Table of Content
How do you add a payment gateway to Shopify?
Go to Settings, then Payments in your Shopify admin and turn on Shopify Payments if your country supports it. It has no extra transaction fee. For another provider, select Add payment methods, search for it, click Activate, and enter its credentials. Third-party gateways add 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
The short version
- Start with Shopify Payments if it is available to you. It is the only option that carries no third-party transaction fee, and the United States is on its supported list.
- Every other gateway costs extra. Shopify adds a fee of 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% depending on your plan, on top of whatever the gateway itself charges.
- Adding a gateway takes about ten minutes. Verifying it takes longer, and skipping the verification is where stores lose money.
- PayPal Express Checkout is not available to US merchants. A US store gets PayPal through Shopify Payments instead, which is a detail many guides get wrong.
- Test mode blocks real customers. While any provider is in test mode, shoppers cannot place live orders. Turn it off the moment testing ends.
- A custom gateway is a different project. Shopify limits payments app development to approved partners and eligible Plus merchants, so most stores choose from the existing provider list.
Shopify payment gateway options: four ways to take payments
A Shopify payment gateway is whatever sits between your checkout and the card networks, and Shopify lets you choose it. Before you start any Shopify payment gateway integration, decide which of four routes you are on. They differ in cost, in who handles the money, and in how much work you take on. Shopify’s own documentation lists over 100 credit card providers alongside its built-in option, so the choice is real.
| Route | Extra Shopify fee | Best for | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments | None | Most stores in a supported country | Only available in certain countries, and subject to business eligibility |
| Third-party provider (Stripe Card Payments, Authorize.net and others) | 2% to 0.2% by plan | Stores that need a specific processor, banking relationship or region | You pay Shopify’s fee and the provider’s own rates |
| Alternative and wallet methods (PayPal, Shop Pay, local methods) | None for Shop Pay. PayPal is exempt when Shopify Payments is your primary provider | Adding checkout options next to cards | PayPal Express Checkout is not available in the US or France |
| Custom payments app | Set by the app’s partner agreement | A gateway Shopify does not list, at Plus scale | Only approved partners can build one |
Fee and availability details as documented by Shopify, checked October 7, 2026.
You can run more than one route at once. Shopify Payments works alongside third-party providers, which is how a store ends up with a main card processor plus PayPal and a regional method. The steps below cover each route in the order most stores need them. If your store is not built yet, start with our guide to setting up a Shopify store and come back for payments.
The 7 steps to add a payment gateway to Shopify
This is how to add a payment gateway to Shopify, from the first decision to the last check. Steps 1 and 2 are decisions. Steps 3 to 5 are the three ways to add a gateway. Steps 6 and 7 are the verification that separates a working checkout from one that only looks like it works.
Step 1. Check whether Shopify Payments is available to you
Shopify Payments is only available to online stores in certain countries and regions. The supported list includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Norway and most of the European Union. If your business is based somewhere else, skip to Step 4.
Availability is not the only gate. Shopify also checks that your business type is eligible, and it asks for documentation for your country. Expect to provide identification, proof of address and business registration details. Have those ready before you start, because an application that stalls on a missing document delays your launch more than the integration itself.
Step 2. Secure your account before you touch payments
Shopify requires two-step authentication on the account that manages Shopify Payments. Turn it on first, under your account security settings, and do it for every staff member who will see payout details. A payment account protected by a password alone is the easiest way to lose a store’s payouts, and no gateway setting can fix that afterward.
Step 3. Complete Shopify payment setup with Shopify Payments (the default route)
- In your Shopify admin, go to Settings, then Payments.
- In the Shopify Payments section, follow the prompt to activate it, or to finish account setup if you have already started.
- Enter your business details, representative details and the bank account that should receive payouts.
- Submit, then watch for any follow-up request for documents.
Once active, Shopify Payments accepts all major payment methods without further configuration and carries no third-party transaction fee. Shop Pay and Shop Pay Installments carry no third-party fee either. For a typical US store, this single step is the entire gateway integration.
Step 4. Add a third-party provider
Use this route when you need a specific processor, you are outside a Shopify Payments country, or your bank requires a particular acquirer. Shopify describes two kinds. A direct provider lets customers pay on your store’s own checkout. An external provider sends customers to a page the provider hosts. Direct is smoother for buyers, so prefer it when you have the choice.
- Go to Settings, then Payments.
- In the Additional payment methods section, select Add payment methods.
- Search for your provider and select it.
- Click Activate and enter your account credentials for that provider.
- Confirm by clicking Activate again.
Some providers are app-based. For those, Shopify first asks you to install the provider’s app, then redirects you to the provider to connect your external account. Follow the redirect all the way through. Stopping halfway leaves a provider that shows as installed and does nothing.
