How to Accept Payments on a WordPress Website in the Bahamas
Bahamian businesses live closer to the US market than almost anywhere else in the Caribbean. Bonefishing lodges in Andros take bookings from Florida anglers, boat operators in Nassau and the Exumas sell island-hopping trips to cruise passengers before their ship docks, and vacation rental hosts across the Family Islands compete directly with US listings. Their customers are used to paying by card for everything, and a WordPress site that cannot take a card payment looks broken to them.
The frustrating part is that the tools those customers know, Stripe and Square, are not options on the merchant side. As of 2026, neither supports the Bahamas as a merchant country, so the WordPress payment plugins built around them cannot be connected by a Bahamian business. Some businesses respond by invoicing through workarounds or falling back to bank wires, and many simply lose the sale to a competitor who can charge a card.
This guide covers a direct route that works locally: the free HandyPay Payments plugin for WordPress, which puts card payment buttons on your pages, backed by a HandyPay account that pays out to your Bahamian bank account.
What Bahamian Customers Expect From Your Website
The Bahamian dollar is pegged one to one to the US dollar, and the visitor economy prices in dollars either way. That makes the payment expectation simple and unforgiving: a US or Canadian visitor booking a fishing charter or a snorkel trip expects to enter a card number and get an instant confirmation email, because that is how every booking they have ever made works.
A "contact us to arrange payment" page breaks that expectation. Wire transfers from US banks involve fees and forms most consumers have never dealt with. Asking a cruise passenger with a fixed port day to mail a check is not realistic. For local customers, the story is similar at smaller scale: a Nassau boutique or a wedding photographer collecting a session deposit gets paid faster and chased less when the card option is right on the page.
Getting a HandyPay Account in the Bahamas
HandyPay is available to businesses in the Bahamas. Setup is online from start to finish: you sign up, complete identity verification, and add the bank account where payouts should land. There is no card terminal to lease and no monthly fee on the free plan.
One account then covers several ways of getting paid:
- Payment buttons on WordPress pages via the free plugin
- Payment links shareable by WhatsApp, SMS, or email
- QR codes for dockside and in-shop payments
- Recurring subscriptions for repeat billing
Everything is managed through the web Merchant Portal or the iOS and Android apps. Payouts run on a daily schedule to your local bank account and typically arrive within 2 to 4 business days. Pricing and settlement currency support varies by country, so check the currency options for the Bahamas in the app when you configure your account.
Adding the Plugin to Your WordPress Site
The plugin is HandyPay Payments, free to install from WordPress.org:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins, then Add New.
- Search for HandyPay, then install and activate HandyPay Payments.
- Connect it to your HandyPay account with the one-click connection from the Merchant Portal.
- Add a payment button to a page and publish.
The whole process requires no coding. HandyPay's standard fees apply and the plugin itself adds no extra fee.
Shortcode, Block, or Elementor: Pick What Fits Your Site
Bahamian business sites span a decade of WordPress eras, and the plugin accounts for that with three placement options:
Shortcode. The universal option. Paste it into any page or post, including older themes that predate the block editor.
Gutenberg block. For sites on the modern editor, add the block and configure the amount and label without leaving the page.
Elementor widget. For the many tourism and rental sites built with Elementor, drag the widget into the design.
Buttons take one-time payments and donations, and the styling is customizable so the button matches your site rather than clashing with it. A charter operator might place a fixed deposit button on each trip page; a nonprofit in Freeport might use the donation mode for its giving page.
What It Costs Compared to the Alternatives
| Option | Upfront cost | Recurring cost | Works for a Bahamian merchant | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe or Square plugin | N/A | N/A | Not supported as of 2026 | N/A |
| Bank wire instructions | None | None | Yes | Manual, days later |
| Bank merchant gateway | Application and setup | Varies by bank | Yes, with paperwork | Instant |
| HandyPay Payments plugin | Free plugin, no hardware | No monthly fee on free plan | Yes | Instant |
HandyPay's transaction fee is 4.9% plus US$0.40 on the free plan, with no monthly fee. The Pro plan at US$29 per month lowers it to 4.2% plus US$0.40. For a lodge or charter business taking large deposits regularly, running the numbers on Pro is worthwhile; for a business just starting to take cards, the free plan carries no fixed cost at all.
A Realistic Setup for a Charter or Lodge Business
A pattern that fits Bahamian tourism operators well: put a deposit button on every trip or package page so US and Canadian guests can commit by card the moment they choose dates. When a custom itinerary is quoted by email, attach a payment link for the exact amount instead of wire instructions. On the day, extras like gear rental, fuel surcharges, or an added guest can be settled with a QR code at the dock. If you host repeat corporate groups or run a membership, recurring subscriptions handle the billing automatically.
Each of those payments lands in the same Merchant Portal, and payouts arrive at your Bahamian bank account on the same daily schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can American and Canadian visitors pay on my site?
Yes. International cards are processed like any other card payment, which is the main reason tourism businesses in the Bahamas set this up.
Is Stripe or Square available for Bahamian businesses?
No. As of 2026, neither Stripe nor Square supports the Bahamas as a merchant country. The HandyPay Payments plugin exists precisely for markets like this and supports the Bahamas directly.
What are the total costs?
The plugin is free, there is no monthly fee on the free plan, and no hardware is required. You pay 4.9% plus US$0.40 per transaction, or upgrade to Pro at US$29 per month for 4.2% plus US$0.40.
When do I get paid?
Payouts go to your local bank account on a daily schedule and typically arrive within 2 to 4 business days.
Do I need an online store or cart for this to work?
No. The plugin adds standalone payment buttons to normal WordPress pages, which suits deposits, trip bookings, session fees, and donations. If you sell products with a cart, the separate HandyPay for WooCommerce gateway is designed for that.
Can I take payments away from the website too?
Yes. The same HandyPay account generates payment links you can send by WhatsApp, SMS, or email, and QR codes for in-person payment, so the website button is one channel of several.
Related Guides
- How to Accept Payments in the Bahamas
- WooCommerce Payments in the Bahamas
- Stripe Alternatives for the Caribbean
- Payment Links vs Payment Gateways