Shopify Payments UK: Fees, Payouts and How It Works

Shopify Payments is Shopify's own payment processor. For most UK stores it is the simplest way to take cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay and Klarna without opening a separate merchant account, and it keeps payments, refunds, payouts, disputes and fraud checks inside your Shopify admin.

Built in does not mean free. What you pay depends on your plan, the customer's payment method, whether the card is domestic or international, whether currency needs converting and whether another provider is involved, and Shopify Payments processing fees are a different thing from Shopify's third party transaction fee. This guide explains both, plus payouts, Shop Pay, chargebacks and when another gateway makes sense. Rates and rules were checked against Shopify's UK pricing page and Help Center on 1 October 2026; check your own admin before you decide, because rates change.

Key Takeaways

• Shopify Payments takes 2% + 25p per standard UK online card payment on Basic, 1.7% + 25p on Grow, 1.5% + 25p on Advanced and from 1.3% + 25p on Plus, with higher rates for Amex, international cards and Klarna.
• UK payouts have a minimum settlement time of three business days, longer for new accounts, and banks usually take another 24 to 72 hours to show the money.
• Using Shopify Payments as your card processor avoids Shopify's third party transaction fee of 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2%, and PayPal Express is exempt while Shopify Payments is active.
• Running another card processor alongside Shopify Payments makes Shop Pay and local payment methods cost the standard rate plus a 1.25% premium.
• A UK chargeback costs £10, taken with the disputed amount when it opens and returned if you win.
• Every Why Matters client uses Shopify Payments. The exceptions we see elsewhere come down to restricted products, an unsupported country or Shopify's risk policies.

Quick Answer

Shopify Payments is Shopify's built in payment processor for eligible UK merchants. Standard online card payments cost 2% + 25p on Basic, 1.7% + 25p on Grow and 1.5% + 25p on Advanced, and Shopify advertises Plus from 1.3% + 25p. Payouts reach your bank in GBP after a settlement period of at least three business days, longer for new accounts. As long as Shopify Payments processes your card payments, you pay no Shopify third party transaction fee on them.

Table of Contents

• What Is Shopify Payments and Who Can Use It?
• What Are Shopify Payments Fees in the UK?
• How Long Do Shopify Payouts Take?
• Is Shop Pay Part of Shopify Payments?
• When Do Third Party Transaction Fees Apply?
• How Do Chargebacks Work With Shopify Payments?
• Should You Use Shopify Payments or Another Gateway?
• Why Matters Perspective
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Final Thoughts
• Related Articles

What Is Shopify Payments and Who Can Use It?

Shopify Payments is Shopify's integrated payment gateway. Instead of opening an account with a separate card processor and connecting it to Shopify, an eligible merchant activates it under Settings, then Payments, and manages payments alongside orders. In the UK it accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, Discover, Diners Club and UnionPay cards, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay, Klarna, and local methods for eligible customers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy.

Not every business qualifies. Shopify's eligibility rules require a business in a supported country, products and business types that its terms allow, an account representative aged 18 or over and two step authentication on the account. UK sellers also need a UK bank account in GBP that supports Faster Payments; savings accounts and some money transfer services are not accepted.

Sole traders must live in the UK, while companies, partnerships and non profits must be registered in the UK with a UK business address, although their representative can live elsewhere. Shopify and its banking partners verify the business, owners, directors and representative, and new accounts get a deadline to finish verification. Miss it and Shopify can pause your payouts, and eventually your ability to take Shopify Payments orders, so do not ignore verification requests in your admin or inbox.

What Are Shopify Payments Fees in the UK?

Shopify Payments has no monthly or setup fee of its own: you pay your Shopify subscription plus a processing fee on each transaction, set by your plan and the payment method. These are the standard rates on Shopify's UK pricing page:

Amex and international cards cost more, and Klarna more again, so your real cost depends on your payment mix rather than the headline rate:

Plus rates are agreed with Shopify, so confirm your contracted rate rather than relying on the headline. Every store can see its exact rates under Settings, then Payments, by clicking Manage in the Shopify Payments section. If a customer pays in a different currency from your payout currency, a currency conversion fee of 2% applies; there is no fee when they pay in your payout currency.