Stripe. A Shopify Stripe integration is added as Stripe Card Payments. Stripe replaced its older Shopify provider with this one, and it supports Google Pay along with the earlier features. Connecting your own Stripe account gives you Stripe’s dashboard and reporting, at the price of Shopify’s third-party transaction fee. Shopify Payments is itself powered by Stripe, so if you only want Stripe’s processing and have access to Shopify Payments, the built-in route is cheaper.
Authorize.net and others. Providers such as Authorize.net appear in the same list and follow the same activation flow. Each one has its own credential format, so have the API login or keys from the provider’s dashboard open before you start.
Step 5. Add PayPal and wallet payment methods
Many guides tell you to add PayPal Express Checkout. Shopify’s documentation says PayPal Express Checkout isn’t available to merchants in France or the United States. A US store gets PayPal through Shopify Payments as a PayPal wallet option instead, which keeps it inside the same payout and fee structure.
That arrangement is also the cheaper one. Shopify states that if you elect Shopify Payments as your primary provider, PayPal transactions are exempt from third-party transaction fees. Shop Pay and Shop Pay Installments carry no third-party fee either. Outside the US and France, PayPal Express Checkout activates through the same Additional payment methods screen from Step 4.
Manual methods such as cash on delivery or bank transfer sit in the same section. They have no gateway behind them, which matters in the next step, because they cannot be put into test mode.
Step 6. Place a Shopify test order on every gateway before a customer does
This is the step most stores skip, and it is where payment bugs live. There are several ways to test, depending on the provider.
| Method | How to turn it on | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments test mode | Settings, Payments, Manage under Shopify Payments, select Enable test mode, Save | No real payments are captured. The test amount must exceed the equivalent of $1. |
| Bogus Gateway | Deactivate your current card provider (Manage, then Deactivate), select Bogus Gateway, Activate, Save | Every order is a test order while it is active. |
| Provider’s own test mode | Set in the provider’s dashboard or app, per its documentation | Use the provider’s test card numbers, not Shopify’s. |
| Real transaction | Buy something with a real card, then cancel and refund | Third-party transaction fees are not refunded. Not possible on development stores. |
Steps as documented by Shopify, checked October 7, 2026.
With Shopify Payments in test mode, use the card numbers Shopify publishes. A Visa test card is 4242 4242 4242 4242, and Shopify lists matching numbers for Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB and UnionPay. Enter a name of at least two words, any future expiry date, and a security code of three or four digits.
Then test the failures, not only the success. Shopify publishes test cards that simulate a generic decline, insufficient funds, a lost or stolen card, an expired card, an incorrect security code and a processing error. A checkout that handles a success but shows a blank screen on a decline will quietly lose real customers.
Run this checklist on every gateway you add:
- One successful order with each card brand you accept.
- One decline, one insufficient-funds failure and one wrong security code, confirming the customer sees a clear message.
- One order on a phone, since buyers check out on phones as well as desktops.
- The confirmation email, the order record in your admin, and the transaction in your provider’s dashboard.
- A refund on a test order, to confirm money moves back through the same gateway.
Clean up afterward. Orders paid with the Bogus Gateway or with Shopify Payments in test mode can be deleted. Orders from other gateways cannot, so archive them from Orders, then More actions, then Archive. Simulated transactions do not appear in your payouts or reports, so they will not distort your numbers.
Then do the one thing that costs real stores real money: turn test mode off. Customers cannot place live orders while your payment providers are in test mode. Shopify lists test mode being off as a launch requirement, and we cover the rest of that sequence in our guide to publishing a Shopify store.
Step 7. Set the checkout rules that protect you
A working gateway still needs a few settings checked. Confirm which payment methods appear at checkout and in what order, so the method you want most buyers to use sits where they see it first. Make sure your refund and shipping policies are published, because buyers look for them before entering a card. Our rundown of the essential features of an e-commerce website covers the trust signals shoppers check before paying a store they do not know.
Finally, place one small real order on your own card, confirm the money arrives in your provider account, and refund it. It is the only test that proves the whole chain, from the checkout to your bank.
What third-party gateways cost
Shopify charges a transaction fee on every order processed through a third-party or alternate gateway. It is separate from, and added to, whatever the gateway itself charges per transaction. The rate drops as your plan rises:
| Shopify plan | Third-party fee | Fee on a $100 order |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% | $2.00 |
| Grow | 1% | $1.00 |
| Advanced | 0.6% | $0.60 |
| Plus | 0.2% | $0.20 |
Source: shopify.com/pricing, checked October 7, 2026. Shopify can change these rates, so confirm them before you commit.
