Wallets and accelerated checkout

A wallet (digital wallet) such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or Shop Pay stores your customer's card and address details, so they can pay with Face ID, a fingerprint or a passcode. An accelerated checkout (also called express checkout) is the button that uses those details: the customer skips the forms and pays in a few taps. On Shopify, wallets run through your card provider, usually Shopify Payments. How they fit into your full payment setup is covered in our guide to Shopify Payments and payments.

In short

A wallet is not a separate cost: you pay the rate of the card behind it.

Accelerated checkout buttons sit at the top of your checkout and, if your theme shows them, on product pages.

Which button your customer sees depends on your payment settings and on their device and browser.

Which wallets can you offer on Shopify?

Shop Pay: Shopify's own wallet. Customers with a Shop account find their details again in every Shopify store that offers Shop Pay.

Apple Pay: works in Safari on compatible Apple devices. The customer confirms with Face ID or Touch ID.

Google Pay: for customers who use Google Pay, including on Android and in Chrome.

PayPal and Amazon Pay: also offer accelerated buttons, depending on your provider and your country.

You manage Apple Pay and Google Pay under Settings > Payments: click Manage next to your card provider and switch them on or off under Wallets.

What does a wallet cost?

Shopify charges no extra fees for Apple Pay or Google Pay. You pay your provider's normal transaction fees for the card your customer has stored in their wallet. If a customer pays with Apple Pay using their Visa debit card, the Visa debit rate applies. So a wallet doesn't change your costs. The benefit is convenience: wallet users check out on mobile without filling in forms.

Where do accelerated checkout buttons appear?

In the checkout they sit in an Express Checkout block at the top. Shopify orders them per customer and shows the fastest option first. On product pages many themes show a dynamic button: the customer skips the cart and goes straight to payment. You switch that button on or off in the theme editor, with the buy buttons on your product page.

What to watch out for

Discount codes: with Apple Pay a discount code only works if your customer enters it on the checkout page first. An Apple Pay button in the cart skips that step.

Cart drawer: in a cart pop-up the button doesn't always appear by itself. Sometimes a small theme change is needed.

Differences per device: Apple Pay only appears in Safari on compatible Apple devices. Not every customer sees the same button, and that is normal.

Hiding: hiding buttons in the checkout for certain customers or carts is only possible on Shopify Plus, with an app that uses the Payment Customization API. Shopify warns that this can cost you conversions.

Wallets and tokenisation

A wallet never passes on the real card number. The device uses a token, a substitute number that only works for that device. That is why an Apple Pay order in Shopify shows the last four digits of the device account rather than those of the card. It makes wallets secure, and it explains why your processor must support network tokenisation to offer Apple Pay.

Example in a Shopify context

A fashion brand with mostly mobile traffic switches on Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay and shows the dynamic button on the product page. Returning customers check out without a form. Because the brand often runs discount codes, it keeps the Apple Pay button out of the cart, so the code still works in the checkout.

Frequently asked questions

What is an accelerated checkout?

A checkout route that uses saved payment and shipping details, so the customer pays without filling in forms. On Shopify that includes Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.

Does Apple Pay cost extra on Shopify?

No. You pay your provider's normal rate for the card the customer uses in Apple Pay.

Why doesn't every customer see the Apple Pay button?

Apple Pay only appears in Safari on a compatible Apple device with a wallet set up. On Android or in Chrome the customer sees other buttons, such as Google Pay or Shop Pay.

Can I turn off accelerated checkout buttons?

On product pages you switch off the dynamic button in your theme. You deactivate a wallet itself in your payment settings. Hiding specific buttons in the checkout is only possible on Shopify Plus.

Which payment methods to switch on in Belgium and the Netherlands is covered in how to set up Shopify Payments in Belgium.