Shopify Payments alternatives and their trade-offs

The main alternatives to Shopify Payments are a third-party payment gateway connected inside Shopify's checkout, Stripe through its own Shopify app, PayPal as an extra method, or a checkout replacement that runs the payment on another processor, such as Whop through LatchPay. Stores usually look for one because of payout holds or reserves, an unsupported country, or a business category Shopify Payments will not accept. Each option keeps a different part of Shopify and adds its own fees, so the right one depends on why you are leaving.

Who actually needs an alternative

Shopify Payments is the simplest setup when it works for you: one provider, no third-party transaction fee, and Shop Pay built in. There is no reason to replace it just because another provider advertises a lower rate. Stores usually need an alternative for one of these reasons.

Payout holds and reserves

Shopify can put an account on hold until information is verified or an issue is resolved, and it can set a reserve that holds back a fixed amount or a percentage of sales for a period, for example 10% for 120 days. For a growing store with thin margins, that can be the difference between reordering stock and not.

An unsupported country

Shopify Payments is available only in the supported countries Shopify lists. If your business is based elsewhere, Shopify's own guidance is to use a third-party provider.

A category Shopify Payments will not accept

Shopify's acceptable business practices separate prohibited businesses from restricted ones that need extra review. Some categories are not accepted at all, and a store can be declined or restricted after a review. Being refused by Shopify Payments does not mean every processor will refuse you, but it does mean you need to check each provider's own rules.

The alternatives

1. A third-party gateway inside Shopify's checkout

Shopify supports a list of third-party payment providers that you activate in your payment settings, and availability depends on your country.

• What stays the same: Shopify's checkout, Shopify's order flow, most checkout apps.
• What changes: your contract, rates, payouts and risk review are with the gateway.
• What it costs: the gateway's rate plus Shopify's third-party transaction fee. As of September 2026 that is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.

This is the default route for stores outside the Shopify Payments countries. For high-risk categories, it usually means a specialist gateway with longer underwriting and higher rates.

2. Stripe through its Shopify app

A separate Stripe account can be connected as a payment provider. According to Stripe's support page, Shopify has updated its payments platform, and merchants must use the Stripe Card Payments app to keep taking card payments through Stripe at Shopify's checkout.

• What stays the same: Shopify's checkout.
• What changes: payouts, disputes and risk decisions are Stripe's, under your own Stripe account.
• What it costs: Stripe's rates plus Shopify's third-party transaction fee.

Stripe has its own list of restricted and prohibited businesses and its own risk reviews. A category that Shopify Payments refuses may face similar questions at Stripe, so read Stripe's rules before you rely on it.

3. PayPal

PayPal is a payment method many buyers expect, and Shopify documents how to set up PayPal Express Checkout. Shopify notes that in the US and France, PayPal is integrated with Shopify Payments rather than set up as a separate gateway when you use Shopify Payments.

PayPal is rarely a full replacement on its own, because most buyers still want to pay by card on the page. It works best as a second method next to your main provider. PayPal also has its own risk policies and can hold funds.

4. A checkout replacement: Whop through LatchPay

The fourth option leaves Shopify's checkout altogether for the payment step. LatchPay replaces the checkout page and the card charge; everything else stays in Shopify. When a buyer presses Checkout, a hosted LatchPay checkout opens, quotes the cart live from your store, takes the payment on your own Whop business and writes the paid order back into Shopify.

• What stays the same: products, inventory, prices, discount codes, shipping, tax, orders, fulfilment, confirmation emails and customers. See LatchPay and Shopify.
• What changes: the checkout page is LatchPay's; the payment is on Whop, which is the merchant of record, so card statements start with WHOP*. Payouts, refunds and disputes are on Whop. See LatchPay and Whop.
• What it costs: LatchPay's plan (Starter €100 per 30 days plus 0.5% of paid orders, or Scale €299 plus 0.25%), Whop's own processing fees, and Shopify's third-party transaction fee, which may apply because the payment runs outside Shopify Payments. See the fees page.

Other products connect Shopify to Whop or to other processors in a similar way; compare them on what stays in Shopify, what the checkout can do, and what each party charges.

Side by side

	Third-party gateway	Stripe app	PayPal	LatchPay on Whop
Checkout page	Shopify's	Shopify's	Shopify's	LatchPay's, hosted
Who processes	The gateway	Your Stripe account	PayPal	Your Whop business (Whop is merchant of record)
Shopify third-party fee	Yes	Yes	Depends on setup	May apply
Shop Pay and express buttons	Depends on setup	Depends on setup	Depends on setup	Hidden while on; Apple Pay and Google Pay offered on the checkout where Whop offers them
Checkout apps inside Shopify's checkout	Keep working	Keep working	Keep working	Do not run
Subscriptions	Depends on gateway	Supported, per Stripe's support page	Depends on setup	Not supported yet
Can hold funds or set reserves	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, under Whop's rules

The last row is the one people least like to read, and the most important. No processor is free of risk rules.

Trade-offs to weigh honestly

Fees usually go up, not down

Leaving Shopify Payments almost always adds Shopify's third-party transaction fee, and a new provider rarely beats Shopify's rate by enough to cover it. If fees are your only reason, add up every party's fee before you switch; LatchPay's fees page and Whop's and Shopify's fees on top list all three for a LatchPay order.

The buyer experience changes

Inside Shopify's checkout, a new gateway changes little for buyers. A checkout replacement changes more. With LatchPay, Shop Pay and the storefront's express buttons are hidden, because they would skip the LatchPay checkout; the LatchPay checkout offers Apple Pay and Google Pay itself where Whop offers them. Details are in Express buttons.

Your apps may not all follow

Apps that inject into Shopify's own checkout (upsells, custom fields, trust badges) do not run on a replacement checkout. Storefront apps such as cart drawers, reviews and bundles keep working. LatchPay has its own checkout blocks, an order bump and a post-purchase offer to cover some of that.

Risk rules move, they do not disappear

A different processor looks at your business with its own rules. Whop, for example, describes on its reserves page when it may place or raise a reserve, such as a new account, an elevated dispute rate, or buyers paying before delivery. The honest promise of an alternative is a different risk policy and a different track record to build, not immunity.

How to choose

1. If Shopify Payments works for you, keep it.
2. If your country is not supported, start with the third-party gateways Shopify lists for your country.
3. If you are held or restricted, first ask Shopify what the reason is and whether it can be fixed. If not, pick a processor whose rules fit your business model, and plan a clean switch.
4. If you also want a more flexible checkout (order bumps, post-purchase offers, fraud rules, server-side tracking) without Shopify Plus, a checkout replacement is worth comparing.

Where LatchPay fits

LatchPay is for Shopify merchants who want to keep Shopify for everything except the checkout page and the charge, and take payments on their own Whop business. Setup is a custom app in your Shopify organization, a Whop connection and one line in your theme; see the setup overview. You can place a first test order before buyers see anything, and one switch in Settings brings Shopify's checkout back.

If that fits your situation, the demo shows the checkout, and you can create an account when you are ready.