Best Shopify Payment Gateways in the Philippines for 2024

Introduction

Success in the Philippine e-commerce market depends heavily on how a store handles local payment preferences. While Shopify provides the infrastructure to build a world-class storefront, the default checkout experience often lacks the specific local integrations Filipino shoppers expect. In a region where e-wallets like GCash and Maya dominate and Cash on Delivery remains a critical trust factor, choosing the right payment gateway is not just a technical necessity—it is a core part of your conversion strategy.

We built HidePay on the Shopify App Store to help merchants navigate these localized requirements by giving them granular control over how these options appear at checkout. Choosing a gateway is the first step, but managing how those gateways behave for different customers is what truly optimizes a store for the Philippine market. This guide provides a detailed analysis of the best payment providers available for Filipino merchants and explains how to structure your checkout to maximize both security and sales.

The Philippine E-commerce Landscape

The Philippine digital economy is unique because it is mobile-first and heavily reliant on a specific set of local financial tools. According to recent market data, e-wallets have surpassed traditional credit cards in terms of daily usage for online transactions. For a Shopify merchant, this means that providing only "Visa" and "Mastercard" logos at checkout will likely result in high cart abandonment rates.

Filipino shoppers look for familiar names like GCash, Maya, and GrabPay. They also look for QR Ph compatibility, which has become the national standard for QR payments. Furthermore, the Philippines still has a significant "unbanked" population that relies on over-the-counter (OTC) payments at outlets like 7-Eleven or Cebuana Lhuillier. To succeed here, your checkout must be flexible enough to accommodate everyone from the urban professional with a credit card to the provincial shopper using a remittance center.

Why You Can't Use Shopify Payments in the Philippines

It is important to clarify that Shopify Payments is not currently available for businesses located in the Philippines. This is a common point of confusion for new merchants who see Shopify Payments advertised in tutorials. Because the native gateway is unavailable, you must use a third-party payment provider to accept money.

When you use a third-party provider in the Philippines, two types of fees typically apply:

1. Provider Transaction Fees: The percentage and fixed fee charged by the gateway (e.g., PayMongo or HitPay).
2. Shopify Third-Party Transaction Fees: A fee charged by Shopify for using an external gateway. Depending on your Shopify plan (Basic, Shopify, or Advanced), this fee usually ranges from 0.5% to 2.0%.

Because you are forced into the third-party ecosystem, your choice of gateway becomes even more critical for protecting your profit margins.

Top Shopify Payment Gateways in the Philippines

Several providers have built specialized integrations for the Philippine market. Each has its own fee structure and supported payment methods.

HitPay

HitPay has emerged as one of the most popular choices for Shopify merchants in the Philippines because of its wide range of supported local methods and its lack of setup or monthly fees. It is a full-stack platform regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

• Supported Methods: Visa, Mastercard, GCash, QR Ph, Maya, GrabPay, ShopeePay, BillEase (BNPL), and over-the-counter payments.
• Pricing Structure: HitPay uses a pay-per-transaction model. Note that there is often an additional 0.5% Shopify plugin fee on top of their base rates. For example, domestic cards may cost roughly 3.5% + ₱15, while GCash transactions are around 2.8%.
• Key Advantage: It consolidates almost every relevant Philippine payment method into a single integration, reducing the need to manage multiple accounts.

PayMongo

PayMongo is a home-grown Filipino payment gateway that is widely respected for its modern API and ease of use. It is particularly popular among digital-native brands and stores that prioritize a clean, professional checkout experience.

• Supported Methods: Credit and debit cards (Visa, MC), GCash, Maya, GrabPay, ShopeePay, and BillEase. They also support QR Ph and over-the-counter payments via 7-Eleven and Cebuana Lhuillier.
• Pricing Structure: Credit cards usually sit at 3.5% + ₱15. E-wallets are generally charged at 2.9%, and remittance center payments are around 1.5%.
• Key Advantage: PayMongo has a very responsive support team located in Manila and offers a highly stable integration that rarely experiences downtime.

