Regional Support: Payments (UK)

[Victor]

Learn more about managing your payments while running your Shopify store in the UK.

This thread is part of the Regional Support threads offered for merchants in the United Kingdom. To see which other topics are available, you can visit the UK hub here.

Shopify Payments is available for businesses that operate in the United Kingdom and can be used to accept payments made by customers with Visa, Mastercard, and American Express debit and credit cards.

The cost of using Shopify Payments is dependent on which subscription plan you have chosen, with higher plans offering lower credit card processing rates. A full breakdown of these fees can be found on our pricing page.

To receive payouts, merchants will need to connect an account that:

• Accepts payments in GBP currency
• Is provided by a physical bank in the United Kingdom
• Is eligible for FPS transfers

Some types of businesses and services are not permitted to use Shopify Payments. Prior to signing up, review our list of prohibited businesses to confirm whether your business is eligible.

If you do not believe your business is eligible, or if you want to check alternative options, you can view the full list of integrated payment gateways for merchants in the United Kingdom. Orders processed via third-party payment gateways are subject to transaction fees, unless you have these gateways activated alongside Shopify Payments as your primary gateway.

If you have a question or comment to make about processing payments on Shopify in the United Kingdom, please post it below.

[stylishaffitco]

Hello,

Where can I ask specific support related questions about Shopify Payments? I have a customer who has provided proof that her bank account has been charged. However, my Shopify account is showing the card transaction (powered by Shopify Pay) failed. I am unable to do anything because it does not appear the sale went through and I really don't want a chargeback.

How can this specific issue be investigated?

[Victor]

Hi @stylishaffitco,

Thank you for reaching out with your question. This thread has been created to offer a place for UK-based merchants to ask any payment-related questions, including those for those related to Shopify Payments.

In terms of this issue, however, I will need to authenticate you on the account and take a closer look at this. It's possible that a charge is appearing on the customer's account and that it will soon be removed - this can sometimes happen when a card payment is authorized but the funds are not captured. In order to authenticate you, I will send an email to the email address linked to your Forums account, and then I can take a look at this situation for you in more detail.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Overcooked]

Hi Victor, Is it possible to get payments in USD? I also have a Transferwise account and since I'll be receiving shopify payments from US customers AND paying US suppliers, it makes no sense to have payments made to me in GBP. No doubt shopify will charge a fee for changing it to GBP and then I'll have to pay another fee to change it back to pay my suppliers. If I can't use Transferwise could I have payments in USD made to my USD HSBC account instead? Thanks

[Oceanpayment]

Hi, 
My name is Lynn from Oceanpayment - Shopify official payment providers 
Have you integrated with Shopify payment already? 
Normally payment will require an actual bank account in your registered country. and as long as you have pre-agreement with your payment providers, you can settle the money in any supported currency. 

Hope this may helps 

[Victor]

Hi @Overcooked,

If you are based in the United Kingdom and don't have a presence in the United States - such as having a Social Security Number and a full checking account with a US banking institution - then you would not be able to receive payouts in USD. This is the case for the vast majority of countries where Shopify Payments is available, and works both ways (e.g. a merchant in the United States with no presence in the UK could not receive payouts in GBP).

As you've alluded to, you can charge customers in USD before then having the funds converted to GBP before they are paid out to you. For merchants in the UK, a conversion fee of 1.75% would apply for each transaction processed in a different currency to the one you are receiving payouts in. You can read more on this process here.

This does mean that for paying suppliers in USD, for example, you would need to convert the funds received from orders from GBP to USD if you're using this money for this purpose. I'm not familiar with all the different methods and services that can be used for currency conversion but, from personal experience, Transferwise is certainly one of the most popular and best-valued options when it comes to this.

I hope this clarifies things but please let me know if you have further questions.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Overcooked]

Hi Victor,

No unfortunately I'm even more confused.

You say, "This does mean that for paying suppliers in USD, for example, you would need to convert the funds received from orders from GBP to USD if you're using this money for this purpose."