The fee is easy to underestimate. On a store taking $20,000 a month, the Basic rate is $400 a month that Shopify Payments would not charge, before the gateway’s own cut. Adding a third-party gateway is worth it when the processor gives you something Shopify Payments cannot: availability in your country, a banking relationship you must keep, or terms for a business type Shopify Payments does not accept. It is rarely worth it for a preference. Our guide to choosing the right payment gateway goes further into weighing processors against each other.
Shopify secure checkout and PCI compliance
A Shopify secure checkout starts with the platform itself. Shopify states that it is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant. Shopify hosts the checkout, so card numbers are handled on Shopify’s infrastructure and never touch a server you run. That removes the largest compliance burden from most stores. It does not remove all of it, and the rest sits with you.
| Who handles it | What they handle |
|---|---|
| Shopify | Hosted checkout, card data handling, SSL, and the platform’s own PCI DSS Level 1 compliance |
| Your payment provider | Authorization, fraud checks on its side, and any authentication step such as 3D Secure |
| You | Two-step authentication, staff permissions, app and script vetting, and any offline or phone card handling |
Four habits cover most of your share:
- Keep two-step authentication on. Shopify requires it for Shopify Payments, and it protects every other payment setting too.
- Give staff the least access that does the job. Few people need to see payouts or change providers.
- Vet every app that touches checkout. Each extra script or app adds a place where something can go wrong, and removing apps you no longer use is free security.
- Never store or collect card numbers yourself. If you take orders by phone or keep card details outside Shopify, different security procedures apply, and your provider or acquiring bank can tell you which.
On Shopify 3D Secure, meaning the extra authentication step some banks require for online card payments, Shopify’s developer documentation lists it as a capability of credit card payments extensions. Whether a given transaction triggers it depends on the card issuer and your provider’s settings, so confirm how your provider handles it rather than assuming. Whether you must complete a PCI self-assessment depends on how you take payments. Your provider or acquiring bank is the authority on that, and it is worth asking once, in writing.
When your gateway is not on the list
This is the part vendor help pages skip, and it is where most stores hit a wall. You may use a regional bank gateway, a processor common in your market, or a provider your finance team already contracts with. If it is not among Shopify’s providers, you cannot simply paste in API keys and go.
Shopify’s developer documentation is direct about it: only approved partners can build payments extensions on Shopify’s Payments Platform, and building is limited to eligible Shopify Plus merchants. Those extensions come in five types:
| Extension type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Credit card | Processes card purchases, including 3D Secure authentication |
| Credit card with UI extensibility | Lets the partner define extra required fields, such as installment details |
| Custom credit card | Uses hosted fields for custom card processing |
| Alternative payment | Handles non-card methods, with an optional redirect to the partner’s site |
| Redeemables | Accepts third-party gift cards natively at checkout |
Source: Shopify developer documentation, checked October 7, 2026.
In practice you have four options, from simplest to heaviest:
- Ask the gateway whether it already has a Shopify app. Many providers do, and installing it follows the app-based flow in Step 4.
- Switch to a listed provider. If the only reason for the unlisted gateway is habit, moving is faster than building.
- Ask the gateway to become a Shopify payments partner. This is the provider’s decision, not yours, and it runs through Shopify’s approval process.
- Use a redirect-based alternative payment. For a regional method, a partner-hosted redirect can be the realistic route.
If your gateway needs custom checkout logic, order syncing with an ERP, or a regional method with no existing app, that is development work, and the requirements above decide how it is scoped. A Shopify development team can tell you early whether the project is feasible on your plan or whether a move to Plus changes the answer. If you are weighing that move, our guide to choosing a Shopify Plus development agency covers what to ask before you commit.
If you are switching processors as part of a platform move, the payment layer is one of several things that has to be rebuilt in order. Our e-commerce migration services cover how that sequencing works.
Why payments fail, and the fix
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify payments not available: the option is not offered at all | Your store’s country is not on the supported list | Use a third-party provider (Step 4) |
| Shopify Payments will not activate | Two-step authentication is off, or documents are missing or the business type is not eligible | Turn on two-step authentication, complete the document request, then reapply |
| Customers cannot complete a purchase | A provider is still in test mode | Turn test mode off in Settings, Payments |
| Test payment is rejected | Amount below the equivalent of $1, a one-word cardholder name, or a live card used in test mode | Raise the amount, use two words, and use a documented test card |
| A new provider does not appear at checkout | App-based setup was not finished, so the redirect and account connection never completed | Reopen the provider in Settings, Payments and finish connecting the account |
| Test orders will not delete | Only Bogus Gateway and Shopify Payments test mode orders are deletable | Archive them under Orders, More actions, Archive |
| Cash on delivery or bank transfer will not test | Manual methods have no test mode | Place a real order and cancel it |
Causes and fixes drawn from Shopify’s help documentation, checked October 7, 2026.
