Why store owners look for a Shopify Payments alternative
Shopify Payments is easy: it's built in and switched on in a few clicks. But it doesn't fit every store. The most common reasons people search for another option are simple ones.
- Shopify Payments isn't available in the country where your business is registered.
- Your account was closed, or payouts are on hold and you need a way to keep selling.
- You want local methods your buyers expect, such as iDEAL in the Netherlands or Bancontact in Belgium, through a provider you already trust.
- You already have a good contract with Stripe, Mollie, PayPal or another provider and want to use it.
- You don't want all your income to depend on one account.
Route 1: a third-party gateway inside Shopify's checkout
Shopify lets you add other payment providers to its own checkout. Buyers still pay on Shopify's checkout page, but the money goes through the provider you connected.
The trade-off is cost. When you don't use Shopify Payments, Shopify adds its own transaction fee on top of what your provider charges. According to shopify.com/pricing (checked October 2026) that fee is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. Not every provider is available this way in every country, either.
Route 2: your own checkout, paid through your own provider
The second route is an external checkout. Your store stays on Shopify, but the checkout button opens a checkout page you control, on your own domain. The buyer pays through your provider, and the paid order is created in Shopify.
This is what Settl does. You connect Whop, Stripe, Mollie, PayPal, Revolut, Airwallex, Viva.com, Checkout.com, SumUp, Tikkie or Oceanpayment, and you can add manual methods like bank transfer, pick-up or pay on delivery. Settl takes 0% per order and never holds the money. You pay your provider's normal rates and a flat monthly price to Settl.
Because you can connect more than one provider, you can also fill gaps. Whop's card form has no iDEAL, for example, while Stripe and Mollie do. Connect both and buyers see every method on one page.
Route 3: leave Shopify
Some owners move to another platform, such as WooCommerce, where you pick any payment plugin you like. That gives full control, but it means rebuilding your store, apps, theme and workflows. For most stores that's far more work than changing how buyers pay.
How to choose the provider itself
Whichever route you take, the provider is the part that matters most. Look at where your buyers are, not where you are. A Dutch audience expects iDEAL, a German one often pays with Klarna or PayPal, and almost everyone wants cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Check that the provider supports your business type and country before you apply, and be open about what you sell. Compare their card rates, payout timing and any reserve rules. A provider that approves you with full knowledge of your business is worth more than a cheaper one that may close your account later.