Supported Payment Gateways for Shopify: A Complete Strategy

Introduction

Selecting the right payment gateway for your Shopify store directly impacts your conversion rate and transaction costs. The platform supports hundreds of providers globally, ranging from its native solution to specialized third-party processors. Simply activating a gateway is the first step, but managing how those options appear to your customers is what defines a professional checkout experience.

We built HidePay to help merchants take full control over this part of the customer journey. While Shopify provides the infrastructure to accept payments, our tool allows you to hide, sort, and rename those methods based on specific logic. This ensures that customers only see the most relevant and cost-effective payment options for their specific order. If you’re ready to try it now, you can install HidePay from the Shopify App Store to start customizing your checkout.

This guide covers the types of supported payment gateways on Shopify, how to choose the best one for your region, and strategies for optimizing their appearance at checkout. Whether you are a high-volume global brand or a specialized B2B merchant, understanding these integrations is essential for protecting your margins and reducing cart abandonment.

The Two Main Types of Shopify Payment Providers

Shopify categorizes payment providers into two distinct groups based on how they interact with the checkout process. Understanding the difference is vital for maintaining a professional brand image and a fast checkout flow.

Direct Providers

Direct providers allow customers to complete their transaction entirely within your online store. The customer enters their credit card details directly into the Shopify checkout fields. They are never redirected to another website to finish the purchase. This creates a more integrated experience and typically results in higher conversion rates because it reduces friction. Shopify Payments is the most common direct provider, but others like Stripe and certain Authorize.net configurations also function this way.

External Providers

External providers require customers to complete their purchase on a checkout page hosted outside of your online store. When a customer selects an external payment method, they are redirected to the provider’s secure site. After the payment is processed, they are sent back to your store's "Thank You" page. While this can sometimes feel disruptive, it is a standard practice for many regional payment methods or specialized wallets like PayPal Express or certain "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) services.

Shopify Payments: The Native Solution

For many merchants, Shopify Payments is the primary choice. It is the platform’s own payment processing service and is built directly into your admin.

Key Benefits of the Native Gateway

The most significant advantage of using the native gateway is the elimination of third-party transaction fees. If you use Shopify Payments, you generally only pay the credit card processing rate associated with your Shopify plan. If you use a third-party gateway instead, Shopify typically charges an additional percentage fee on every transaction unless you are on specific high-tier plans.

Using the native solution also provides a centralized view of your finances. You can track payouts and transaction details directly within your Shopify admin without logging into a separate dashboard. It also enables Shop Pay, which is one of the fastest-converting "accelerated checkout" options available.

Geographic and Industry Restrictions

Despite its benefits, Shopify Payments is not available in every country. It is currently supported in major markets like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many parts of Europe and Asia. If your business is registered in a country not on the supported list, you must use a third-party provider.

Additionally, certain high-risk industries are prohibited from using the native gateway. This often includes businesses selling age-restricted items, certain supplements, or high-liability goods. In these cases, finding a specialized third-party gateway is necessary to keep your store operational.

Top Third-Party Payment Gateways for Shopify

If the native solution is unavailable or unsuitable for your business model, you have over 100 other options. Each has different strengths regarding regional dominance, fee structures, and technical reliability.

Stripe

Stripe is one of the most popular alternatives to the native gateway. It is known for its robust infrastructure and developer-friendly features. While Shopify Payments is actually powered by Stripe’s technology, using Stripe as a standalone third-party provider gives you more granular control over your merchant account. It supports over 135 currencies and provides advanced fraud protection tools.

PayPal

PayPal is a staple for almost every Shopify store. Even if you use a primary credit card processor, offering PayPal is often non-negotiable because of the trust it provides to consumers. Shopify supports PayPal Express Checkout as a default. However, merchants should be aware that PayPal can sometimes be expensive due to its own fee structure and the potential for extra transaction fees if not paired with the native gateway in certain regions.

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is a legacy provider that remains a favorite for mid-market and enterprise businesses. It is highly reliable and offers excellent customer support. It is particularly useful for merchants who already have a preferred merchant bank account and simply need a secure gateway to connect that account to their Shopify store.

Region-Specific Gateways

International expansion requires local payment methods. Customers in different parts of the world prefer different ways to pay:

• Netherlands: iDEAL is the dominant method.
• Belgium: Bancontact is essential.
• Germany: Sofort and Giropay are widely used.
• Latin America: Providers like Mercado Pago or EBANX are necessary for local card processing.

Strategies for Managing Multiple Gateways

As your store grows, you will likely activate multiple payment methods. However, showing too many options at checkout can overwhelm customers and lead to "analysis paralysis," which increases cart abandonment. This is where advanced management becomes necessary.

Sorting for Conversion

The order in which payment methods appear matters. Most merchants prefer to have credit card entry at the top, followed by digital wallets like PayPal. If you notice a specific method has a higher conversion rate or lower fees for your business, you should move it to the top of the list.

Renaming for Clarity

Sometimes, the default name of a payment gateway is confusing to the end-user. For example, a gateway might appear as "Authorize.net" when the customer just wants to see "Credit/Debit Card." Renaming these methods helps build trust. You can use our app to customize these labels so they make sense to your specific audience. For step-by-step guidance on renaming payment methods in the app, see the documentation on retrieving the correct payment method in HidePay.

