Shopify Payments: An overview of payment methods and their revenue potential

Just one last step and you’re done. The checkout process is the final stage at which customers can still abandon their purchase. That’s why there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises waiting for your customers here. According to a survey by Statista, 59 per cent of online shoppers abandon their purchases if they are not satisfied with the payment methods on offer. That’s why Shopify Payments should, where possible, cover all standard payment methods. But what exactly is Shopify Payments, what are its pros and cons, and what are the alternatives? That’s exactly what I’d like to share my experiences with you about.

What is Shopify Payments?

Shopify Payments is an integrated payment processing solution offered by Shopify. It enables merchants to accept payments directly through their Shopify shops without having to rely on external, third-party payment gateways. This means that all payments can be managed easily from a single dashboard.

Which payment providers are supported by Shopify Payments?

Not every payment solution can be offered directly via Shopify Payments. Below is a list of the payment methods you can use with Shopify Payments on Shopify Germany.

Klarna: Buy on account

This option has now become the most popular payment method in Germany. With Shopify Payments, this is possible via Klarna. In addition, the payment provider offers further flexible options for settling the invoice. You can find out more in our article on Klarna with Shopify. This means that all customers who prefer to pay by invoice are already satisfied.

Instant bank transfer

Another very popular payment method in Germany is Sofortüberweisung, which has been part of Klarna since 2014. To use this service, customers enter their online banking login details.

Apple Pay and Google Pay

These two payment providers are also gaining ground in the DACH region. Whilst Apple Pay and Google Pay are currently used very little, the potential user base is extremely large due to their easy integration into any smartphone. The availability of these payment gateways is likely to appeal primarily to a younger target group.

Credit card payment

Credit cards are a widely used payment method. Whilst credit card payments are rarely used in Germany, they are all the more popular in Austria. Shopify Payments supports: VISA, MasterCard, Maestro and American Express.

Bank transfer via EPS

Transfers via EPS are also popular in Austria. These are similar to instant bank transfers. Buyers make their payment using their own online banking login details, but no sensitive data is passed on.

Shop Pay

Shop Pay is Shopify’s in-house payment method. Shop Pay places particular emphasis on simple and fast payments. Payment details such as email address and delivery information only need to be entered once, resulting in a better checkout experience. Shop Pay also supports the Express Checkout feature, which allows customers to purchase a product directly with just a few clicks.

In which countries is Shopify Payments available?

Shopify Payments is currently available in the following countries:

Australia	Austria	Belgium
Canada	Czech Republic	Denmark
Finland	France	Germany
Hong Kong	Ireland	Italy
Japan	Netherlands	New Zealand
Portugal	Romania	Singapore
Spain	Sweden	Switzerland
United Kingdom	United States

Benefits of Shopify Payments

Naturally, Shopify stands to gain significantly if you use Shopify Payments for your shop. That’s why Shopify tries to make its payment gateway as attractive as possible. Shopify Payments therefore offers you a whole range of benefits, which I’ll go through one by one.

Easy to set up

Payment methods are easy to set up with Shopify Payments and are ready to use in just a few minutes. This saves you the hassle of setting up and verifying various business accounts, and you don’t need to link them either.

Compatibility with other payment providers

Shopify Payments can be used alongside other payment gateways, such as PayPal, to give customers the widest possible choice.

No additional transaction fees

The best reason to use Shopify Payments. By activating it, you’ll avoid the transaction fees charged by Shopify.

Shopify charges two different types of fees. The first consists of transaction fees that you pay to external providers. For example, companies such as VISA or PayPal charge fees for processing payments. As a merchant, you are responsible for these fees. The fees vary depending on the payment method and your Shopify plan.

There are also other fees that Shopify charges you. These vary too, but can be avoided. This is because as soon as you enable Shopify Payments in your shop, the additional fees charged by Shopify are waived entirely, regardless of the payment method your customers choose. For this reason, I recommend that every Shopify merchant enables Shopify Payments.

Checkout process in your own shop

The checkout process with Shopify Payments takes place entirely within your own shop. This eliminates potential hurdles such as having to log in again on third-party websites, which can have a positive impact on the conversion rate.

Security and fraud protection

Shopify Payments guarantees the highest security standards. All payment data is fully encrypted and PCI-compliant. In addition, Shopify Payments offers a fraud analysis tool that detects criminal activity. To do this, it analyses AVS checks, card verification numbers and IP addresses, and generates a detailed report for each order.

