Google AI ModeOct 1, 2026
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Data as of Oct 10, 2026A topic in Payment Orchestration and Gateway Platforms.
Reviewed by Dimitry Apollonsky
AI summary
Adyen holds a narrow lead over Braintree for customizable checkout interfaces that offload PCI compliance. Akurateco is the usual answer when buyers specifically seek white-label payment gateway providers.
handling PCI compliance offload alongside customizable checkout interfaces
customizable checkout flows with secure payment data offload
offloading sensitive card data handling while maintaining checkout styling
customizable modular components that reduce PCI compliance scope
vaulting card data securely while supporting flexible payment interfaces
Mentioned in · Jul 31 – Oct 10, 2026
Google AI ModeOct 1, 2026
Stripe, Braintree, Adyen, and Spreedly are the leading payment platforms that allow you to build a fully customizable checkout UI while deflecting PCI compliance scope by handling card data security via hosted fields, secure iframes, or native mobile SDKs.[](https://stripe.com/guides/pci-compliance)[[2](https://developer.spreedly.com/docs/securing-iframe)](https://developer.spreedly.com/docs/securing-iframe)
These platforms isolate sensitive card data entry from your web servers, allowing you to qualify for the lowest PCI compliance burden (typically SAQ A ) because raw cardholder data never touches or passes through your infrastructure.[](https://curbstone.com/payment-iframes-pci-compliance/)[[2](https://developer.spreedly.com/docs/securing-iframe)](https://stripe.com/guides/pci-compliance)[[3](https://curbstone.com/payment-iframes-pci-compliance)](https://www.kubra.com/about-us/pci-compliance-guidelines)
| Platform | Customization Approach | Security & Tokenization Mechanism | PCI Compliance Scope Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Elements | Granular CSS styling, custom layout assembly, and completely headless component styling via Stripe.js. | Modular inputs (separate fields for card number, expiry, CVC) rendered via secure, isolated elements. | Qualifies for SAQ A when using official Elements or Mobile SDKs. |
<input> tags for credit card numbers, the platform injects secure micro-iframes into your form. You can style these fields via CSS to look native to your site, but the DOM elements themselves belong to the payment provider.[](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcicompliance/comments/1ibnnzc/pci_dss_compliance_when_running_custom_payment/)[[2](https://developer.spreedly.com/docs/securing-iframe)](https://curbstone.com/payment-iframes-pci-compliance/)If you want to narrow this down, tell me:
I can recommend the exact integration path and expected PCI documentation for your setup.
ChatGPT SearchOct 1, 2026
Yes. If by “fully customizable checkout UI” you mean you own the page/layout/branding and can build the checkout experience yourself, while the payment provider keeps raw card data out of your servers, several platforms fit.
| Platform | Custom UI | Raw card data stays off your server | PCI approach | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Elements | Very high — modular Elements with CSS-level styling | Yes |
We want full control over the look of our checkout page. Which providers allow for a custom UI while offloading the PCI compliance and security requirements?
ChatGPT SearchOct 10, 2026
If you want a fully branded, custom checkout UI while outsourcing the handling of sensitive card data, the key is to choose a payment provider that offers hosted fields, secure iframes, client-side encryption, or tokenization.
These let your team control the checkout experience without having raw card numbers and CVVs pass through your own application servers. Several providers support this model, but they differ in how much of the UI you can customize and how much PCI DSS compliance work remains.
(Best fit for full UI control)
Worldpay's Checkout SDK uses hosted payment fields so you can design your own checkout form and branding while sensitive card data is sent directly to Worldpay. It supports web and native mobile integrations, with sessions and tokens for payment processing. Worldpay documents eligibility for SAQ A when correctly integrated.