Maya (Formerly PayMaya)

As one of the largest financial ecosystems in the country, Maya offers a powerful "Maya Checkout" plugin for Shopify. Many customers already have the Maya app installed, which allows for one-click payments and high trust levels.

• Supported Methods: Maya wallet, QR Ph, and all major credit/debit cards. They also support JCB and American Express, which are sometimes excluded by smaller providers.
• Pricing Structure: Card rates are competitive, often around 3.5% + ₱10. Their QR Ph rates are notably lower, usually around 1.5%.
• Key Advantage: Direct integration with the Maya ecosystem can sometimes lead to faster settlements and access to exclusive Maya promotions that can be passed on to your customers.

Xendit

Xendit is a major player in Southeast Asian payments and has built a robust presence in the Philippines. It is known for its high success rates and enterprise-grade reliability.

• Supported Methods: Cards, e-wallets (GCash, Maya, GrabPay), and an extensive list of bank transfers (BPI, UnionBank).
• Pricing Structure: Fees range from 1.8% to 4.2% depending on the specific payment channel used.
• Key Advantage: Excellent reporting tools and automated reconciliation, which is helpful for stores doing high volume.

Strategic Use of Cash on Delivery (COD)

In the Philippines, Cash on Delivery is often the most requested payment method. However, it presents a significant logistical challenge. High "Return to Origin" (RTO) rates—where a customer refuses a package at the door—can eat into your margins through wasted shipping costs and tied-up inventory.

Most Philippine merchants treat COD as a necessary evil. The smart strategy is not to disable it entirely but to control when it appears. For example, a merchant might want to:

• Disable COD for high-value orders (e.g., over ₱10,000) to ensure the payment is secured upfront.
• Hide COD for specific high-risk zip codes where delivery success rates are low.
• Offer COD only to "Gold" tier customers who have a history of successful deliveries.

Using our tool, HidePay, you can create these rules easily — see the Help Center guide on Preventing Fraud: How to Hide Cash on Delivery for Expensive Orders for step-by-step instructions. By applying conditions based on cart total or customer tags, you ensure that COD is only available when the risk is manageable. This protects your bottom line without alienating the broader market.

How to Optimize Your Checkout Strategy

Choosing a gateway is only half the battle. How you present those options determines your conversion rate. A cluttered checkout with ten different icons is just as bad as one with no options at all.

1. Sort by Popularity

The order in which payment methods appear matters. In the Philippines, GCash should almost always be near the top. If a customer has to scroll past three obscure credit card icons to find their preferred e-wallet, you risk losing them. We recommend sorting your list so that the most common local methods appear first — learn how to Sort and Rename payment methods in the Checkout.

2. Rename for Clarity

Sometimes third-party gateways use generic names in the Shopify admin that might confuse a customer. For example, a gateway might simply be labeled "Credit Card." However, a Filipino shopper might be looking specifically for "Debit Card via Maya" or "BPI Online Banking." Renaming your payment methods to include these familiar terms can reduce hesitation during the final step of the purchase.

3. Block Express Buttons by Condition

Shopify often forces express checkout buttons (like PayPal or Apple Pay) to the top of the page. While convenient for international shoppers, these are often underutilized in the Philippines and can distract from local methods. You can use HidePay to hide these buttons based on the customer’s country or the currency they are using. If the customer is in the Philippines, you can hide Apple Pay and instead prioritize local e-wallets.

4. Use Native Shopify Functions

It is important to use tools that respect the speed and security of your store. HidePay is built on Native Shopify Functions. This means the rules you create run directly within Shopify’s infrastructure. There are no slow external scripts or theme code edits that might break during an update. This ensures your checkout remains fast, which is critical in a country where mobile internet speeds can be inconsistent — read more about Nextools' approach to Shopify Functions on the Nextools blog.

Key Considerations for International Merchants

If you are a merchant based outside the Philippines but selling into the market, you face additional hurdles. You likely cannot sign up for local providers like PayMongo or Maya without a local business entity.