Overview in the Shopify Payments dashboard

The Shopify Payments dashboard gives you an overview of all your transactions at a glance. This allows you to manage and view all your payments centrally, with a complete overview.

The perfect solution for international online shops

Shopify Payments supports over 130 currencies, which, in my view, makes it indispensable for international Shopify shops.

The ideal link to physical shops

Shopify Payments makes life easier for you, even when you have a physical shop. With Shopify POS, you can seamlessly connect your physical shop to your Shopify shop. This means you can accept payments with ease, whether in-store or at trade fairs.

Express Check-out

With Shopify Payments, you can easily integrate the express checkout options offered by Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay, thereby providing your customers with a particularly convenient checkout experience. This feature helps you actively reduce the number of abandoned baskets.

Disadvantages of Shopify Payments

Nothing comes with only advantages, so it’s no surprise that Shopify Payments also has its drawbacks. However, I can say straight away that the absence of fees and its compatibility with other payment gateways provide more than enough reasons to recommend Shopify Payments to virtually every Shopify merchant. Nevertheless, here’s a brief overview of the downsides for you.

Chargeback fees

In Germany, a charge of €15 is levied for each chargeback. This can sometimes result in high costs. These chargebacks may arise, for example, from the cancellation of credit card payments. However, they do not normally occur frequently.

Frozen contributions

In some circumstances, investigations into suspicious activity may take place. Shopify Payments may temporarily freeze your funds for this purpose. If this affects you, we recommend that you contact Shopify Support directly; they can help you resolve the issue quickly.

Click here for Shopify Support

How to set up Shopify Payments

What do you need to bear in mind before setting up Shopify Payments?

• First of all, you should make sure that your bank account meets Shopify’s requirements.
• The account must be a current account that accepts the local currency of your region.
• Shopify does not support savings accounts or foreign currency accounts.
• A German bank account must therefore be held in euros, support SEPA transfers and have a valid IBAN.

Enable Shopify Payments

• In the Shopify ‘Admin’ section, go to ‘Settings’ and then ‘Payments’.
• If you haven’t set up a credit card provider yet, click ‘Complete account setup’ in the Shopify Payments section. Alternatively, click ‘Activate Shopify Payments’.
• You will then need to fill in all the required business details correctly.
• Now you just need to enter the personal details from your identity card and provide your IBAN.
• Please check once more that you have filled in all the details correctly. You can then complete the set-up.

Shopify Payments should now be set up correctly, and your customers can now make purchases using the most common payment methods.

Which payment methods should you offer in your Shopify shop, as well as Shopify Payments?

As Shopify Payments helps you save on transaction fees regardless of the payment method, and 59% of customers are likely to abandon their purchase if they cannot find a payment method they are happy with in your shop, choosing the right payment gateways is particularly important. In addition to Shopify Payments, I would recommend the following providers:

PayPal

PayPal is one of the most popular payment methods among Germans. That’s why no Shopify shop should be without it. To enable your customers to use PayPal, you must first link this payment method to your shop. After that, customers can pay via PayPal in your shop as normal.

Payment in advance/bank transfer

Although this relic from the past is hardly used these days, it can still be a useful addition, depending on your target audience. Setting up bank transfers in your Shopify shop is relatively straightforward. You’ll find the option in your Shopify settings under ‘Payments’. One minor drawback is that with this payment method, you have to manually mark the order as paid.

Payment on collection

If you also want to allow your customers to collect their products in-store, this payment option is ideal. You can easily set up payment on collection in your Shopify settings. Once the customer has paid for the product in-store, you’ll also need to manually mark the order as paid.

SEPA Direct Debit

Direct debit is particularly well-suited to subscriptions. With this method, the customer authorises you to deduct the amount directly from their account. Unfortunately, this payment method is not supported directly by Shopify. However, you can use external payment service providers that offer SEPA. I recommend the provider Mollie for this. The only drawback is that users are redirected to an external payment page to complete the checkout.

Amazon Pay

Whilst Amazon may well be seen as a competitor, the advantage of accepting this payment method is obvious. A great many people already have an Amazon account. Many people find registering with yet another online shop a hassle, but Amazon Pay removes this barrier for them. This means customers can make a purchase in your online shop quickly and without any hassle.