Google AI ModeOct 10, 2026
| Braintree Hosted Fields | Full CSS injection into individual input frames so fields match your exact brand typography and layout. | Secure iframe inputs hosted by PayPal/Braintree injected into your DOM structure. | Qualifies for SAQ A by keeping card data off your servers. |
| Adyen Web Components | Highly adaptable UI components that integrate directly into your custom checkout flow with custom styling. | Client-side encryption and secure modular components tokenized before hitting backend logic. | Reduces burden to SAQ A via tokenized components. |
| Spreedly | Agnostic vaulting architecture allowing total layout control via custom iframes or direct mobile views. | Isolates card data entry into secure hosted fields/iframes and vaults cards to pass to multiple downstream gateways. | Minimizes PCI compliance scope to SAQ A. |
tok_12345abcde ). You use this token to execute backend charges, meaning your database and application servers never process or store raw Primary Account Numbers (PAN).[](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcicompliance/comments/1ibnnzc/pci_dss_compliance_when_running_custom_payment/)[[2](https://developer.spreedly.com/docs/securing-iframe)](https://www.fiserv.com/en/insights/articles-and-blogs/how-tokenization-enables-isvs-to-deliver-a-seamless-secure-integrated-payment-experience.html)| Simplified PCI validation; Stripe provides secure payment components |
| General-purpose custom checkout |
| Adyen Custom Card / Web Components | Very high — build your own UI around Adyen-hosted card fields | Yes; card fields are in Adyen-served iframes | Designed to reduce PCI scope | Enterprise/global payments |
| Braintree Hosted Fields | High — you control layout, styling and checkout behavior | Yes; card data goes directly to Braintree | Eligible for SAQ A when using Hosted Fields | Custom checkout + PayPal ecosystem |
| Spreedly Headless Checkout | Very high — custom layout, styling and flow | Yes; secure iframes capture PCI-sensitive fields | Designed to minimize payment-page PCI scope | Payment orchestration / multiple gateways |
Stripe is probably the most straightforward choice for a conventional custom checkout. Elements lets you compose payment inputs into your own page and style them at the CSS level. Stripe specifically describes Elements as enabling “pixel-perfect” payment experiences while providing built-in security/compliance functionality.
The important architectural distinction is that your application handles tokens/payment methods rather than raw PAN/card data. That substantially reduces your PCI scope, although it doesn't mean your company has literally zero PCI responsibilities.
Adyen is particularly interesting if you need a highly customized checkout with lots of payment methods or international coverage.
Its Web Components let you assemble the checkout yourself, while its Custom Card integration lets you build your own card-payment UI with Adyen-hosted iframes collecting and encrypting the sensitive card details.
Adyen also supports an API-only approach, but if minimizing PCI exposure is a priority, its client-side card components are the important piece.
Braintree's Hosted Fields are a strong option if you want your own checkout form rather than a provider-hosted checkout.
The card-number, CVV, expiration and postal-code inputs are rendered as Braintree-hosted iframes. The raw card information goes directly to Braintree, and your server receives a payment-method nonce instead. Braintree says this approach can make the merchant eligible for SAQ A and lets you control the checkout's styling and behavior.
One important caveat: Braintree distinguishes Hosted Fields from its lower-level direct-tokenization approach. Direct card tokenization does not provide the same SAQ A status, so Hosted Fields is the relevant integration if PCI scope reduction is a key requirement.
Spreedly is a little different: it's particularly useful when you want payment orchestration, rather than committing your architecture to a single processor.
Its Headless Checkout SDK provides secure fields that can be inserted into a completely custom form. Spreedly says merchants control the surrounding layout, styling and flow while the SDK supplies secure fields for PCI-sensitive information.
If your requirements are:
Custom React/Next.js checkout → card fields embedded in your UI → card data never reaches your backend → minimal PCI burden
I'd shortlist:
One subtle but important point: “PCI compliant” does not mean “the provider handles all of your PCI obligations.” Your integration, hosting environment, scripts, security controls, and SAQ requirements still matter. The architectural goal is generally to prevent your systems from ever receiving/storing raw cardholder data, thereby substantially reducing PCI DSS scope. Stripe, Adyen, and Braintree all explicitly provide mechanisms aimed at that outcome.
If you tell me whether you're building this for SaaS, ecommerce, marketplace, or subscriptions, I can also compare these four on pricing, PCI scope, tokenization, 3DS/SCA, Apple Pay/Google Pay, saved cards, and React/Next.js integration.
Customization: Very high.
Best for: Businesses that want a bespoke checkout across web and mobile.
Adyen's API-only integration with its Custom Card Web Component lets you build your own payment form while secure, provider-hosted iframes collect and encrypt card details. Its standard Components integration is easier to implement but offers somewhat less freedom over the form itself.
Customization: Very high with API-only integration.
Best for: Global businesses that need flexible payment flows, multiple payment methods, and tokenization.
