Hong Kong Individual Using Shopify Payments + Selling to USA Customers

Technical Q&A
1

Hello everyone,

I need some guidance regarding Shopify Payments.

My cousin lives in Hong Kong and he has the following:

  • Hong Kong resident ID card

  • Physical residential address in Hong Kong

  • Local Hong Kong bank account

He wants to open a Shopify store as an individual (not a registered company).

My questions are:

  1. Is Shopify Payments available for individuals in Hong Kong, or is a registered company required?

  2. If he opens a Shopify store using his Hong Kong details, can he accept payments from customers in the USA through credit/debit cards?

  3. Will Shopify pay out the funds to his Hong Kong bank account without any issue?

If anyone has experience with Shopify Payments in Hong Kong, I would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you.

2

I’m not a store owner, but the app developer of BYOB - Build Your Own Bundles. I can share my experience:

  1. You will likely need to register a company if you wanna start an online store. This is required by the HK law. Or you will take the risk of facing the Inland Revenue Department. It has been contacting many stores on Carousell. You can join a marketplace like Etsy if you wanna start small. If you have no company, I have no idea how you can draft a t & s, privacy policy, whatever. The challenges may be more about the operation IMO.
  2. I think so. Shopify payments can accept payments from US customers via cards.
  3. Should be alright. My partner account has been receiving payments from Shopify for the last 10 years. I use a Hong Kong bank account. Shopify converts the payments from USD to HKD at a good conversion rate. Some of my app users are from HK as well. Therefore, I think it should be alright.