What Payment Gateways Does Shopify Support?

Introduction

Shopify supports hundreds of payment gateways globally, ensuring that merchants can accept local and international payments regardless of their business location. Selecting the right provider is a foundational decision that impacts your transaction fees, checkout speed, and overall conversion rate. While Shopify Payments is the primary choice for many, third-party integrations provide essential flexibility for markets or industries where the native solution is unavailable or insufficient.

Navigating this ecosystem requires understanding the difference between direct providers, alternative payment methods, and accelerated checkouts. We see many merchants struggle with "checkout clutter," where too many options overwhelm the customer. This is why we built [HidePay on the Shopify App Store] to help you manage how these methods appear to your buyers.

This article outlines the specific gateways Shopify supports, the costs associated with them, and how to strategically organize your checkout for maximum profit. Whether you are a local boutique or a global enterprise, finding the right balance between trust and cost is essential.

The Foundation of Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the native payment solution provided by the platform. It is powered by Stripe but fully integrated into the Shopify admin, allowing you to manage your orders, payments, and payouts in one place. If your business is located in a supported country, this is usually the most cost-effective and efficient choice.

Supported Countries for Shopify Payments

As of now, Shopify Payments is available in approximately 23 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Japan. The list continues to grow as the platform expands its financial infrastructure. If your business is registered in one of these regions, you can activate it instantly without waiting for third-party approvals.

The Financial Advantage

The biggest benefit of using the native gateway is the elimination of third-party transaction fees. Shopify typically charges an additional fee (ranging from 0.5% to 2% depending on your plan) for orders processed through any gateway other than Shopify Payments. By using the built-in system, you only pay the standard credit card processing rate.

Integrated Features

Using the native provider also enables Shop Pay, an accelerated checkout feature that allows customers to save their details for one-click purchasing across all Shopify stores. This integration often leads to higher conversion rates because it removes the friction of entering credit card details manually.

Major Third-Party Payment Gateways

If you are located in a country where Shopify Payments is not supported, or if you operate in a high-risk industry, you must use a third-party payment provider. Shopify supports over 100 external gateways globally.

Stripe

While Stripe powers Shopify Payments, some merchants still choose to use Stripe as a standalone third-party gateway. This is common for businesses that require specific API access or those that have existing enterprise-level agreements with Stripe. It supports over 135 currencies and offers sophisticated fraud detection tools.

PayPal

PayPal is automatically available on almost every Shopify store. It is often the most trusted brand for international shoppers. Because PayPal is considered an "additional" provider, you can run it alongside Shopify Payments or another third-party gateway. It offers Express Checkout, which redirects the user to their PayPal account to confirm the purchase.

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is a long-standing provider known for its reliability and security. It is a popular choice for larger businesses in North America that require a dedicated merchant account. It supports a wide range of credit and debit cards and offers excellent customer support.

Worldpay and Adyen

For enterprise-level merchants with high transaction volumes, Worldpay and Adyen are frequently used. These providers specialize in global commerce and offer competitive rates for businesses processing millions of dollars monthly. They provide deep insights into payment data and support almost every local payment method imaginable.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Solutions

The rise of installment-based payments has significantly changed how customers shop online. Shopify supports several major BNPL providers that integrate directly into the checkout.

Klarna and Afterpay

These are the two dominant players in the BNPL space. Klarna is particularly strong in Europe, while Afterpay (known as Clearpay in the UK) has a massive footprint in the US and Australia. Offering these methods often increases the average order value (AOV) because customers feel more comfortable making larger purchases when they can spread the cost over several weeks.

Affirm and Shop Pay Installments

Affirm is a major provider in the US that offers longer-term financing for expensive items. If you use Shopify Payments in the United States, you can also enable Shop Pay Installments, which is powered by Affirm. This allows you to offer financing without managing a separate third-party relationship.

Alternative Payment Methods (APMs)

Standard credit cards are not the preferred payment method in every country. To convert customers globally, you must support local "Alternative Payment Methods." Shopify allows you to activate these based on your region.

Regional Leaders

• iDEAL: Essential for the Netherlands, where it accounts for the majority of online transactions.
• Bancontact: The most popular payment method in Belgium.
• EPS: A widely used bank transfer method in Austria.
• Giropay and Sofort: Critical for the German market.

Cryptocurrency

Shopify has embraced the decentralized economy by supporting several cryptocurrency payment processors, such as Coinbase Commerce and BitPay. This allows you to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. These payments are typically "push" payments, meaning there are no chargebacks, which protects the merchant from certain types of fraud.

Manual Payment Methods

Not every transaction needs to happen through a digital gateway. Shopify supports manual payment methods for businesses that operate in specific niches or regions.

Cash on Delivery (COD)

COD remains the primary payment method in several markets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. While it carries a higher risk of order refusal, it is often necessary for market penetration in these areas.

Bank Transfers and Money Orders

For B2B merchants or those selling very high-ticket items (such as custom furniture or industrial equipment), bank transfers are common. The merchant provides their banking details at checkout, and the order is marked as "Pending" until the funds are manually verified in the store's bank account.

Understanding Transaction Fees

When choosing a gateway, you must calculate the total cost of processing. There are two separate layers of fees to consider.

1. Credit Card Processing Rates: This is what the gateway (e.g., Stripe or PayPal) charges to move the money. It is usually a percentage plus a flat fee (for example, 2.9% + $0.30).
2. Shopify Transaction Fees: If you do not use Shopify Payments, Shopify charges you an extra fee for using an external provider. On the Basic plan, this is 2%. On the Shopify plan, it is 1%. On the Advanced plan, it is 0.5%.

