PayPal is one of the payment standards when it comes to online business, so it’s only natural to wonder whether or not you can use it with your Shopify store. Of course, there are many benefits to doing so, especially given the broad reach you’d get.
Luckily, Shopify does accept PayPal among its payment methods; you can withdraw your funds to a PayPal account once you start making sales. Unlike other methods also supported by Shopify, PayPal integrates perfectly with it, and setting up everything shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
The only issue is that it doesn’t escape the fees related to using payment providers with Shopify, but it’s not a unique factor for PayPal. Still, it’s something to consider when pricing your goods.
Using PayPal with Shopify
Shopify is one of the eCommerce platforms with the largest list of compatible payment solutions. It accepts over 100 different services, including less common solutions like Authorize and 2Checkout.
It even has Shopify Payments, which is the platform’s own system, and it’s powered by Stripe.
However, we care about PayPal today, and for good reason, since it’s one of the most popular systems around the world; the same goes for Shopify stores. It’s the default provider as well, which may come as a surprise; as such, it’s you don’t have to integrate anything – just activate it instead of other systems.
Using PayPal over options such as Shopify Payments has several benefits. For starters, managing it is seamless, and it’s quite versatile.
The main benefit of using it is how many people will be able to buy in your store. People with bank accounts, credit cards, and even buyer credit can buy at your store; they can even purchase with the balance on their PayPal account.
It’s an incredibly flexible platform, and accepting payments through it is one of the easiest ways to boost your store’s reach. There’s nearly a quarter-billion PayPal accounts active today, and that’s a good target for you.
Of course, you still have to pay fees when using it (Check out Paypal Fee Calculator here) – just like other payment service providers. Luckily, this is another advantage for PayPal: they have flat fees negotiated with Shopify itself, so you only pay these once for every transaction (not an item).
How is PayPal useful?
Integrating PayPal with Shopify is just a matter of activating the service since it’s already integrated by default. You can then use the platform to take payments from your customers as they checkout.
After orders start coming in, PayPal processes the payments, and you’ll receive these funds straight to your account with the platform. You get to decide what to do after that.
Another great feature of PayPal is that customers can pay really quickly. They won’t have to fill out personal data or lengthy forms. All they need to do is make sure they have the money in their account and enter their emails to complete the purchase.
It’s really comfortable, and it’s a great way to entice customers to buy from you since they might even do it from impulse.
While moving it to your own accounts might seem like an obvious choice, you might want to keep your funds there until refund periods expire. Handling refunds directly from PayPal is a lot easier, and it makes it more effective when handling cash flows.
Depending on which country you live, you might even be able to use your PayPal balance to pay your Shopify subscription and any other bills for apps you might have integrated.
If your store is new, PayPal is ready to select right when you’re signing up. All you have to do is to head over to your billing section and link your PayPal account. Just keep in mind that the fees will be subtracted automatically each month, so make sure you have enough funds on your PayPal account if you don’t want to charge your credit cart.
Speaking of credit, buyer credit is also an option for clients from the US or the UK. Even better, it’s a standard PayPal feature, so there’s no need to set up.
Costs related to PayPal and Shopify
Integrating PayPal with Shopify has no associated costs, and you don’t have to pay to activate this service.
On the other hand, you do have to pay fees for your transactions, just like the ones already charged by PayPal itself. Again, this is the same for all payment methods; the only exception here is Shopify Payments since it comes from the developers, but not all countries have access to it.
The transactions depend on which Shopify plan you’re running. The more advanced plans have lower fees:
- The basic plan charges 2.9% per transaction.
- The standard plan charges 2.6% per transaction.
- The advanced plan charges 2.4% per transaction.
Related: Shopify Fee Calculator To Find Out Shopify Fees!
Besides the percentages, all plans charge a fixed fee of $0.30 for each transaction. This fee doesn’t change with each plan.
Also, don’t upgrade your plan just because you want lower fees right away. You need to analyze if your standard cash flow can cover the higher subscription price while increasing your profits thanks to the lower fees. There’s no reason to pay for lower transaction fees if the more expensive Shopify plan will eat away this money anyway.
Setting up PayPal with Shopify
As mentioned several times, PayPal is among the default options when you’re creating a Shopify store. You just need to open a new store to receive your PayPal Express Checkout account; this is associated with your sign-up email on Shopify.
Still, before accepting any payment through his account, you need to set up this account. Luckily, it’s as easy as it can be, and you just need to know how to click and follow the instructions provided by the platform.
After a few minutes, you’ll be done.
When starting a new business, you should always offer PayPal as a minimum. You can add credit cards and other payment methods if you want, but PayPal is usually a must. You can also offer different payment options and see which one is more prevalent among your users.
Play around with different methods, but make sure PayPal is there since most people have an account already.
Setup process
First, go into the Shopify account and then your store; keep this tab open. Open a new browser tab and go to PayPal’s website; log into your account there as well to make the process a lot smoother.
Go to your store. Then, click on the small cog icon at the bottom left to go into your settings interface. Once here, click on your Payments option and scroll down until you see the PayPal box.
After that, click the drop-down and choose which payment options you want. These options won’t be the same for all countries, but it’s rare not to find PayPal here, so locate and click on it.
Once the screen refreshes, you’ll see your rates for credit cards and related transaction fees. Hit the button to activate the service and connect your store to your PayPal. A pop-up will show up with a few more instructions; follow them and you’re ready.
If you opened PayPal on a different tab, then you won’t have to log in again during the process. Do note that you need a business account on PayPal; this is easy to set up, and it’s free. You can find the option to do so on your PayPal tab.
Conclusion
Using PayPal with Shopify is not only possible – it’s also the most comfortable way to set up your payments on the platform.
You want your customers to purchase easily on your site, and enabling one of the most popular payment services in the world definitely helps with that. You can integrate or leave out any payment method you need, but make sure PayPal is always there.
Can’t get Paypal and want to Dropship? You might find this article useful on Paypal Alternatives for Dropshipping here!
