Choosing the Best Shopify Direct Payment Gateways for Conversion

Introduction

A merchant's choice of payment processing architecture directly determines how much friction a customer feels during the final seconds of a purchase. Shopify supports two primary types of credit card providers: direct and external. Selecting from the available Shopify direct payment gateways ensures that your customers complete their entire transaction within your online store, rather than being redirected to a third-party website to enter their financial details.

Optimizing this experience requires more than just picking a provider; it involves managing how those options appear based on customer location, order value, and risk profile. At Nextools, we developed HidePay — free to install to give merchants the granular control needed to sort, rename, and hide these gateways based on specific business rules. This article examines the leading direct payment options available to Shopify stores and provides a framework for managing them effectively to protect your margins and improve the checkout experience.

We will cover the technical differences between direct and external providers, the most reliable gateways for global commerce, and how to use modern Shopify Functions to customize your checkout. This guide is intended for active merchants looking to refine their payment strategy and reduce cart abandonment.

Understanding Direct vs. External Payment Gateways

The distinction between a direct and an external gateway is fundamental to the user experience at checkout. When you use a direct payment gateway, the credit card entry fields are embedded directly into your Shopify checkout page. The customer stays on your domain, the branding remains consistent, and the transition from shipping to payment is nearly instantaneous.

External gateways, often referred to as "redirect" gateways, function differently. When a customer selects an external option, they are sent to a secure page hosted by the payment provider (such as a legacy PayPal configuration or certain regional providers). Once the payment is authorized on that third-party site, the customer is sent back to your "Thank You" page.

The Conversion Impact of Direct Gateways

Direct gateways are generally preferred for high-volume e-commerce because they minimize the number of steps and page loads required to complete a sale. Every time a customer is redirected to another website, there is a risk of a technical drop-off or a moment of hesitation. A direct gateway maintains the "circle of trust" within your store environment.

Technical Availability

Shopify manages the integration for over 100 direct payment providers globally. However, the specific gateways available to you depend entirely on your store's business address. While Shopify Payments is the most common direct solution, merchants in regions where it is not yet supported—or those in high-risk industries—must rely on third-party direct providers.

Leading Shopify Direct Payment Gateways for 2024 and Beyond

Choosing the right provider involves balancing transaction fees, payout speed, and regional compatibility. Here are the most prominent direct gateways currently used on the Shopify platform.

1. Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the native direct gateway for the platform. It is built on the Stripe infrastructure but is managed directly through your Shopify admin. For most merchants in supported countries, this is the default choice because it eliminates the additional transaction fees Shopify charges for using third-party gateways.

• Key Advantage: You only pay the credit card processing fee; the "third-party transaction fee" (which ranges from 0.5% to 2% depending on your plan) is waived.
• Integration: Since it is native, there are no API keys to manage or external dashboards to check for daily sales totals. Everything is centralized.
• Features: It supports local payment methods automatically, such as Bancontact in Belgium or iDEAL in the Netherlands, while functioning as a direct credit card processor.

2. Stripe

While Shopify Payments is powered by Stripe, many merchants choose to use a standalone Stripe account. This is common for businesses that operate multiple stores across different platforms and want a unified financial dashboard, or for those in regions where Shopify Payments is not yet available.

• Key Advantage: Stripe provides one of the most robust developer environments in the world. Its fraud detection tool, Stripe Radar, is widely considered industry-leading.
• Suitability: Ideal for international merchants who need broad currency support and highly reliable uptime.

3. Authorize.net

As one of the oldest and most reliable payment processors, Authorize.net remains a popular direct gateway for US, Canadian, and Australian merchants. It is often the preferred choice for businesses that already have a long-standing relationship with a specific merchant bank.

• Key Advantage: Excellent for businesses with high transaction volumes that prefer a dedicated merchant account over a payment aggregator model.
• Features: Strong emphasis on security and "Sync for QuickBooks" features that appeal to back-office accounting teams.

4. Adyen

Adyen is a high-end, enterprise-level direct gateway that serves some of the largest retailers in the world. It is a "Built for Shopify Plus" partner and is designed to handle complex, multi-region payment flows.

• Key Advantage: Adyen acts as the acquirer and the gateway simultaneously, which can lead to higher authorization rates for international transactions.
• Suitability: Best for large-scale Shopify Plus merchants who require deep data insights and localized payment processing across dozens of countries.

