Can we setup shopify payments for a liquor store in the United States

[VenkatK]

We want to setup an online liquor store in Shopify in United States.  Does alcohol fall under prohibited business for shopify payments in United States?

Can we use for Shopify Payments for our store? Or should we go with a third party payment provider only?

Please confirm.

[Ted]

Hi @VenkatK,

Ted here from Shopify, thanks for posting your query! 

Selling Alcohol while using Shopify Payments is allowed and is not considered to be a prohibited product. That said, every application for Shopify Payments is manually reviewed and approved so you will need to make sure that your store complies with some standard online requirements if you want to sell alcohol. 

For example, you will need to prove that you have a liquor license, an age verification feature on the store and more than likely you will need to add a disclaimer to your store. There's no exact guideline to follow as of yet, however, after you apply to join the gateway our Support Advisors or the Shopify Payments team can take a closer look into this with you. They'll be able to list the exact requirements you need to follow or submit as every location and store is different. 

If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know, I'm happy to help!

Many thanks,

[winedrop]

Hi Ted,

We're currently setting up a Shopify store to sell wine, and also had a similar question. We saw some Shopify forums in the past that stated that alcohol sales are not permitted through Shopify Payments, and that liquor stores would have to use other means of receiving payments. (https://community.shopify.com/c/Payments-Shipping-Fulfillment/Anyone-paying-extra-2-2-9-on-Shopify-f...)

Has this changed? Are wine products now okay to sell through Shopify Payments? If so, how does the application process work for selling alcohol via Shopify Payments?

Thank you!

[Ted]

Hi @winedrop,

Thanks for that! The post you linked is an old post from 2016 and the info shared no longer applies so I've removed the post. 

You are welcome to sell alcohol on both Shopify and Shopify Payments. Every Shopify Payments application is manually reviewed and approved by that team so I'd recommend making sure to follow the steps in the example I mentioned above and then wait for their reply. Every store and location is different which is why they'll need to review everything first and still have the right to reject an application as per their Terms of Service.

If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know, I'm happy to help!

Many thanks,

[Mezcalero]

Hello, I want to open an online liquor store in Mexico. Is that possible? Do I need to provide a Mexican liquor-selling license?

[Summer]

Hey, @Mezcalero!

This is Summer from the Social Care team at Shopify. Welcome to Shopify Community!

Shopify Payments is not available in Mexico at this time, so the information that Ted has previously provided in this post doesn't apply to your situation. You may sell anything on Shopify that does not go against our Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy; however, you will need to use a third-party payment gateway that supports the sale of liquor.

I recommend looking at the available payment gateways in Mexico and contacting your preferred gateway's support team to check if they can support liquor stores. They will be able to advise if this is possible and if they require any documentation. Once you find a gateway that you can use, you may open an account with them. You will be given credentials which you will use to activate the gateway in your Shopify store. Feel free to follow the steps below to add your chosen payment gateway:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings.
2. Select Payments.
3. Go to the Third-party providers or Alternative payment methods section and click Choose third-party provider or Choose alternative payment.
4. Select the payment gateway you want to use in your store.
5. Enter the credentials and click Save.

We have a free tutorial on selling alcohol online that I think you may benefit from: Selling alcohol online | Shopify Compass. Feel free to get some tips from it as the tutorial discusses legal compliance and logistics. It's not official legal advice, so we still recommend reaching out to a legal expert in your area, however, you may gain some ideas about what questions to ask and what information to look for in legally setting up your liquor store.

Also, if you're new to Shopify and need a guide in building your online store, you can refer to this one: How to Start an Online Store with Shopify. It's a guide that will take you through the setup step-by-step so you'll be able to familiarize the platform easily with it.

I hope these help! If you have further questions, don't hesitate to respond to this post.

[genki_96]

Hi we've been using authorize.net for our alcohol sales. If we move to Shopify payments, is it the 0.15% additional fee for Authorize.net only that we can save? any other benefits?

[Maz]

Hey @genki_96!

Thanks for your question! 

There are a host of benefits to using Shopify Payments as your payment's provider. It is the simplest way to accept payments and optimize your checkout. Shopify Payments is fully integrated with your store, so you can manage your business and financials in one place. Shopify provides access to over 100 payment gateways around the world. If you decide to enable one of these 100+ external payment gateways as your primary payment gateway, a 0.15% transaction fee will be applied to all monthly eligible transactions. This fee is waived if you’re using Shopify Payments as your primary payment gateway. For any additional payment gateways you add (such as PayPal Express), there will be no transaction fees charged. Explore more about setting up Shopify Payments here at this link.

 

Have a look at some key benefits below

• Increase conversion: See higher conversion rates by accepting all major credit cards and adding accelerated payment methods like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
• Access Shop Pay: Over 40M+ buyers already use Shop Pay across all Shopify online stores, and stores that enable Shop Pay have seen up to an 18% lift in conversion for returning buyers.
• Simple pricing: Pricing is transparent, competitive, and all-inclusive. There are no additional monthly fees, hidden fees, or setup fees; and you won't pay the 0.15% transaction fee when using a third-party payment gateway.
• Fraud prevention: Make informed fulfillment decisions with world-class fraud prevention and risk analysis.
• Integrated into Shopify: Track orders and payouts with an automated and accurate reconciliation system.
• Global capabilities: Sell in over 130 currencies and get paid in your local currency on one Shopify store, and offer popular local payment methods tailored to specific markets.
• Built-in security: Shopify Payments is PCI-compliant, supports 3D Secure checkouts, and provides the tools you need to be compliant with GDPR.

If you're interested in learning more, why not check out this amazing blog here: Shopify Payments Makes You Money Through Higher Conversion Rates and Fewer Chargebacks for some more information!

What type of business are you running? I'd love to hear some more about your business and goals!