Hiding Methods by Condition

Not every payment method is appropriate for every order. A sophisticated checkout strategy involves showing the right options at the right time.

• By Geography: Hide "Cash on Delivery" for international orders where you cannot collect the funds.
• By Order Total: Disable expensive BNPL options for very small orders where the fees eat into your margins.
• By Product Type: If you sell digital downloads alongside physical goods, you might want to hide certain shipping-dependent payment methods when only digital items are in the cart.
• By Customer Tag: Show exclusive "Wholesale" or "Net 30" payment terms only to customers tagged as B2B.

Using HidePay allows you to implement these rules without touching any code. Since it is built on native Shopify Functions, it runs directly within the Shopify infrastructure, ensuring your checkout remains fast and secure. For practical examples, check the guide on hiding payment methods using cart attributes and the tutorial on hiding payment methods by product or collection.

Action Plan for New Merchants

1. Verify if your country and products are eligible for Shopify Payments to save on transaction fees.
2. Research the top two payment methods in your primary target market.
3. Activate a secondary wallet option like PayPal to capture mobile shoppers.
4. Use a management tool to ensure your checkout stays clean and only displays relevant options. If you want a deeper read on why HidePay was built and the problems it solves, read the product announcement on the Nextools blog: Introducing HidePay for Shopify.

Protecting Your Margins and Reducing Risk

Every payment gateway comes with risks, primarily in the form of chargebacks and processing fees. A smart checkout strategy protects your bottom line by controlling which gateways are available in high-risk scenarios.

Reducing Chargeback Exposure

Certain payment methods carry higher risks of disputes. If you identify a specific region or customer segment that frequently initiates chargebacks, you can create a rule to hide "easy dispute" payment methods for those specific conditions. Instead, you can force a more secure or "settled" payment method like a direct bank transfer or a specific local gateway with stronger verification.

Managing Transaction Fees

The cost of processing a payment is not uniform. Some gateways charge a flat percentage, while others have a tiered structure. If a specific gateway is significantly more expensive for your business, you might choose to only show it for high-value orders where the margin can absorb the cost, or hide it entirely for certain low-margin products.

We also see merchants using our tools to hide certain express checkout buttons (like Apple Pay or Google Pay) under specific conditions. While these buttons are great for speed, they sometimes bypass cart attributes or specific validation rules you may have set up. Having the power to block these buttons by rule gives you total control over the data you collect during a sale. For a walkthrough on blocking express checkout buttons, see the HidePay help article on hiding the Express Checkout with HidePay.

The Role of Shopify Functions

Shopify recently transitioned away from "Scripts" to a more modern framework called Shopify Functions. This is a significant technical upgrade for the platform. Functions allow apps to inject logic directly into the Shopify backend.

For merchants, this means that payment customization is now more stable and performant than ever. We developed our app using this native architecture. This ensures that your checkout logic works perfectly during high-traffic events like Black Friday without any risk of theme conflicts or slow loading times. It also means you don't need to be on the Shopify Plus plan to access many of these advanced customization features. If you want context on how HidePay fits into the broader suite of Nextools solutions, read about the HideSuite bundle and how HidePay pairs with other apps.

Conclusion

A successful Shopify store requires more than just a list of supported payment gateways. It requires a strategy that balances customer preference with business efficiency. By choosing the right primary gateway, supporting local methods, and using logic to control when and how those methods appear, you can significantly improve your store's performance.

• Start with Shopify Payments if available to minimize fees.
• Add essential third-party wallets like PayPal and regional favorites.
• Organize and filter these options to prevent checkout friction.
• Use a dedicated tool to automate your checkout rules.

Ready to take full control of your checkout? You can get HidePay for your store on the Shopify App Store today to start sorting, renaming, and hiding payment methods based on your business needs.

FAQ

Does Shopify support Stripe as a payment gateway?

Yes, Shopify supports Stripe as a third-party payment provider in many regions. However, if Shopify Payments is available in your country, it is usually the preferred option as it is built on Stripe's technology but avoids the additional third-party transaction fees that Shopify charges when you use a separate Stripe account.

How do I change the order of payment methods at checkout?

By default, Shopify determines the order of payment methods. To gain manual control over this, you can use an app like HidePay. Our tool allows you to drag and drop your active payment methods into your preferred order, ensuring your most popular or cost-effective options appear at the top of the list. For a practical guide to hiding, sorting and renaming payment methods with rules, see the HidePay documentation and examples linked in this article.

Can I hide specific payment methods for certain products?

Yes, you can hide payment methods based on the contents of the cart. This is useful if you sell restricted items that specific gateways do not allow, or if you want to offer "Cash on Delivery" only for specific physical products while excluding it for digital services or gift cards. See the HidePay help article on hiding payment methods for specific products and collections.

Why are some payment gateways not appearing in my Shopify admin?

Payment gateway availability is strictly tied to the "Store Address" listed in your Shopify settings. If a provider is not showing up, verify that your business is located in a country supported by that specific gateway. Additionally, ensure you are looking under the correct section (Direct vs. External providers) in your Payments settings.

For more advanced setups, troubleshooting tips, and examples, explore the HidePay documentation and Nextools blog posts linked throughout this guide. If you’d like hands-on help, visit the HidePay support resources available from the app listing.