Introduction

Shopify provides several options for integrating payment methods at checkout, but currently lacks native options to control the order in which these payment methods appear. For many merchants, placing the most-used payment method at the top improves user experience and drives conversions. This article explores why order control is important, current workarounds, and apps that allow payment provider order customization in Shopify.

1. Why the Payment Provider Order Matters

The order of payment methods can directly impact customer decision-making. For instance, displaying the most popular payment method (like a credit card processor) at the top can make checkout more intuitive for customers. Without control, merchants risk having less-preferred options displayed first, which may cause customer confusion, reduce conversions, and increase cart abandonment.

2. Current Challenges with Shopify Payment Order

By default, Shopify arranges payment methods by internal ID rather than preference, causing the most recently added providers to be listed below pre-existing methods. While Shopify Plus merchants can use custom code to adjust order, this option is not available to merchants on lower-tier plans. As a result, many merchants must resort to workarounds or third-party solutions to optimize payment provider display order.

3. Workarounds for Customizing Payment Order

For those without access to Shopify Plus customizations, here are some potential solutions:

• Deactivate and Reactivate Payment Methods: Re-ordering providers by deactivating and reactivating them in the desired sequence can sometimes change the order, though results may vary.
• Use Shopify’s Preferred Payment Options: Certain payment methods, like Shopify Payments, may default to the top. Leveraging these options, if available, can sometimes resolve order issues.
• Adopt Third-Party Apps: Many apps offer order control functionality for all Shopify plans and provide additional customization options.

4. Using Third-Party Apps to Set Payment Order

Third-party apps offer the most comprehensive solution to the payment provider ordering problem. Below are details on some effective apps for managing payment provider order:

1. Payfy Conditional Payments

Overview: Payfy allows merchants to control payment method order and set conditional payment rules. Despite its “Shopify Plus” label, this app works on Advanced and lower-tier Shopify plans.

Key Features:

• Set specific payment providers as default options
• Rename or hide payment options based on criteria like order total or customer location
• Compatible across multiple Shopify plans, including Basic and Advanced

2. Advanced Checkout Rules

Overview: This app provides conditional payment method configurations, letting merchants control display order and enable/disable payment providers based on custom rules.

Key Features:

• Define which payment methods display based on customer tags
• Specify order preference for a smooth user experience
• Works seamlessly with Shopify’s payment gateway integrations

5. Requesting Feature Directly from Shopify

Shopify regularly releases feature updates based on merchant feedback. Many merchants have requested a built-in option to control payment provider order directly in Shopify’s checkout settings. To advocate for this feature, consider submitting a feature request:

1. Go to Shopify Support.
2. Contact support via live chat or email to submit a feature request.
3. Engage with community threads on Shopify’s forums to increase visibility of this request.

The more merchants express their interest, the more likely Shopify will consider making it a standard feature across plans.

Conclusion

Controlling the order of payment providers in Shopify’s checkout is important for optimizing customer experience and conversions. Until Shopify offers this option natively, merchants on non-Plus plans can achieve similar results using third-party apps like Payfy Conditional Payments. By implementing these solutions, Shopify merchants can ensure their checkout process is streamlined for maximum efficiency and user satisfaction.

FAQs

• Is there a built-in option to set payment provider order on Shopify?
  No, Shopify does not currently offer a built-in feature for controlling payment provider order, except for Shopify Plus users who can customize checkout code.
• Can third-party apps reorder payment providers on all Shopify plans?
  Yes, apps like Payfy Conditional Payments can reorder providers and apply additional customization across various Shopify plans.
• Does the payment provider order affect customer experience?
  Yes, displaying the most-used payment method first reduces checkout friction, helping to improve user experience and potentially boost conversions.