Deference between Third-party payment providers and Alternative payment providers

[heshamwagdy]

Dear Sirs

What's deference between Third-party payment providers  and Alternative payment providers ?

Waiting your prompt feedback 

Hesham

[Maz · Accepted solution]

Hey @heshamwagdy.

Your question is a great one, which I am happy to explain. 

The main difference between alternative payment methods and third-party providers is that the third-party provider will stand as your main payment gateway (direct provider) when setup. This means that customers can complete their purchases directly on your online store without having to pay at a third-party checkout. More information can be found about third-party payment providers here.

Meanwhile, the alternative payment method is a backup payment method (external provider) which means that customers must complete their purchases on a checkout page that's hosted outside your online store. This would add an extra step at the checkout for your customers. Alternative payment providers are payment providers that accept payment with forms that aren't credit/debit an example would be cryptocurrency. Here is our document on Alternative Payment Providers.

Dependent on your region, you might be eligible to use Shopify Payments. You can use Shopify Payments, which gives a great checkout experience for your customers. It offers them the ability to pay by credit card, use Google and Apple Pay, and also when it's enabled you don't pay any transaction fees which will save you money! Have a look at our help doc on Shopify Payments here.

Separate to your query, I just wanted to say that we're always here to chat with you about how things work on Shopify or any technical aspects you might need assistance with — but you can also ask us all sorts of things. If you want our opinion about your business plan or site layout, even with marketing and growth aspects you're curious about, then be sure to reach out. Almost anything you have questions about when it comes to eCommerce, I've likely at least seen others touch on before and will be glad to help you too! Have a great day.