS vendors, vertical SaaS, marketplaces, banks, fintechs), and direct merchants who want both channels from one provider.	Czech and Slovak e-shops, from small businesses to established retailers, on Shoptet, Upgates and standard e-commerce platforms.
In-person payments	The same SDK also runs Tap to Pay on any commercial Android device — one integration, both channels.	No in-person or card-present product found in ThePay's public materials; every source describes it strictly as an online payment gateway.
Embeddable under your own brand	Fully white-label across both channels, your app, your UI, your name end to end. Customers never see Tapaya.	ThePay's Partner Program is a referral arrangement (agencies and developers refer clients for a commission); no public white-label or embedded-payments product was found for reselling ThePay under a platform's own brand.
Platform integrations	One SDK, integrated directly into your own product.	Native plugins for Shoptet and Upgates, plus open-source/CMS plugins (WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, OpenCart and others) and a documented API.
Pricing	One transparent blended rate, from 1.39%, no monthly fee, no lock-in, for both channels.	Published tiered pricing from 0.79–0.99% depending on monthly turnover, plus a small monthly gateway fee at the lowest tier (waived above 250,000 CZK/month); no setup or activation fee.
Best fit	You're a software company that wants one integration to cover both online and in-person payments under your own brand, or a merchant who wants both from one provider.	You're a Czech or Slovak e-shop that wants a straightforward, transparently-priced local gateway, and you don't need in-person acceptance or a white-label flow.

Who it's built for
Tapaya
Software companies that want in-person and online payments to be one native, branded part of their own product (POS vendors, vertical SaaS, marketplaces, banks, fintechs), and direct merchants who want both channels from one provider.
ThePay
Czech and Slovak e-shops, from small businesses to established retailers, on Shoptet, Upgates and standard e-commerce platforms.
In-person payments
Tapaya
The same SDK also runs Tap to Pay on any commercial Android device — one integration, both channels.
ThePay
No in-person or card-present product found in ThePay's public materials; every source describes it strictly as an online payment gateway.
Embeddable under your own brand
Tapaya
Fully white-label across both channels, your app, your UI, your name end to end. Customers never see Tapaya.
ThePay
ThePay's Partner Program is a referral arrangement (agencies and developers refer clients for a commission); no public white-label or embedded-payments product was found for reselling ThePay under a platform's own brand.
Platform integrations
Tapaya
One SDK, integrated directly into your own product.
ThePay
Native plugins for Shoptet and Upgates, plus open-source/CMS plugins (WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, OpenCart and others) and a documented API.
Pricing
Tapaya
One transparent blended rate, from 1.39%, no monthly fee, no lock-in, for both channels.
ThePay
Published tiered pricing from 0.79–0.99% depending on monthly turnover, plus a small monthly gateway fee at the lowest tier (waived above 250,000 CZK/month); no setup or activation fee.
Best fit
Tapaya
You're a software company that wants one integration to cover both online and in-person payments under your own brand, or a merchant who wants both from one provider.
ThePay
You're a Czech or Slovak e-shop that wants a straightforward, transparently-priced local gateway, and you don't need in-person acceptance or a white-label flow.

A strong online gateway, with no second channel

ThePay is a real, credible option for a Czech or Slovak e-shop: an Electronic Money Institution license passported across the EU, clean published pricing, and solid platform coverage through Shoptet and Upgates specifically. What it doesn't offer is a path into in-person payments — its public materials describe an online-only gateway, and its only platform-facing program is a referral arrangement, not a way to embed ThePay under another company's brand. Tapaya's online payments run on the same SDK, API and onboarding as its in-person Tap to Pay — useful specifically for a software company or merchant that wants both channels without adding a second provider once it needs in-store acceptance too.

Where each fits

Choosing the right tool

Choose Tapaya when

You're a software company that wants online payments and in-person Tap to Pay to be one native, branded part of your own product, not two separate provider relationships for two channels. Or you're a merchant in Czechia or Slovakia who wants both online and in-person payments from one provider, at a transparent rate.

Choose ThePay when

You're a Czech or Slovak e-shop that wants a well-priced, established local online gateway with simple, published tiered pricing and no long-term contract. You don't need in-person acceptance, and you don't need to embed the payment experience for other merchants under your own brand.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Keep comparing

See how Tapaya stacks up elsewhere

Accurate as of 2026-08-31. Based on publicly available information; all product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Comparison based on publicly documented ThePay product and pricing pages as of August 2026; recent (2025-2026) merchant-count and transaction-volume figures were not found published, so the most recently available figures are used with that caveat. Capabilities, pricing and regional availability change over time — verify current details with ThePay directly.