I'm getting customer payments in USD, so does that mean I can hold those funds with shopify in USD and then pay suppliers directly from my shopify account in USD? If not, and the only option is to remove funds to a UK bank account (in GBP) then there is no way I can avoid conversion fees both ways.

Also are there any plans to allow payments in USD to say a transferwise account? It is after all 2020 and we live in a global economy. Amazon have been doing this for me for the last several years so I wonder when shopify intends to catch up?

Thanks

[Victor]

Hi @Overcooked,

There is no "Shopify account" which can be used to pay suppliers with; this would be handled externally from Shopify. The option I recommended would involve you charging your customers in USD, but when it comes to you receiving the funds, they would be paid out in GBP. The currency conversion from GBP to USD, which it seems you are doing as you say you pay your suppliers in USD, would happen outside of Shopify (and as mentioned Transferwise could be used for this purpose, as I'm sure you're aware).

I appreciate why this is disappointing given that you are having to convert the funds twice in this scenario, which of course incurs fees. However, it is not currently possible for us to allow merchants in the UK to accept payouts through Shopify Payments in a currency other than GBP. I do not know if this is something that can be changed in future, although I will submit your feedback to our development team incase it's something that might be feasible down the line. We have expanded the functionalities of Shopify Payments in recent years in numerous ways, such as offering multi-currency checkouts as an option, so hopefully this is something that may be possible.

In terms of the type of bank account that deposits can be paid into, there are certain requirements that apply for each country where Shopify Payments can be used - for example, merchants in the UK must connect a valid current account held with a UK-based banking institution. Virtual bank accounts, such as the ones offered by Transferwise, could not be used in place of an account held with a physical bank in the UK.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[NomanSaeed]

Dear Sir

I have owned a UK Limited Company and have a store which sells in Different currencies.

Currently, I have configured Shopify Payment with Transferwise bank. I would like to know in this case Can Shopify Payment transfer money to my Tansferwise account or I need some other bank to be integrated with Shopify Payment?

[ibzlondon]

i have the same problem have you found a solution?

[RobertW]

Are you using Windcave? If so then the gateway is PSD2 ready

[ibzlondon]

no im not, ive never heard of this, not sure what it is ill look it up. thanks!

im glad to hear theres a solution

[Bettieandben]

Hello, I have closed down my business and I am going through outstanding orders and returning some of them as I’m now unable to fulfill them. 

I am a bit confused about Refunding orders that have been made by card and therefore been paid to me through Shopify Payout. 

On those orders, it says the the refund has been issued and my Shopify dashboard is now showing a negative balance. It says that the amount will be deducted from my next Shopify Payout. 
However I won’t be receiving any more Payouts, as I haven’t been taking orders since the beginning of December. 

The bank account that my Shopify Payout is linked to also has no funds in it (as I no longer use it, although do still have access to it)

Dors this mean that the refunds will fail? Do I need to add funds to the bank account that it’s linked to, in order for the refund to be processed/go through? 

I really don’t want to end up with any charges...! 

Thank you. 

[Victor]

Hi @Bettieandben,

Thank you for getting in touch. If your store is open and you are able to process the refund from the Orders page, and you do not receive an error, then the refund has likely processed without issue. You can check the individual order's timeline to see that the refund has been processed, and you should see the funds taken from either any outstanding Shopify payout balance that you have, or your bank account.

If you're still unsure, please let me know and I'd be happy to take a closer look.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Bettieandben]

Hi Victor, my store has been closed since the beginning of December. So I no longer receive weekly Shopify Payouts, that the refunded orders can be deducted from. 

I have now paid money into the bank account that my Shopify Payouts used to be linked to - so I assume the refunded amounts will just be taken from that bank account?

[Victor]

Hi @Bettieandben,

Okay, I see. To clarify, did you refund the orders before you closed the store?

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Bettieandben]

No, my Shopify store is currently in Paise & Build mode and has been since the beginning of December. I did this so that nobody could access my store or place any more orders, but I could still access and fulfill my outstanding orders. 

so my store has been on Pause & Build mode since the beginning of December, with no orders taken since then, and I have only refunded these orders within the last few days. 

