Accepting payments online lets your business earn money from customers around the world—and in some cases, without even requiring a website—rather than just in-person sales.
Emarketer forecast global retail ecommerce spending to reach $6.88 trillion in 2026, making up 21.1% of total retail sales.
This guide shares how to accept online payments and lists online payment methods you can use to collect money from customers.
How to accept payments online
Here are six steps you can take to receive payments digitally.
- Assess your payment needs
- Research security policies
- Choose a payment processor and connect your bank account
- Select a payment gateway
- Design a checkout experience
- Test and optimize
1. Assess your payment needs
Think about the types of payment you want to accept, your projected order volume, whether or not you want to accept international orders, and whether you need to accept recurring payments.
Payment processors have different pricing structures. Depending on your order volume, choosing a tool with a flat monthly fee may be more economical than a pay-per-transaction model. If you plan to accept foreign currencies, you need a processor that supports currency conversions.
2. Research security policies
Brush up on security policies for handling financial information and credit card data, including new payment-page scripts and e-skimming regulations.
Online stores are generally required to adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), which regulate the processing of payment information. Selecting a PCI DSS-compliant service, like Shopify Payments or Stripe, ensures your website meets these requirements.
A compliant payment provider reduces but doesn’t eliminate your compliance obligations. Layer in additional security features like:
- Encryption. Converts data into secure, coded formats.
- Payment tokenization. Replaces sensitive information with secure tokens.
- Fraud detection tools. Monitor website activities for suspicious behavior.
Extra security measures protect data and also encourage customers to shop. A 2026 Baymard Institute survey found 19% of US online shoppers had abandoned a purchase in the previous three months because they didn't trust the site with their credit card information.
3. Choose a payment processor and connect your bank account
Payment processors handle interactions with financial institutions like banks and credit card companies and are responsible for acquiring and transferring funds. Examples include Shopify Payments, Stripe, and PayPal.
Look for a payment processor that integrates with your ecommerce platform and accepts all of your desired digital payment methods.
Consider platform transaction fees, set-up fees, and stated processing times, which may vary by platform. Check how the platform handles returns, chargebacks, and disputes as some services charge additional fees for these interactions.
Small sellers don’t always need to set up their own merchant account to get paid. Shopify, for example, offers Shopify Balance and lets eligible brands process Shopify Payments, transfer funds, and pay suppliers. Payouts are processed within three to five business days.
4. Select a payment gateway
Payment gateways verify and encrypt financial information. They work in tandem with payment processors to securely collect and transmit information. Think of gateways as intermediaries between you and your customers offering an additional layer of security to both parties.
Look for a payment gateway that integrates with your ecommerce platform and offers a user-friendly checkout experience. Compare fee structures, customer support services, and fraud detection tools, and ensure security by selecting a PCI DSS-compliant platform.
Shopify has a native payment gateway with Shopify Payments. Other major payment service providers offer third-party payment gateways that integrate with Shopify.
5. Design a checkout experience
Ecommerce checkout optimization aims to reduce cart recovery by encouraging customers to complete the checkout process. That means:
- Simplifying checkout. Baymard’s 2026 survey of US online shoppers found 17% had recently abandoned a purchase due to a lengthy or complex checkout process. This can be achieved, for example, by reducing the number of form fields shown to customers at checkout.
- Offering a guest checkout option. Almost two in five US online shoppers recently abandoned a purchase because the site wanted them to create an account, per Baymard’s 2026 survey.
- Catering to mobile shoppers. Smartphones generated 71% of global online shopping orders as of the second quarter of 2026, according to Statista. Preview your page on a smartphone and confirm that all of the input fields are visible and text elements are legible. Integrate mobile payment options like Shop Pay and digital wallets.
6. Test and optimize
Test your platform using each of your accepted payment methods to confirm that payments are going through and the experience is logical. Some payment processors—including Shopify Payments—offer a testing feature to create mock orders.
Once your checkout page is live, monitor performance and look for improvement opportunities:
- Shopify Analytics collects checkout data to track cart abandonment.
- Shopify Messaging lets you automate customer feedback requests and cart recovery emails to bring back shoppers.
- Shopify Sidekick, the platform’s AI assistant, can help you make sense of this data and provide advice on customizing your checkout.
How much does it cost to accept payments online?
The cost to accept online payments depends on the payment method, processor, and gateway you’re using. There are several transaction fees involved.
| Fees | Charged by | What they cover | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment processing fees | The payment processor and gateway, such as Shopify Payments | The gateway and processor’s service, may include interchange fee | Percentage fee that scales with order value, plus a fixed fee. Shopify Payments charges around 2.5% to 3.5%, plus 30¢ per transaction, for US orders depending on plan and card type |
| Interchange fees | Card networks (e.g., Visa or Mastercard) | The bank’s risk and handling costs | Typically 1% to 3% in the US |
| Chargeback fees | Payment processor and acquiring banks | Admin and processing cost of handling a dispute | Average of $128 per chargeback, Mastercard says |
| Foreign transaction fees | Payment processor and gateway | Currency conversion, payment processor, and issuing bank fees | Percentage of transaction |
Card processing fees can be set at a fixed rate or use interchange-plus pricing:
- Flat-rate pricing. Bundles interchange fees, scheme fees, and processor markups together in one flat rate. Transaction fees are the same for standard cards.
- Interchange-plus pricing. Adds a markup to interchange and scheme fees, which differ by card network. Transaction fees differ by card network, type, and region, so transaction costs differ.
What free payment processing actually means
Some payment providers offer free payment processing. There are two ways this plays out:
- Free-to-start processing. This option has no setup or monthly fee. Instead, you pay a percentage plus a fixed fee on every transaction.