In this case, your best options are:

• PayPal: Widely recognized, but transaction fees for international payments are high (often 4.4% + fixed fee).
• Airwallex or Stripe: If you have an entity in a supported country, you can use these to accept international cards, though you may miss out on GCash-specific integrations.
• HidePay for Localization: Even with a global gateway, use the app to hide irrelevant options. If you are selling to a customer in Manila, they don't need to see European-specific options like Klarna or SEPA. Hiding these keeps the checkout clean and relevant.

Implementation Checklist for PH Stores

To get your Philippine Shopify store ready for launch, follow these steps:

1. Register with a Gateway: Choose between HitPay, PayMongo, or Maya. Ensure you have your SEC or DTI registration documents ready for verification.
2. Enable QR Ph: Ensure your chosen gateway supports the national QR standard, as this is the most common way customers pay via bank apps.
3. Set Up COD Rules: Determine your risk threshold. Decide at what price point or for which products you will require a prepaid transaction.
4. Install HidePay: Once your gateways are connected, use the app to sort them so GCash and Maya are at the top and to hide COD for high-risk scenarios — install HidePay for Shopify.
5. Test the Checkout: Perform a "live" transaction using a small amount (like ₱10) to ensure the money flows correctly from the customer’s e-wallet to your gateway account.

Protecting Your Margins

Transaction fees in the Philippines can be higher than in the US or Europe. When you add the gateway fee to the Shopify third-party fee, you could be losing 4% to 6% of every sale before you even consider shipping or marketing costs.

This makes "Right-Sizing" your payment options vital. If one payment method has a significantly higher fee than others, you might choose to hide it for low-margin products. Or, if a specific gateway frequently results in chargebacks, you can use a rule to hide it for new customers while keeping it for returning ones. Protecting your margins is about being surgical with which payment methods you offer to whom.

Conclusion

The Philippine market offers massive growth potential, but it requires a localized approach to payments. By integrating a strong third-party gateway like HitPay or PayMongo and then using HidePay — free to install on Shopify to manage those options, you create a checkout experience that feels local, trustworthy, and efficient.

Don't let a generic checkout experience hold back your sales in the Philippines. You can start optimizing your payment rules today by installing our tool. It is a "Built for Shopify" certified app with a 4.8-star rating, designed to give you the control you need over your store’s most critical page.

Ready to optimize your checkout? Try HidePay on Shopify and take control of your payment methods today.

FAQ

Does Shopify support GCash in the Philippines?

Shopify does not support GCash natively. However, you can accept GCash by integrating a third-party payment gateway that supports it, such as HitPay, PayMongo, or Maya. Once integrated, GCash will appear as an option during the checkout process.

What are the cheapest payment gateways in the Philippines?

QR Ph is generally the most affordable payment method, with rates often as low as 1% to 1.5%. For e-wallets and cards, HitPay and PayMongo offer competitive pay-as-you-go rates without setup fees. Always check for any additional Shopify plugin fees that might be added to the base rate.

Can I hide Cash on Delivery for certain orders?

Yes. Using the app, you can create rules to hide Cash on Delivery based on specific conditions such as the cart total, the customer's shipping address (zip code or province), or specific product tags. This is a common strategy for reducing delivery failures on high-value items — see the HidePay guide on How to create a payment customization for configuration options.

Why is Shopify charging me an extra fee for my payment gateway?

When you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify charges a "Third-Party Transaction Fee" of 0.5% to 2% depending on your plan. Since Shopify Payments is not available in the Philippines, this fee is currently unavoidable for Philippine-based merchants.

Additional resources:

• Learn more about combining payment and shipping controls with the Nextools HideSuite bundle announcement.
• If you need advanced Shopify Functions support to extend payment logic, consider SupaEasy on the Shopify App Store.
• For stores that also need shipping method control, HideShip provides complementary shipping rules and is available on the Shopify App Store — search for HideShip in the Shopify App Store to install.