[Victor]

Hi @Bettieandben,

Okay, I see. That was a good way to handle the situation. As mentioned, I believe these refunds will likely have been processed if no error was presented, but I can take a look at your store and check for you. I will need to authenticate you on the store first, which I cannot do here, so I will send an email to you. Please look out for that and get back to me there.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[DavidCotton1]

Hey there, are you a UK non-resident using shopify payments? As I am from abroad but my company is located in UK and shopify isn't allowing me to use shopify payments.

[Victor]

Hi @DavidCotton1,

In order to be eligible for Shopify Payments UK, merchants must have their business located in the United Kingdom and be able to provide a UK address for the business when signing up. They must also be able to provide a valid UK bank account registered with a British financial institution that can accept payments in GBP.

You can refer to the Shopify Payments UK Terms of Service for more information and try to set up Shopify Payments if you believe you are eligible.

[DavidCotton1]

I have my business incorporated in UK with companies house. But I live in India.

[Victor]

Hi @DavidCotton1,

Okay, thank you. Do you have anyone involved in the business who resides in the UK? Do you have a registered UK address for your business?

If your business is based in the UK and you have staff or colleagues based there, while also having a UK-based bank account for the business, then you may be able to use Shopify Payments. All new Shopify Payments accounts are subject to review, so this will ultimately determine your eligibility.

[DavidCotton1]

Hey @Victor 

I have one employee that is from the UK. Yes I do have a UK address for my UK company. 

Should the employee be my shareholder or just an employee from UK works?

Also, I do have an UK current bank account.

[Victor]

Hi @DavidCotton1,

Okay, thank you. Is your UK address the one you have active on your store? If so, you should see Shopify Payments as a gateway option and you can look to get it set up there.

The name provided during the setup process will be the person who acts as the primary point of contact for Shopify Payments-related issues. If this person is based in the UK, and you can provide a UK address and bank account for the business, then you may be able to use the gateway. I would encourage you to give this a try so that our team can review your application. 

[DavidCotton1]

@Victor Yes i see the Shopify payments as my store location is currently in the UK, however, I'm the primary person and 100% shareholder of the company and I live in India, however, my employee is in the UK, so I'm a little confused as to if I should apply for Shopify payments or not.

[Victor]

Hi @DavidCotton1,

I believe part of the review process is our team asking the applicant to provide some sort of ID, although this can vary. As you are the primary owner of the business, you could apply using your own name and if asked during the review process, you can explain your situation and our team can review your eligibility.

I appreciate that the information I'm providing is relatively vague, but that is only because whether or not someone is eligible to use Shopify Payments is not immediately clear—hence the need for our payments team to conduct a review. I do believe that given that your business is UK-based you may be eligible, but this is not for me to determine. 

[DavidCotton1]

@Victor I appreciate your help buddy! Thank you for all the anwers

[Victor]

Hi @DavidCotton1,

My pleasure. Please feel free to get back in touch if you have any further questions.

[BaseGrooming]

Hi, my pay outs have been blocked for over 2 months now. I’ve submitted all my documents multiple times.

[Victor]

Hi @BaseGrooming,

Thank you for reaching out. I would suggest reaching out to our support team so you can be authenticated on the store and then discuss the matter with someone at Shopify. If you have a ticket number, we should be able to take a look at the ticket and check on its status.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[BaseGrooming]

Ticket number: 19661015

[Victor]

Hi @BaseGrooming,

Thank you for providing that number. I will look into this issue for you and will be back in touch over email shortly.

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Dilan_Patel]

Hi,

Whenever I enter my routing number, it says 'routing number invalid', why does it say this?(Im in the UK, so do I use IBAN number?)

[Victor]

Hi @Dilan_Patel

Thank you for getting in touch. Are you trying to set up Shopify Payments for the first time, or are you changing the bank account you have on file? Are you trying to connect a current account to Shopify Payments, or is it a different type of account?

Kind regards,

Victor | Shopify Social Care

[Dilan_Patel]

I am setting up the shopify payments accounts for the first time and I have an existing bank account.