If a payment problem persists after these checks, look at the gateway before you look at Shopify. A decline from the card issuer, a hold from the provider, or a mismatch in your provider account settings produces the same symptom as a Shopify misconfiguration. Checking your provider’s dashboard for the failed attempt usually shows which side owns the problem. A smoother checkout also reduces how often payments fail in the first place, which is the focus of our guide to optimizing product pages for conversions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shopify allow payment gateways?
Yes. Any Shopify payment gateway integration starts in Settings, then Payments. Shopify supports over 100 third-party credit card providers alongside its own Shopify Payments, and you can run more than one at a time. The trade-off is cost: every order processed through a third-party gateway carries a Shopify transaction fee, while Shopify Payments does not.
How much does Shopify charge for external payment gateways?
Shopify charges 2% on the Basic plan, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus for orders processed through a third-party gateway. That fee is added to whatever your gateway charges. Shopify Payments, Shop Pay and Shop Pay Installments do not carry it, and PayPal is exempt when Shopify Payments is your primary provider.
What payment gateway does Shopify use?
Shopify’s own gateway is Shopify Payments, which is built on Stripe’s payment technology. It is available to stores in supported countries, including the United States, and is set up from Settings, then Payments. If you prefer another processor, Shopify lets you add one from its list of over 100 providers.
How much does Shopify take from a $100 sale?
It depends on your plan and your gateway. With a third-party gateway, Shopify adds $2.00 on Basic, $1.00 on Grow, $0.60 on Advanced or $0.20 on Plus, on top of the gateway’s own charge. With Shopify Payments there is no extra Shopify transaction fee, but a card processing rate applies that varies by plan, listed on Shopify’s pricing page.
Is Shopify Payments better than PayPal?
For most US stores they work together rather than compete. Shopify Payments handles cards with no third-party fee, and PayPal is offered as a wallet option through it. PayPal transactions are exempt from the third-party fee when Shopify Payments is your primary provider, so offering both costs you little extra and gives buyers a familiar option.
How does Shopify Stripe integration work?
A Shopify Stripe integration is added as Stripe Card Payments from Settings, then Payments, then Add payment methods, then you follow the app connection to link your Stripe account. It supports Google Pay as well as cards. Because Shopify Payments is built on Stripe, using your own Stripe account adds Shopify’s third-party transaction fee without a processing benefit, unless you need Stripe’s dashboard or are outside a Shopify Payments country.
Does Shopify require PCI compliance?
Shopify PCI compliance is split between you and the platform. Shopify states that it is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, and its hosted checkout keeps card data off your servers. As a merchant you still own the parts Shopify cannot see: account security, staff access, the apps and scripts you add, and any card details you take offline. Ask your payment provider or acquiring bank whether a self-assessment applies to your setup.
Why can’t my Shopify store accept payments?
The usual causes are a provider still in test mode, Shopify Payments not yet approved because documents are missing or two-step authentication is off, or an app-based provider whose account connection was never finished. Open Settings, then Payments and check each provider’s status. If everything shows active, look at the gateway’s own dashboard for declines.
How do I test my Shopify payment gateway?
For Shopify Payments, enable test mode under Settings, Payments, Manage, then use a documented test card such as Visa 4242 4242 4242 4242 with an amount above the equivalent of $1. For other providers, use the provider’s own test mode or Shopify’s Bogus Gateway. Turn test mode off afterward, because customers cannot place live orders while it is on.
Can I use more than one payment gateway on Shopify?
Yes. Shopify Payments works alongside third-party providers, so a store can offer a primary card processor plus PayPal and a regional method. Each additional third-party gateway adds the Shopify transaction fee to the orders it processes, so add extra gateways only when they serve buyers your main one does not.
Which countries support Shopify Payments?
Shopify Payments is available in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and most European Union countries. Eligibility also depends on your business type and documentation. If your country is not listed, use a third-party provider.
Bottom Line
For most US stores, adding a payment gateway to Shopify means turning on Shopify Payments, because it is the one option with no extra transaction fee. A third-party gateway is a trade you make on purpose, for availability, a banking relationship or a business type Shopify Payments will not take, and it costs between 0.2% and 2% of every order on top of the gateway’s own rates.
The integration itself is quick. The work that protects your revenue is the verification: test the failures as well as the successes, confirm the money lands in your provider account, and switch test mode off before you open the doors. If you want a second pair of eyes on the checkout before launch, or your gateway is not on Shopify’s list and needs custom work, our Shopify development services team handles both.
