A Complete Guide to Shopify Payment Methods & Fulfillment

For any online store to function well, two main areas need to be kept in mind. The first one is how smoothly customers can pay for the goods they want to purchase. And the second is how reliably the order gets delivered to them. Shopify provides tools to handle both of these requirements. Depending on what you sell and how you operate, the setup might be different.

Some businesses require a high-risk merchant account since traditional payment gateways do not support their products or region. Others need help in managing inventory and shipping. Shopify fulfillment or external partners can help in these areas. In this blog, you will get a complete overview of Shopify Payment methods and how you can build a system that works for your store.

Shopify Payment Options

Shopify Payments helps sellers receive payments directly on their Shopify store. This system eliminates the need to set up a third-party payment processor. It also makes accepting payments via credit cards, digital wallets, and local payment methods easier for sellers. For sellers who use Shopify, there are a few ways to set up payments. The best choice ultimately comes down to what you sell, your location, and whether your business falls into a restricted category. 

Built-In Payment Methods

Shopify Payments makes it easy and simple to accept payments online in countries that support it. It accepts credit cards and debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. With this payment system, you will not have to go through additional setup steps or deal with external logins.

Integration is a big benefit that comes with this payment option. You can track the transactions inside Shopify without relying on any third-party payment systems. With this, there is a reduction in delays, confusion, or payment errors, which can benefit existing stores and new stores with small teams.

However, Shopify payment is not available in all regions. It also restricts specific product types that are considered high risk. You might need an alternative payment option depending on your items.

Alternative Payment Methods Through Shopify

Shopify supports a range of payment methods in addition to card payments. These include PayPal, Shop Pay Installments, Amazon Pay, and region-specific options like Klarna or iDEAL. 

PayPal is a common choice because you can link your payment business account to your store. Shop Pay installments give customers in the US, Canada, and the UK the option to split their purchase into multiple payments. Amazon Pay is another option, but it is not built into Shopify by default. You will have to create an Amazon Pay merchant account to receive payments.

Shopify also supports local payment methods based on your store’s currency and customers’ location. iDEAL is available for customers in the Netherlands, Sofort in Germany, and Klarna in European countries. You can activate these in the Shopify Payment section of your admin dashboard. 

Payment Security and Compliance

Store owners need to understand how these systems work to make sure the transactions are secure. Here is what Shopify provides and what you need to manage on your own.

Shopify’s Built-In Security Standards

Shopify is certified as level one PCI DSS compliant, a high level of certification in the payment industry, and it applies to every store that uses Shopify payment or other payment gateways on the platform. You do not need to apply separately for PCI compliance if you are using Shopify payments. The platform automatically helps meet the standard for processing and storing card data, which helps to protect customer information without you having to go through any extra steps.

SSL Encryption for Your Store

An SSL certificate creates a secure network between your website and your customers’ browsers. If the beginning of the URL starts with “https”, the website keeps information like credit card numbers, personal details, and login credentials secure; without this, there is a possibility that customer data can be exposed.

What Store Owners Need to Manage for Security 

There are a few things that the seller needs to work on regarding security. Keep the password strong for the admin account and set clear permissions for staff members to reduce any errors and leaks. The apps you install should be from trusted developers. You should also review your refund policy and checkout settings to clarify customer expectations and reduce confusion or disputes after purchase.

Third-party Payment Providers

If you choose a third-party payment gateway, check the provider’s security policies, documentation on data encryption, transaction protection, and PCI compliance before connecting it to your store. If you cannot find the information easily, inquire about it or choose a different provider. 

How Shopify Fulfillment Works

After a customer places an order, the next step is delivering the products to them. Shopify gives merchants various options for managing delivery based on how you handle shipping. 

Using Shopify’s Fulfillment Network

Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) is Shopify’s built-in fulfillment service, and is available in the US to merchants who meet specific product and shipping requirements. SFN helps you send your inventory to Shopify’s warehouses. After you get an order, Shopify ships the product on your behalf. The system connects with your online store, keeping everything updated in real time.

Using Third-Party Fulfillment Services

Store owners also choose a Shopify third-party logistics provider (3PL) to handle storage and shipping. You can connect most 3PLs to Shopify for support. Once they are connected, your orders will automatically go to the warehouse, and tracking details will be sent to the Shopify dashboard.

If you ship internationally, a 3PL might be the better choice. Before choosing one, check if they support real-time synchronization with Shopify’s system and if they offer support for returns.

How Orders Are Processed and Shipped

After a customer places an order, Shopify can help you keep track of the process. You can handle everything yourself or connect your store to a shipping service.

Manual Fulfillment 

If you pack and ship orders manually on your own, you will see new orders in the Shopify admin marked as unfulfilled. You can then open each one, print packing slips, create shipping labels, and mark it as fulfilled after sending it out.

Shopify has a log of what you do with each order, and you can update tracking numbers. If a customer buys two items and one is out of stock, you can ship the first and send the second later with partial shipments in Shopify. This setup works fine for stores with smaller order volumes or simple and basic shipping needs.

Using Automatic Fulfillment

Shopify can send orders, pack and ship the item with tracking details to the third-party fulfillment that you work with. Your customer also gets updates as soon as the order ships. You can also follow the status through your admin dashboard. Most of the work is handled by the service, which saves time and effort for stores that get a lot of orders or ship from multiple warehouses.

Final Thoughts

Your fulfillment process needs to work without any problems or errors when you run an online store. Customers need to be able to pay easily, and orders need to ship on time. Start with the tools Shopify provides, and add what you need based on how you store products, how many orders you get, your shipping locations, and whether you sell high-risk products.