5. Worldpay

Worldpay is a global leader in payment processing and offers a direct integration for Shopify. It is particularly strong in the UK and European markets, providing a wide array of localized options alongside direct credit card processing.

• Key Advantage: Massive global reach and the ability to negotiate custom rates for very high-volume businesses.

The Cost of Moving Away from Native Payments

When evaluating Shopify direct payment gateways, you must account for the "third-party transaction fee." If you do not use Shopify Payments (or if you are in a region where it isn't available), Shopify charges an additional fee on every transaction.

• Basic Plan: 2.0% extra
• Shopify Plan: 1.0% extra
• Advanced Plan: 0.5% extra

For a store doing $1,000,000 in annual sales, using a third-party gateway on the Basic plan would cost an additional $20,000 in fees. Always calculate your "effective rate"—the combination of the gateway's processing fee plus Shopify’s transaction fee—before committing to a third-party provider.

How to Manage Multiple Payment Gateways Effectively

Many merchants find that a single direct gateway isn't enough. You might use Shopify Payments for credit cards but also want to offer PayPal, Klarna, or regional options like MobilePay. As you add more gateways, your checkout can become cluttered, leading to "analysis paralysis" for the customer.

This is where advanced checkout logic becomes necessary. You don't always want every payment method to show for every customer.

Hiding Gateways Based on Risk

Certain payment methods carry higher risks of chargebacks or fraud. For example, if you are shipping a high-value order to a region with historically high fraud rates, you might want to hide "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) options or certain credit card gateways that have weaker verification protocols. We built HidePay on the Shopify App Store to allow merchants to create these exact types of rules. You can set a condition: "If the cart total is over $500 AND the country is X, hide Gateway Y." For step-by-step setup, see our How to create a payment customization.

Geography-Based Filtering

Direct gateways often work best in specific regions. If you are a global merchant, your checkout should look different to a customer in Germany than it does to a customer in the United States. While Shopify handles some of this automatically, merchants often need more control—such as hiding Cash on Delivery (COD) for international orders while keeping it active for domestic ones.

Sorting for Profitability

Not all payment gateways cost the same. One gateway might charge you 2.9%, while another charges 1.5%. By reordering your payment methods to put the most cost-effective (and high-converting) options at the top, you can subtly guide customers toward the choice that protects your margins.

The Move to Shopify Functions

In the past, customizing which gateways appeared at checkout required "Shopify Scripts." This was a complex, code-heavy process available only to Shopify Plus merchants. However, Shopify has replaced Scripts with Shopify Functions.

Functions are a more powerful, native way to extend Shopify's logic. Because our app is built on native Shopify Functions, it runs within Shopify’s own infrastructure. This means:

• Speed: No external scripts are slowing down your checkout.
• Reliability: It works even during high-traffic events like Black Friday.
• Accessibility: You no longer need to be on a Plus plan to customize your payment gateways.

For a merchant-focused introduction to HidePay and the benefits of functions-based apps, see our HidePay announcement and overview.

What to do next:

1. Identify your current "effective" transaction rate.
2. Review your chargeback data to see if specific gateways are underperforming.
3. Check the "Payment Providers" section in your Shopify admin to see which direct gateways are available in your region.
4. Determine if you need to hide or reorder these options to improve your conversion rate.

If you want a consolidated solution for both payment and shipping method control, check out Nextools’ HideSuite bundle announcement that explains using HidePay alongside shipping rules.

Strategic Use Cases for Payment Rules

Controlling your Shopify direct payment gateways isn't just about aesthetics; it’s about business strategy. Here are three common scenarios where merchants benefit from setting specific rules for their gateways.

The B2B and Wholesale Split

If you run a store that serves both retail customers and wholesale clients, your payment needs are split. Retail customers expect credit cards and express buttons. Wholesale clients, however, often prefer bank transfers or "Net 30" terms.

Using customer tags, you can create a rule that says: "If the customer is tagged 'Wholesale', hide all credit card gateways and show only Bank Deposit." This prevents retail customers from seeing internal payment options and ensures your B2B clients have the streamlined experience they require.

Managing Product-Specific Restrictions

Certain products come with gateway restrictions. For example, some third-party processors have strict "Acceptable Use Policies" that prohibit the sale of specific items like supplements, high-risk electronics, or certain glass products.