Meta Pay

As with Amazon Pay, many customers find it more convenient to use their existing Meta (Facebook & Instagram) account to make payments.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are a divisive topic. Whilst many remain rather sceptical about the industry as a whole, others have already recognised their use cases and are making use of them. Various third-party apps aim to enable payments using cryptocurrencies in Shopify shops, but the whole sector is still in its infancy at the moment. Personally, I would advise against implementing this at the moment; however, in the future it could prove to be an interesting alternative to traditional payment methods.

Which payment methods are essential for DACH shops to boost turnover

To ensure your checkout process doesn’t become a conversion killer, you should definitely offer the most popular payment methods in the DACH region in your Shopify shop. A study shows that 82 per cent of shoppers abandon their shopping basket if their preferred payment method is not available (Stripe – State of European Checkout).

According to the EHI Retail Institute, the most important payment methods in e-commerce in Germany are primarily PayPal (28% market share), purchase on account (27%), SEPA direct debit (17%) and credit cards (11%). Together, they account for over 80 per cent of the payment volume (Stripe – Payment Methods Germany).

Furthermore, digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are becoming increasingly important, as they significantly speed up the checkout process and thus reduce shopping cart abandonment. They are regarded as key drivers of conversion, particularly for mobile purchases.

BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) options such as Klarna are also in high demand in the DACH market. They offer customers flexible payment models such as instalment plans or payment on account and, according to industry analyses, can increase the conversion rate by up to 30 per cent (Convertcart – Cart Abandonment Statistics).

👉 For retailers in the DACH region, this means that PayPal, purchase on account, SEPA direct debit, credit cards and digital wallets are essential for minimising abandoned baskets and boosting sales in the long term.

Conclusion on Shopify Payments

Shopify makes our lives easier with Shopify Payments. Thanks to a range of popular payment methods, we can avoid the hassle of setting up numerous service providers. However, the main reason for my unreserved recommendation is, above all, the ability to avoid the additional Shopify fees that Shopify would otherwise charge for third-party solutions. As Shopify Payments does not preclude the use of alternative payment gateways, these can also be set up alongside it. As a result, Shopify Payments stands out thanks to its advantages, whilst the disadvantages are negligible. As a Shopify agency, we can advise and support you on all matters in the Shopify Space. Please feel free to contact us for a free introductory meeting.

Shopify Payments FAQ

What payment methods are available on Shopify?
Shopify offers a wide range of payment methods. Through Shopify Payments, you can offer customers in Germany options such as Klarna (invoice, Sofortüberweisung), credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, giropay and EPS. You can also integrate external providers such as PayPal, Amazon Pay or Mollie. This means you cover virtually all the major payment methods.

Can I pay on Shopify without a credit card?
Yes, you can pay on Shopify without a credit card. Customers can also use other payment methods at checkout. A credit card is therefore not essential.

Is Shopify Payments available in Germany?
Yes, Shopify Payments is available in Germany. Merchants can make full use of it here and offer popular payment methods directly in the Shopify checkout.

How does Shopify Payments work?
Shopify Payments is an integrated payment processing solution that operates directly within your Shopify shop. Customers select their preferred payment method at checkout, and the payment is processed via Shopify Payments. As a merchant, you can view all transactions in one place on your dashboard and receive your payments automatically into your bank account. Advantage: No redirection to third-party sites and no additional Shopify transaction fees.

What is Shopify Payments and how does it work?

Shopify Payments is Shopify’s official payment gateway, which enables merchants to process payments directly via their Shopify website. It supports a wide range of payment methods and ensures seamless integration into your checkout process.

Are there any drawbacks to Shopify Payments?

The disadvantages of Shopify Payments include potential restrictions on its use in certain countries and the lack of certain payment options offered by third-party providers. Furthermore, Shopify may experience delays in the event of chargebacks or suspicious account activity.

How do I set up Shopify Payments for my shop?

Setting up Shopify Payments is simple and can be done in just a few steps. Go to the payment information section in your Shopify admin and follow the instructions to activate and configure the payment gateway.

Can I also use PayPal or Stripe with Shopify Payments?

Yes, you can also set up third-party providers such as Stripe or PayPal to offer a wide range of payment options to your customers. Shopify Payments works alongside other providers.

How can I try Shopify Payments for free?

You can try Shopify for free by signing up for a trial. During this trial period, you’ll be able to integrate Shopify Payments and try out the features risk-free.