On a £100 standard UK card order, the fee is £2.25 on Basic (2% plus 25p), £1.95 on Grow and £1.75 on Advanced, leaving £97.75, £98.05 or £98.25 before VAT, product, delivery and every other cost. For the full picture of plans, apps and other charges, see our guide to Shopify pricing in the UK.

How Long Do Shopify Payouts Take?

A payment today does not reach your bank today. In the UK, Shopify's minimum settlement time is three business days from when the payment is captured; new accounts start with a longer settlement time, which shortens towards the minimum as you fulfil orders reliably on time. Once Shopify sends the payout, banks typically take another 24 to 72 hours to show it.

Weekends and bank holidays do not count, and payments captured on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are combined into a single payout. So a payment captured on Monday completes settlement on Thursday and can reach your account between Friday and the following Tuesday, while a Friday payment settles on Wednesday. The minimum UK payout is £1, and anything less waits until there is enough to send.

You can choose daily, weekly or monthly payouts in the same Shopify Payments settings; changing schedule costs nothing, but pending funds can wait until the next date on the new schedule. Payouts are also delayed by incomplete setup, missing bank details, verification requests, a negative balance from refunds or chargebacks, and account holds. During a hold the store keeps trading but payouts stop, and the reason is normally in a Shopify admin notification or an email to the store owner. Advanced and Plus stores can also choose payouts in other currencies.

Is Shop Pay Part of Shopify Payments?

Yes, for most UK stores. Shop Pay is Shopify's accelerated checkout: it saves a customer's email, payment, billing and delivery details so returning shoppers can check out in a few taps, and it runs on Shopify Payments alongside Apple Pay and Google Pay. Think of Shopify Payments as the processing behind the scenes and Shop Pay as the faster checkout the customer sees.

To switch it on, go to Settings, then Payments, click Manage under Shopify Payments, activate Shop Pay and save; Shopify can also turn accelerated checkouts on automatically when you activate Shopify Payments. Some Shop Pay orders are covered by Shopify Protect, which reimburses eligible fraud chargebacks, and Shop Pay Installments, Shopify's own pay later option, is available to eligible UK businesses that use Shopify Payments and Shop Pay and both sell and get paid in GBP.

When Do Third Party Transaction Fees Apply?

This is the part merchants most often misread. The processing fee is what Shopify Payments charges to process a payment. The third party transaction fee is a separate Shopify charge that applies when another provider processes the payment instead. It is calculated on the products less discounts, plus tax and shipping, it is not returned if you refund the order, and the other provider then charges its own fees on top.

On Basic, a £100 order through another provider costs £2 in Shopify's fee plus whatever that provider charges; at an illustrative 2.5%, that is £4.50 in total, against £2.25 through Shopify Payments. There are important exemptions: while Shopify Payments is active, PayPal Express Checkout and manual methods such as bank transfer and cash on delivery do not attract the fee. For stores created on or after 12 May 2025, though, it can apply to the part of an order paid with store credit or gift cards.

Shopify now also lets you run Shopify Payments alongside one direct third party card processor. Your provider stays the primary processor for cards and attracts the third party fee, while Shopify Payments handles Shop Pay, local methods and wallets your provider does not offer, at its standard rate plus a 1.25% premium, and retries failed card payments at the same premium. That can rescue sales, but model the combined cost before you switch it on, because the third party fee only disappears once Shopify Payments processes all your cards.

How Do Chargebacks Work With Shopify Payments?

A chargeback starts when a cardholder disputes a payment with their bank, claiming fraud, non delivery, a faulty product, a duplicate charge, a missing refund or a cancelled subscription. When one opens on Shopify Payments, the disputed amount and a £10 chargeback fee are taken straight away. You usually have 7 to 21 days to submit evidence, the card company can take up to 75 days to review it, and if you win, both the money and the fee come back. If you lose, the decision is final.

Shopify does not decide the outcome, but it does help: it adds the order details, customer details, addresses, IP address, tracking and refunds to your response automatically, and submits on the due date even if you add nothing. Add what only you have, such as proof of delivery, customer emails and the policies the customer agreed to, with the strongest evidence first. A bank inquiry works the same way but takes no money unless it escalates to a chargeback.

Prevention is cheaper. Review suspicious orders before fulfilment, make your contact details and policies easy to find, send shipping updates, use tracked delivery, use a card statement name customers will recognise and keep product descriptions accurate. Your chargeback rate counts every dispute filed, even ones you win, and a high rate can affect your Shopify Payments account and features such as the Shop app.

Should You Use Shopify Payments or Another Gateway?

For most UK stores, Shopify Payments is the obvious starting point, and every Why Matters client uses it. It brings card processing, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, local payment methods, fraud analysis and payouts into one admin, with no third party transaction fee on the payments it processes.

The stores that cannot use it usually fall into one of three groups: they sell restricted products that Shopify Payments will not process, they are based in a country where it is not available, or Shopify's risk policies decline or limit the account. If that is you, a specialist processor may be the only route, so compare its fee plus Shopify's third party fee rather than its headline rate alone.

Two additions are worth considering even with Shopify Payments. PayPal suits shoppers who prefer it and attracts no Shopify fee while Shopify Payments is active, though PayPal's own fees and dispute process still apply. Klarna costs more than a card, so keep it only if it lifts conversion or order value enough to pay for itself. Our guide to the best Shopify payment gateways compares the main options.

Why Matters Perspective

We start with a simple question: is there a commercial reason not to use Shopify Payments? Saving 0.1% on a rate rarely survives a second Shopify fee, a weaker checkout or extra reconciliation work, which is why all our clients use it. The payment setup affects checkout, Shop Pay, fraud controls, refunds, reporting, payouts and international selling, not just the fee line.

When a payout looks late, check verification, bank details, the payout schedule, holds, a negative balance, recent refunds and chargebacks, and weekends or bank holidays before assuming Shopify is keeping your money. When a charge looks wrong, work out whether it is card processing, an Amex or international rate, currency conversion, a third party fee, another gateway's fee, a chargeback or an app charge. If you need a hand, our Shopify support and maintenance team handles payment, checkout and payout problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Shopify Payments fees in the UK?

Standard online card payments cost 2% + 25p on Basic, 1.7% + 25p on Grow and 1.5% + 25p on Advanced, and Shopify advertises Plus from 1.3% + 25p. Amex, international cards and Klarna cost more, and a 2% fee applies when a payment needs currency conversion.

How long do Shopify payouts take in the UK?

Shopify's minimum UK settlement time is three business days, longer for new accounts, and banks usually take another 24 to 72 hours. Payments captured from Friday to Sunday are paid out together.

Do I have to use Shopify Payments?

No. You can use a third party payment provider instead, or run one alongside Shopify Payments, but Shopify then adds a third party transaction fee of 2% to 0.2% on the payments that provider processes.

Can I use PayPal with Shopify Payments?

Yes. While Shopify Payments is active, PayPal Express Checkout payments carry no Shopify third party transaction fee, although PayPal's own fees and dispute rules still apply.

Is Shop Pay part of Shopify Payments?

Yes. Shop Pay is Shopify's accelerated checkout and runs on Shopify Payments in the UK, saving customers' payment and delivery details so they can check out faster next time.

How much is a Shopify chargeback fee in the UK?

£10. Shopify takes the fee and the disputed amount when the chargeback opens, and returns both if the bank rules in your favour.

Why might a store not be able to use Shopify Payments?

The usual reasons are selling restricted products, being based in a country where Shopify Payments is not available, or Shopify's risk policies declining or limiting the account. Those stores need a third party provider and pay Shopify's third party fee.

Final Thoughts

For most UK stores the rule is simple: you pay your Shopify plan plus the processing rate for each payment method, and as long as Shopify Payments handles your cards, there is no third party transaction fee. The exceptions are where the money goes: Amex and international cards cost more, Klarna more again, currency conversion adds 2%, a chargeback costs £10, and running a second card processor changes the whole fee structure.

So do not compare gateways on one percentage. Look at the checkout, the payout timing and your payment mix, check the live rates in your admin, and if you are setting up a new store, our guide on how to set up a Shopify store covers payments alongside everything else.

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