How to Set Up Payments on Shopify: A Step-by-Step Guide

Setting up payments is one of the first things to get right on a new Shopify store — it's what lets customers actually check out and what gets money into a bank account on time. This guide walks through activating Shopify Payments, choosing a store currency, adding payment methods, understanding the costs, and meeting the security and verification requirements.

Setting up Shopify Payments

How to set up payment on Shopify

Activating Shopify Payments is straightforward:

1. Go to payment settings: In the Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2. Activate Shopify Payments: If no credit-card provider is set up yet, click Complete account setup. If a different provider is already active, click Activate Shopify Payments — this replaces the existing provider.
3. Enter business and personal information: Provide business details such as your Business Number, EIN, or TIN, depending on your country. Sole proprietors choose individual/sole proprietor; other business types add details for an account representative.
4. Two-step authentication (US): In the United States, two-step authentication is required to receive payouts.
5. Save: Once everything is filled in correctly, click Save.

Choosing your store currency

Store currency is what the admin uses to price products and run reports, so set it before the first sale. Pick the currency most of your customers use — USD for a primarily US audience, for example — under Settings > General > Store currency. Changing it after the first sale requires contacting Shopify Support.

Eligibility and bank requirements

Before activating Shopify Payments, confirm a few things: that Shopify Payments is available in your country (check Shopify's supported-countries list), that your bank account is a full checking account that accepts electronic transfers in your region's payout currency, and that you have identity, address, and business-verification documents ready.

Configuring payment methods

Credit and debit cards

Cards are the most common way customers pay. Shopify Payments supports major networks including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. They're enabled automatically once Shopify Payments is active and your business and payout details are entered. For added security, Shopify Payments uses CVV (the 3- or 4-digit code on the card) and Address Verification System (AVS) checks at checkout.

Accelerated wallets

With Shopify Payments active, accelerated checkout wallets — Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay — can be turned on so customers check out in a tap. These appear in the Settings > Payments page, where each can be enabled.

Third-party providers

Beyond Shopify Payments, additional gateways can broaden customer choice. PayPal is added by clicking Activate PayPal Express Checkout and connecting a PayPal account; others, such as Amazon Pay, appear in the same Payments page. For a different card processor, use Choose a third-party provider and follow its setup steps. Note that using a third-party card gateway instead of Shopify Payments adds a per-transaction fee (covered below).

Understanding Shopify Payments costs

Card rates by plan

Shopify's main plans — Basic, Grow, and Advanced — carry different processing rates, and a higher plan lowers the per-transaction card rate. For US online transactions through Shopify Payments, the standard rates are roughly:

• Basic: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
• Grow: 2.7% + 30¢ per transaction
• Advanced: 2.5% + 30¢ per transaction

Rates vary by region and card type, and in-person (POS) rates differ from online rates, so confirm the current figures on Shopify's pricing page for your country.

Third-party transaction fees

Shopify Payments itself adds no extra Shopify transaction fee. But if you process cards through a third-party gateway instead, Shopify charges an additional fee on top of that gateway's own processing cost:

• Basic: 2% per transaction
• Grow: 1% per transaction
• Advanced: 0.6% per transaction

Using Shopify Payments avoids these third-party fees. A full breakdown of charges is available under Settings > Billing, and you can dig deeper into Shopify's merchant fees separately.

Security and verification

Fraud prevention

Shopify Payments includes built-in fraud-analysis tools. Enabling AVS (which checks the billing address against the card issuer's records) and CVV verification adds protection, and you can set the store to automatically decline charges that fail AVS postal-code or CVV checks.

Identity and business verification

To comply with anti-money-laundering and related regulations, Shopify collects information to verify you and your business. Expect to provide proof of identity (a clear, in-date driver's license, passport, or ID card — both sides where relevant), proof of home address (a utility bill, bank statement, or government letter dated within the last few months), and business details (name, address, and registration or VAT number). Shopify also asks about beneficial owners — the people who own or control the business. Submitting accurate, current documents up front keeps the process moving and avoids payout delays.

Frequently asked questions

How do I receive payments from Shopify?

With Shopify Payments, funds are deposited to your bank account automatically, typically a few business days after a sale — which is why the account needs to be a full checking account that accepts electronic transfers. PayPal payments go to your PayPal account, which you then transfer to your bank.

How do I set up a payment plan on Shopify?

Buy-now-pay-later is handled through Shop Pay Installments, which lets customers split a purchase into smaller payments. Enable it under Settings > Payments in the Shop Pay Installments section by clicking Manage and following the prompts. For recurring billing rather than installments, see the guide to recurring payments on Shopify.

How do customers pay on Shopify?

Customers can pay with Shopify Payments (all major credit and debit cards, the default for most stores), with accelerated wallets like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, or through third-party providers such as PayPal and Amazon Pay. Offering a few well-chosen options reduces checkout friction and cart abandonment.

Next steps

Set up correctly, Shopify Payments handles cards and wallets, deposits funds automatically, and keeps fraud and verification requirements in check — with the right plan keeping processing costs in line as sales grow. First Pier is an ecommerce agency in Portland, Maine that builds and optimizes Shopify storefronts, including payments and checkout. For help, get in touch.