- Zero-fee processing. This typically passes processing costs to customers through surcharging. Note this is banned in the UK and restricted in the US. Regulations vary by state. Connecticut and Massachusetts, for example, ban surcharging completely.
How to accept payments online without a website
You don’t need an ecommerce website and checkout page to accept online payments. Options include:
- Payment links. Send customers a QR code or payment link that directs them to a checkout page hosted by your payment processor.
- Digital invoices. Raise a virtual invoice through your accounting software or draft order on Shopify. Integrate it with your payment processor or list your bank details for customers to transfer money into your business bank account.
- Virtual terminals. Manually enter a customer’s card details to take payments online or over the phone. Note that virtual payment terminals can increase PCI DSS scope and card-not-present fraud risk where chargebacks are more likely to occur.
- Social selling. Platforms like TikTok have native checkout and payment processing features that let customers buy without leaving the app. Statista forecast social commerce sales like these will generate $585.9 billion worldwide in 2026.
- Marketplaces. Amazon, Etsy, and eBay all offer native electronic payment processing. Each marketplace handles payments from customers and deposits funds into your business bank account, minus fees.
Ways to accept payments online
Baymard’s 2026 survey of US online shoppers found 9% of US shoppers had recently abandoned a purchase because there weren’t enough payment options. Consider these five popular online payment methods as you set up your own digital payment system.
Credit and debit card payments
Accepting various credit and debit cards—including Visa, American Express, and Mastercard—gives you access to the broadest customer base. Debit and credit cards are the most popular payment methods for online transactions, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 2025 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice.
Simplify credit card payments by using a payment service provider like Shopify Payments or PayPal. Such platforms can handle key aspects of the payment process and ensure compliance with PCI DSS.
Digital wallets
Digital wallets, or e-wallets, are secure electronic payment platforms that store customer payment information for online and mobile transactions. eMarketer’s 2026 data found digital wallet payments accounted for 40% of online and 14% of in-store transactions in the US last year.
Mobile wallets like Shop, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal are convenient, allowing customers to purchase goods across a wide range of websites with a single username and password.
Shop Pay securely saves a customer’ shipping and payment details inside a digital wallet and pre-populates checkout on eligible Shopify stores.
ACH transfers and direct debits
An ACH payment is a direct bank-to-bank transfer that takes place over the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network, a US electronic system for processing financial transactions. ACH is the rail behind most US bank-to-bank payments. Nacha, which governs the ACH, reported 35.2 billion ACH payments worth $93 trillion in 2025.
With ACH transfers, you can accept online payments from B2B customers without credit cards. The downside is that ACH payments are available only to individuals with bank accounts in the United States.
Direct debit payments are similar. Merchants withdraw funds directly from a customer’s bank account with the customer’s prior authorization. Customers without credit or debit cards can use this direct payment method to make online purchases. ACH debits also allow for recurring payments for subscription services.
Buy now, pay later
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) allows customers to break up larger purchases into smaller payments. Worldpay estimates that BNPL digital payments will reach $500 billion by 2030 with adoption expanding across all age groups.
Shop Pay Installments is one example: eligible brands can let customers spread their payments through BNPL provider Affirm. It can result in 30% faster checkouts for customers who’ve previously paid in installments. It also reduces cart abandonment rates by 28% for merchants that switched from another BNPL solution.
Digital invoicing
Digital invoicing is a way to request payment for products or services. It involves creating digital invoices (documents requesting payment) and passing them along to customers via email or with invoicing software, like QuickBooks or Xero. As the issuer, you choose which payment methods to accept, including credit cards, bank transfers, and digital wallets.
Shopify lets you create digital invoices through draft orders. Share the payment link to a personalized checkout page containing products the customer wants to order. They can enter their billing details, choose a shipping method, and complete their online payment using the draft checkout link.
Benefits and drawbacks of accepting online payments
Online payments have numerous benefits:
- Convenience. As long as customers have access to a steady internet connection, they can purchase items at their leisure.
- Transaction speed. Digital processing lets you instantly complete transactions and collect payments.
- Enhanced record keeping. Digital payment processors can simplify data management and financial record keeping by maintaining a complete transaction history.
Challenges to consider before you start accepting online payments include:
- Security risks. Stored payment data may be vulnerable in the event of a breach. Check your gateway and processor are PCI DSS compliant.
- Transaction fees. Payment processing tools often charge a percentage fee and per-transaction fee on every order.
- Chargebacks. If a customer disputes a digital transaction, it may result in a payment reversal. These chargebacks can lead to revenue loss and may trigger platform fees.
How to accept payments online FAQ
What is the safest way to accept payments online?
Follow best practices for data safety by partnering with PCI DSS-compliant payment processing and payment gateway platforms. For additional protection, consider enabling security features such as two-factor verification.
How much does it cost to accept payments online?
The cost of accepting online payments varies depending on platform fees and the payment method. Shopify Payments, for example, charges around 2.5% to 3.5%, plus 30¢ per transaction, depending on your plan and the type of card. Other potential payment processing fees include set-up fees, chargeback fees, and international transaction fees.
How do you accept payments through your website?
Accept payments through your website by integrating a payment gateway and processor. Activate Shopify Payments to accept various online payment methods through Shopify on your ecommerce store.
Can you accept payments online instantly?
Payment processors like Shopify Payments let customers make instant payments for online goods and services. Once the transaction is approved, funds are paid out and transferred to your bank account within two to seven business days.
Can you accept online payments on Shopify?
Use Shopify Payments, Shopify’s built-in payment processor, or select a third-party tool to begin accepting online payments. Many popular payment processing tools, including Stripe and PayPal, offer Shopify integration to accept online payments for your ecommerce business.