For a merchant on the Basic plan using an external gateway, the total cost could be as high as 4.9% per transaction. This is why we recommend using Shopify Payments whenever possible. If you must use a third-party provider, ensure their rates are competitive enough to offset the Shopify transaction fee.

Strategic Payment Method Management

As you add more payment gateways, your checkout can become cluttered. A long list of logos can distract customers and lead to decision fatigue. Managing which methods appear, and in what order, is a critical part of checkout optimization.

Sorting for Profitability

Some payment methods cost you more than others. For example, a standard credit card transaction might cost 2.2%, while a BNPL transaction might cost 6%. By reordering your payment methods, you can guide customers toward the options that are most profitable for your business. Putting your preferred, lower-fee gateway at the top of the list is a simple way to protect your margins.

Hiding Methods by Condition

There are many scenarios where you should not show every payment method to every customer.

• Geographic Rules: If you accept Cash on Delivery, you might only want to show it to customers in specific zip codes or countries where your courier can reliably collect funds.
• Product Restrictions: Some gateways do not allow the sale of specific items, such as digital goods or high-risk products. You can create rules to hide those gateways when certain items are in the cart.
• Customer Loyalty: You might want to offer "Pay on Account" only to B2B customers tagged in your system, while hiding it from retail shoppers.

If you want a step‑by‑step on creating these kinds of customizations, see our guide on [how to create a payment customization]. For examples that specifically use cart thresholds (useful for blocking COD on high-value orders), follow the tutorial on [preventing fraud by hiding Cash on Delivery]. If you need to hide the PayPal Express button specifically, review the doc on [hiding the PayPal Express button].

Used together with shipping rules, payment controls are even more powerful — learn how the bundle works in our [HideSuite introduction].

We designed HidePay to handle these exact scenarios. It uses native Shopify Functions to let you hide, sort, or rename payment methods based on logic like cart total, customer tags, or delivery address.

Reducing Chargebacks and Risk

Payment gateways are your first line of defense against fraud. However, some gateways are riskier than others.

Digital wallets and credit cards often have robust chargeback mechanisms that favor the consumer. If you notice a high rate of fraudulent orders from a specific country or for a specific product type, you can use rules to hide high-risk payment options for those segments. For example, if a specific region has a 10% chargeback rate with credit cards, you might choose to only show PayPal or bank transfer options for those customers. This proactive approach protects your merchant standing and reduces the time spent on dispute management.

Technical Foundation: Shopify Functions

In the past, customizing the checkout required complex "Shopify Scripts" that were only available to Shopify Plus merchants. This has changed with the introduction of Shopify Functions. This technology allows apps to run custom logic natively within the Shopify infrastructure.

Because our tool is built on Shopify Functions, it is fast and reliable. It doesn't rely on theme code edits or slow workarounds. This "Built for Shopify" approach ensures that your payment rules execute instantly as the customer moves through the checkout, providing a professional experience that matches the rest of your store.

If you want tools that help you create or migrate Shopify Functions, consider pairing HidePay with tools like [SupaEasy on the Shopify App Store] for advanced function creation and migration.

Action Summary for Merchants

Choosing and managing your payment gateways should be an active part of your strategy. Here is what you should do next:

• Audit your current fees: Check your Shopify admin to see if you are paying "Third-party transaction fees." If you are, determine if you can switch to Shopify Payments.
• Check regional relevance: Use Shopify’s list of gateways by country to ensure you are offering the most popular local methods for your top-selling markets.
• Clean up the UI: Look at your mobile checkout. If the list of payment icons is too long, consider hiding the least-used methods.
• Install a management tool: Use a dedicated app to sort your gateways by fee cost and hide risky methods for specific customer segments — for example, [get HidePay for your store].

Conclusion

Shopify supports a vast array of payment gateways designed to help you sell to anyone, anywhere. From the native simplicity of Shopify Payments to the global reach of Adyen and the flexibility of BNPL providers like Klarna, the platform provides the infrastructure needed for growth. However, simply enabling every possible method is rarely the best strategy.

Success comes from presenting the right payment option to the right customer at the right time. By strategically sorting and filtering your checkout options, you can reduce abandonment and protect your profit margins. To take full control of your checkout experience, [try HidePay on Shopify] and start building a more efficient payment process today.

FAQ

Does Shopify support Stripe?

Shopify Payments is powered by Stripe and is the recommended way to use Stripe's infrastructure on the platform. However, in regions where Shopify Payments is not available, or for specific business needs, you can still integrate Stripe as a third-party payment provider. Note that using Stripe as an external gateway will incur Shopify’s additional transaction fees.

What is the cheapest payment gateway for Shopify?

Shopify Payments is generally the cheapest option because it eliminates the 0.5% to 2% third-party transaction fee that Shopify charges for other gateways. When using Shopify Payments, you only pay the credit card processing rate associated with your Shopify plan level. Third-party providers often have similar base rates but become more expensive once the additional Shopify fee is added.

Can I use multiple payment gateways on Shopify?

Yes, you can use several payment providers simultaneously. Most stores use Shopify Payments for credit cards while also enabling "additional" methods like PayPal, Amazon Pay, or Apple Pay. You can also add various Buy Now, Pay Later services like Klarna or Affirm to give customers more flexibility at checkout.

How do I accept local payment methods in other countries?

You can accept local methods like iDEAL, Sofort, or Bancontact by either enabling them through Shopify Payments (if supported in your region) or by integrating a third-party gateway that specializes in international payments, such as Adyen or Worldpay. These gateways allow you to surface the most relevant payment options based on the customer’s geographic location.