If you have a mixed inventory, you can set a rule based on product tags. If a restricted item is in the cart, the app can automatically hide the non-compliant gateway and only show the ones that permit those items. This protects your merchant account from being flagged or shut down.

Reducing Express Checkout Friction

Express buttons like PayPal Express or Apple Pay are excellent for conversion, but they can sometimes bypass important checkout steps like shipping method selection or discount code entry. Furthermore, they can sometimes look cluttered on mobile.

Many merchants use our tool to hide these express buttons when certain conditions are met—for example, if a specific discount code is already applied or if the order requires a custom shipping quote that must be calculated manually. You can also pair HidePay with other Nextools solutions — read about the full suite on our Nextools apps overview. For merchants who need order validation before payment, consider integrating an order validation tool like CartBlock (available on the Shopify App Store).

Improving Trust Through Renaming and Sorting

The names of the gateways provided by the processors aren't always customer-friendly. A customer might not know what "MONEI" is, but they certainly know what "Credit Card & Local Payments" means.

Localization Matters

If you are selling in a country where a specific local gateway is dominant, renaming the generic "Credit Card" option to include the logo or name of that local favorite can drastically increase trust. For example, in Denmark, adding "Dankort" to your credit card label helps customers feel secure.

The "Frictionless First" Strategy

Sorting is the most underutilized tool in payment optimization. By default, Shopify often lists payment methods in the order they were activated. This is rarely the optimal order.

A "Frictionless First" strategy involves:

1. Placing your most popular direct gateway (usually Shopify Payments) at the top.
2. Following with digital wallets (Apple Pay/Google Pay).
3. Placing BNPL options (Klarna/Affirm) third to capture those who need financing.
4. Putting manual methods (Bank Transfer/COD) at the very bottom.

By using the sorting features in the app, you ensure that the most likely path to purchase is the most visible one.

Conclusion

Selecting the right Shopify direct payment gateways is the first step toward a high-converting checkout. Whether you choose the native convenience of Shopify Payments or the specialized features of a third-party provider like Stripe or Adyen, the goal is to keep the customer on your site and the transaction as simple as possible.

However, a "set it and forget it" approach to payments often leaves money on the table. To truly optimize your store, you need the ability to hide irrelevant options, sort for profitability, and rename gateways for clarity. Using a tool like get HidePay for your store allows you to implement these rules without touching a single line of theme code, ensuring your checkout remains fast and reliable.

Key Takeaways:

• Direct gateways keep customers on your site, which typically leads to higher conversion rates than external redirects.
• Shopify Payments is the most cost-effective option for most merchants, but third-party gateways are necessary for high-risk or unsupported regions.
• Functions-based apps allow you to customize the checkout experience natively, regardless of your Shopify plan level.
• Strategic rules based on cart value, geography, and customer tags protect your margins and reduce friction.

Ready to take control of your checkout? Visit the HidePay announcement & overview or consult our How to create a payment customization guide to get started.

FAQ

What is the main difference between a direct and external gateway?

A direct gateway allows customers to enter their credit card information directly on your Shopify checkout page. An external gateway redirects the customer to a third-party website to complete the payment before sending them back to your store. Direct gateways are generally preferred because they offer a more cohesive user experience and higher conversion rates.

Will using a third-party gateway increase my Shopify fees?

Yes, if you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify charges an additional transaction fee ranging from 0.5% to 2.0%, depending on your Shopify plan. This is in addition to the processing fees charged by the gateway provider itself. If Shopify Payments is available in your region, it is usually the most cost-effective choice.

Can I hide certain payment gateways for specific countries?

Yes, using the rules-based system in our app, you can easily hide any payment method based on the customer's shipping country or province. This is useful for removing high-fee payment options in certain regions or hiding methods like Cash on Delivery for international orders where they are not feasible. See the step-by-step instructions in our payment customization guide.

Does HidePay work with the new Shopify Checkout?

Absolutely. The app is built on native Shopify Functions, which is the modern standard for checkout extensibility. This means it works natively within the Shopify infrastructure and is fully compatible with all current Shopify plans, including those using the updated checkout one-page experience. For additional context on the HideSuite bundle and how payment and shipping controls work together, read our HideSuite announcement.