Spreedly's Headless Checkout SDK provides hosted card fields inside your custom form. It tokenizes payment data into its vault and can route transactions to connected gateways. This makes it particularly relevant if you want gateway flexibility rather than depending on a single processor.
Customization: Very high with Hosted Fields.
Best for: Platforms, marketplaces, and businesses that want payment orchestration and portability across gateways.
Braintree Hosted Fields embeds secure iframes for sensitive card fields while letting you style the checkout to match your site. Raw card data goes directly to Braintree, and your application receives a payment-method nonce instead.
Customization: High.
Best for: Businesses seeking a developer-friendly gateway with PayPal ecosystem integration.
Stripe Elements provides modular payment UI components with CSS-level styling and flexible layouts. You can build a highly branded checkout without directly handling raw card data. Stripe also offers a more integrated embedded Checkout experience if you prefer less frontend development.
Customization: High to very high, depending on integration.
Best for: Startups and SaaS businesses prioritizing developer experience, documentation, and fast implementation.
Checkout.com Flow offers embeddable, customizable payment components. Its hosted payment page option is more turnkey and brandable, but less flexible than building your own UI with embedded components. Avoid its Full Card Details API if your objective is to keep raw card data out of your environment, because that integration requires a higher level of PCI compliance.
Customization: High with Flow; moderate with hosted pages.
Best for: International merchants and enterprise payment operations.
| Provider | Custom UI freedom | Sensitive data handling | Best use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldpay | Very high | Hosted fields and sessions | Fully bespoke checkout |
| Adyen | Very high | Secure iframe fields and encryption | Global enterprise payments |
| Spreedly | Very high | Hosted fields and vault tokens | Multi-gateway orchestration |
| Braintree | High | Hosted Fields and nonce | Cards and PayPal |
| Stripe | High–very high | Elements and tokenized payment flows | SaaS and fast development |
| Checkout.com | High | Flow components | International enterprise |
These are qualitative assessments of documented integration capabilities, not independent security ratings.
The crucial distinction is between a white-label hosted payment page and a fully custom checkout with secure hosted fields.
Hosted fields / secure iframe
Your team controls the surrounding layout, branding, and checkout flow. The provider captures card number, expiry, and CVV in isolated fields. This is generally the best fit for your stated requirements.
Client-side tokenization
The provider returns a token or session reference that your backend uses to initiate the payment. Your servers don't need to receive raw card details.
Direct card-data API
If raw card details pass through your backend, your PCI DSS scope can increase significantly. Avoid this approach if offloading sensitive-data security is a primary goal.
Even with hosted fields, you retain responsibilities for securing your application, protecting payment-page scripts, and meeting applicable PCI DSS requirements. Confirm SAQ eligibility with your acquirer or qualified security assessor rather than assuming that an iframe automatically makes you compliant.
I'd shortlist Worldpay, Adyen, and Spreedly first if full checkout control is the priority. Add Stripe if ease of development and ecosystem maturity matter more, or Braintree if PayPal integration is especially important.
One important question that could change the recommendation: Are you building a payment gateway for your own business, or a white-label payment platform that your customers (merchants) will use under their own brands?
The second scenario requires additional evaluation of multi-merchant onboarding, merchant-level credentials, sub-merchant settlement, gateway portability, and the commercial availability of a true white-label or payment-facilitator arrangement. Not every provider offers all of these capabilities under a standard merchant account.
To fully customize your checkout UI while entirely offloading the PCI-DSS scope for sensitive card data, you need providers that offer hosted secure fields (iframes injected directly into your form) or deeply styling-compatible UI component toolkits . Sensitive data like PANs and CVVs go straight to the gateway's secure vault, reducing your compliance burden to the simplest self-assessment questionnaire (typically SAQ-A).[](https://pulsecrm.com/blog/best-white-label-payment-gateways/)
The top white-label and embeddable payment gateway providers supporting this architecture include:
Adyen for Platforms ). Their Web Components allow you to build an entirely native-feeling checkout layout. The secure text fields for card input are rendered via secure hosted fields, ensuring raw card data never touches your application server.[](https://connectpay.com/blog/white-label-payment-gateway/)[[2](https://connectpay.com/blog/white-label-payment-gateway)](https://pulsecrm.com/blog/best-white-label-payment-gateways/)To help narrow down the best fit, could you share: