Shopify Payment vs Stripe - 5 Key Differences

If you want to build a store on Shopify, you may wonder about the payment process.

Shopify Payment vs. Stripe, which payment option should you choose?

Nowadays, Shopify has become the number one choice for anyone who wants to start an online business because of its excellent online marketing techniques.

But as we all know, choosing the right eCommerce platform is enough for you to have a successful business. Shopify is good, but it isn’t magical.

To attract your customers, you need to be able to offer them the best possible experience.

And the payment process is one of the essential factors to make a good customer experience.

Currently, on Shopify, the two most popular options for payment providers are Shopify Payment vs. Stripe.

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So, what are the differences between Shopify Payment vs. Stripe?

This article in our Shopify comparison series will list 5 key differences you must know to make the right choice.

Introduce Shopify Payment vs. Stripe

If you’re looking for online payment solutions, you’ve likely come across Shopify Payment and Stripe.

Both of them are equally famous with thousands of users. But, even at a surface level, Stripe and Shopify are pretty different.

Stripe

Stripe is a third-party payment solution built for many eCommerce platforms to take the work out of billing.

Shopify Payment

Shopify provides its own payment solution. This means if you don’t use Shopify, Shopify Payments isn’t an available option anyway.

And please keep in mind that even though Shopify Payment is Shopify’s own payment processor, this service is actually powered by Stripe.

So how to compare Shopify Payment vs. Stripe? How to know which is more suitable for your Shopify store?

Shopify Payments vs. Stripe – Comparison

The table below is a summarized version of the Shopify Payments vs. Stripe comparison for you to take a quick look at.

	Stripe	Shopify Payments
Payment Types Accepted	– All major credit and debit cards – Apple Pay, Google Pay, other wallet payments- International and local payments- ACH debit, credit, and wire transfers	– All major debit and credit cards – Wallet payments- International and local payments- Option for manual payment for pick-up orders
Currencies Accepted	135+ currencies	85 currencies
Countries Available	Available in 37 countries	Available in 17 countries
Average Payout Time	Two business days for U.S.-based businesses and can vary with customized payout schedules.	Two business days for U.S.-based stores
Integrations	Over 450 integration options	Over 4000 apps are available to integrate with the Shopify platform, but not all apps will be compatible with Shopify Payments.
High chargeback rate	Stripe can ban your Stripe account only	Shopify may shut down your whole Shopify store
Fraud protection	Stripe Radar, Dynamic 3D Secure and Dispute Handling	Address Verification System and Card Verification Value
Customer Support	24/7 customer support via phone, chat, or email	24/7 support via live chat and phone
Pricing and Transaction fees	Only charges transaction fees, depends on the payment method	Only charges transaction fees, depends on your Shopify plan

And below, we will show you the key differences between Shopify Payments vs. Stripe in detail.

5 key differences between Shopify Payments vs. Stripe

Payout Time

If you use Shopify Payments, obviously, you will be paid by Shopify.

Shopify payouts happen once or twice a week, and they will pay you to the bank account you provided to them.

But the frequency of your payments will depend on the country you are in.

For example, if you live in the USA and Australia, Shopify will pay you every 2 days, while it will be every 3 days in most other countries.

And how fast you can access the money depends on your bank and how fast they clear the payment.

For Stripe, the payout is quite similar to that of Shopify Payments but a little bit more complicated.

Typically, your first payout from Stripe will take 7 to 14 calendar days.

That means Stripe can access your business, so if you are in what they deem a high-risk industry, then they can kick back your payment.

It allows Stripe to review what you are selling manually, and they will then sandbox you if you are selling products with a high risk of chargebacks and fraud.

Primarily, they do this to protect the integrity of their payment processor.

After everything checks out, if you are in the USA and Australia, Stripe payouts will happen every 2 days, and if you are in most other countries, it will be every 3 days.

Chargebacks

An important point to note is Shopify Payments and Stripe will record all refunds and chargebacks in your store.

The chargeback is always a big problem.

Both Shopify Payments and Stripe will charge you a fee of about $15 per chargeback.

This is extremely important if you’re dropshipping. Because usually can’t always deliver products within a reasonable time frame, and your chargeback rate can be rather high.

Not to mention, some fraudsters will file a chargeback as soon as they receive their products, and there is nothing you can do about this.

And having a high rate of chargebacks will definitely get your Shopify account flagged.

It is the big reason why many dropshippers don’t want to use Shopify Payment.

Let’s say that if your account has a high chargeback rate, Shopify can straight up shut down your store altogether.

But with Stripe, they can ban your account, but your Shopify store will remain safe.

This means using Stripe can help protect your Shopify store and save you from a lot of drama.

Theoretically, if you lost your Stripe account, all you need is a new payment provider and done, you are back in business.

And I also recommend you have the main Stripe account and a backup Stripe account if you are doing dropshipping business.

Countries Available

Another difference between Shopify Payments vs. Stripe is in which country it is available.

Currently, Shopify Payments is available in 17 countries only, while Stripe serves a much bigger pool of countries, up to 37 countries.

Depending on the place you are located, if Shopify Payment isn’t available in your country, it won’t be an option for you anyway.

Fraud filter

Fraud filters will automatically stop fraudulent orders from processing in your store. They will check to let you know if an order is potentially fraudulent so that you can rest assured.

Shopify Payments currently has two fraud filters for you to use:

Address Verification System (AVS): Compares the numeric part of the customer’s billing address to the information on file with the credit card issuer
Card Verification Value (CVV): Asking for the CVV is a way to make sure the customer has the card physically in their possession

Stripe also has three fraud filters that you can enable:

Stripe Radar: A machine learning fraud system helps identifies and prevents fraud
Dynamic 3D Secure: Protect conversion by automatically applying authentication to high-risk transactions
Dispute Handling: Stripe’s exclusive end-to-end automated process that works directly with the card networks

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Pricing and Transaction fees

Pricing and Transaction fees are the most important thing to consider.

With Shopify, there are two overarching pricing components to take into account.

Of course, to use Shopify Payment, you have to use the Shopify platform and pay their monthly fee.

Shopify’s subscription fees depend on the Shopify plan you choose. Currently, they offer you these plans:

Shopify Lite: $9/month
Basic Shopify: $29/month
Shopify: $79/month
Advanced Shopify: $299/month
Shopify Plus: Based on your pricing customized plan

Signup Shopify for 14-day Free Trial

Other than the monthly subscription fee, you will also have to pay credit card processing fees.

Shopify Payment does not charge setup, cancellation, PCI compliance, or other similar extraneous fees.

And when you use Shopify Payments as your payment solution, the transaction rate will differ based on your plan.

Shopify Lite: for online payments 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, for in-person payments 2.7% per transaction
Basic Shopify: for online payments 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, for in-person payments 2.7% per transaction
Shopify: for online payments 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction, for in-person payments 2.5% per transaction
Advanced Shopify: for online payments 2.4% + $0.30 per transaction, for in-person payments 2.4% per transaction
Shopify Plus: Based on your pricing customized plan

Plus, Shopify also charges a 1% additional fee for international cards.

So as you can see, the higher subscription plans you choose, the lower rate you receive credit card processing.

For Stripe, there isn’t any monthly or annual fee to sign up for an account and use their payments platform on an ongoing basis.

Like Shopify Payment, Stripe also does not charge for setup, account cancellation, PCI compliance, or any other similar hidden fees.

But it is important to note that Stripe will charge a $15 fee for chargebacks.

Overall, with Stripe, the only fee you have to pay is the transaction fee.

Stripe charges you the transaction fees with different rates depends on the customer’s payment method:

Online credit or debit card: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; additional 1% fee if it’s an international card payments, plus another 1% if require currency conversion
ACH direct debit: 0.8% per transaction, the maximum fee is $5
ACH credit: $1 per payment
Local payment methods: Starting at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, may vary based on payment methods
Online invoicing: 0.5% per recurring transaction after your first $1 million in recurring payments
In-person credit and debit card: 2.7% + $0.05 per transaction, also additional 1% fee if it’s an international card payments

Stripe will charge a 1% additional fee for international cards.

So generally, Stripe is affordable and offers pricing that is both transparent and easy to understand.

But remember, a critical note is that if you use a third-party provider like Stripe, Shopify will charge you an additional fee to pay for that provider.

So, long story short, Shopify makes it easier and more affordable for you to use Shopify Payments as your payment processing instead of another third-party solution.

Conclusion

Bottom line, because of the inherent differences between Shopify Payment vs. Stripe, it is difficult to compare them directly.

Overall, Shopify Payments and Stripe are on par in terms of features and usability.

So keep in mind that the right choice for your business depends on how you are selling online.

In short, Stripe works best for business owners looking for a more customizable and flexible payments solution and have not necessarily built a store on Shopify.

But if you currently or plan to use Shopify as your eCommerce platform, then Shopify payment will be a much better choice. Because if you use Stripe instead of Shopify, you will cough up an extra fee of 1% to 2% per transaction.

I hope this article is helpful for you to choose between Shopify Payment vs. Stripe. And good luck to you!