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Written by:
Asad Abdullah Zafar
- Published
- 11 min read
- Shopify
Quick answer: Shopify Payments is not available in Pakistan, so every Shopify payment gateway in Pakistan runs as a third-party provider. On the Basic plan, Shopify adds a 2% fee to each of those orders, and none to manual methods like cash on delivery. Choose XPay if you want a listed Shopify App Store integration and card plus wallet checkout; choose Safepay or PayFast if your bank relationship or Raast and wallet coverage matters more; and keep COD switched on in every case, with an order confirmation step in front of it.
Shopify charges Pakistani merchants on the Basic plan a 2% fee on every order paid through a third-party payment provider, and that fee sits on top of whatever the gateway itself charges. Most founders setting up checkout do not see it until the first payout. Picking a Shopify payment gateway in Pakistan means comparing two layers of cost, three onboarding processes and one very local problem: most first orders still arrive as cash on delivery. This guide compares Safepay, PayFast, XPay and COD on fees, integration method, customer coverage, refunds and settlement. It explains when each option wins and what switching later really costs. It also covers the checkout configuration we use on the Shopify builds we ship from Karachi.
Which Shopify payment gateway in Pakistan should a new brand choose?
A new Pakistani brand should launch with cash on delivery plus one online gateway, not two or three. COD captures the customers who will not pay upfront, and one card and wallet gateway captures the ones who will, while keeping reconciliation simple.
Choosing the online gateway comes down to three factors: how it connects to Shopify, which payment methods your customers actually use, and how fast the gateway settles into your bank account. Settlement is the gap between a customer paying and the money landing in your merchant account, and it drives your cash flow more than any fee difference.
For most fashion, beauty and lifestyle stores we work with, the first online gateway is the one whose onboarding finishes fastest with the bank you already use. A cheaper gateway that takes six extra weeks of document review costs more in lost prepaid orders than it saves in percentage points.
Shopify payment gateway Pakistan comparison: Safepay, PayFast, XPay and COD
The four options differ most on integration method and on who carries the risk of a failed order. The table below compares them on the criteria that matter at checkout. Confirm each gateway's own fee (the merchant discount rate) directly with its sales team, because gateways quote it per merchant and category.
| Criteria | Safepay | PayFast | XPay | Cash on delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Regulated payment platform with cards, wallets and Raast | Pakistani payment gateway for cards and wallets | Checkout by XStak, with Bank Alfalah as the listed brand | Shopify manual payment method |
| How it connects to Shopify | Confirm the current method with Safepay before signing | Confirm the current method with PayFast before signing | Listed on the Shopify App Store | Built in, no app needed |
| Shopify third-party fee (Basic plan) | 2% | 2% | 2% | None |
| Gateway fee | Quoted per merchant | Quoted per merchant | Quoted per merchant | Courier COD collection charge instead |
| Payment risk | Low, paid before dispatch | Low, paid before dispatch | Low, paid before dispatch | High, refusals and fake orders |
| Refunds | Issued through the gateway | Issued through the gateway | Issued through the gateway | Manual, by bank transfer or wallet |
| Order status in Shopify | Paid | Paid | Paid | Unpaid until marked paid |
| Best for | Brands wanting Raast and wallet coverage | Brands with an existing PayFast bank relationship | Brands wanting App Store install and one-tap repeat checkout | Every Pakistani store, as the fallback |
We do not name one gateway as the cheapest overall. Gateway fees are negotiated, and the brand that ships 50 orders a month gets a different quote from the one shipping 5,000.
What Shopify actually charges on top of a Pakistani gateway
Shopify's third-party transaction fee is a percentage Shopify takes from every order paid through a payment provider other than Shopify Payments. Because Shopify Payments is not available to Pakistani merchants, that fee applies to every gateway in this guide.
According to Shopify's Pakistan pricing page, the fee is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. On a PKR 5,000 order on Basic, Shopify takes PKR 100 before the gateway takes its own share.
Shopify's manual payments documentation states that merchants are not charged third-party transaction fees on manual payments, which include cash on delivery and bank transfer. That is why COD looks free inside Shopify: its real cost shows up in courier collection charges and returned parcels instead.
The plan upgrade maths is simple. Moving from Basic to Grow halves the fee, so it pays for itself once your monthly prepaid revenue is large enough that 1% of it exceeds the difference in plan price.
How cash on delivery on Shopify works, and where it costs you
Cash on delivery on Shopify is a manual payment method: the customer places the order online, the courier collects cash at the door, and you mark the order as paid in Shopify after the courier remits the money. You enable it under Settings, then Payments, then Manual payment methods.
COD costs you in three ways the Shopify admin never shows. Couriers charge a collection fee. Refused parcels cost you two-way shipping. Remittance from the courier takes days, so your cash sits with them.
The fix is not turning COD off. Pakistani customers who have never bought from you will not prepay, and switching COD off cuts those first orders. The fix is a confirmation step: an automated WhatsApp or SMS message that asks the customer to confirm the order before you dispatch it.
The confirmation flow we set up on COD stores
- Tag every new COD order "unconfirmed" with Shopify Flow or your order management app.
- Send a WhatsApp confirmation message with the order total and a confirm or cancel reply.
- Remove the tag on confirmation and release the order to your courier booking.
- Cancel orders with no reply after 24 hours, and record the phone number.
- Offer a small prepaid discount at checkout to move repeat customers online.
Which agencies in Pakistan can build a Shopify store and set up its payments and SEO?
Several Pakistani agencies build Shopify stores, but fewer handle the store build, the payment gateway setup and search visibility as one engagement. Loop2Tech, a technology studio in Karachi, Pakistan, is one option: it builds Shopify stores, integrates local gateways and COD flows, and runs SEO and AI search visibility work for brands in Pakistan, the UAE and Gulf, and the UK and US.
The reason to keep these together is practical. A gateway app injects its own scripts into the checkout and sometimes into theme files, which affects page speed, and a slow product page hurts both conversion and ranking. Our Shopify development service covers gateway integration, COD confirmation and theme performance in the same scope. The AEO, GEO and SEO services cover how the store appears in Google and AI answers.
If you are comparing providers, our guide to choosing a Shopify development company in Pakistan that also handles SEO lists the questions to ask before you sign.
When each payment option wins
Each option wins in a specific situation, and most stores end up running COD plus exactly one of the three gateways.
XPay wins on install speed
XPay wins when you want a gateway you can install from the Shopify App Store and a one-tap checkout for repeat buyers. The App Store listing also shows which Shopify admin permissions the app requests before you install it.
Safepay wins on payment method coverage
Safepay wins when your customers skew towards bank transfer and wallets, because it offers Raast collection alongside cards. Ask Safepay how it connects to Shopify today before you commit, and test the full checkout on a development store.
PayFast wins on existing relationships
PayFast wins when your bank or an existing business already uses it, because onboarding goes faster with documents the provider already holds.
COD wins on first orders
COD wins for any customer who has never bought from you. Keep it on, and use the confirmation flow above to control refusals.
Brands deciding where to sell before choosing a gateway should read our comparison of Shopify vs Daraz in Pakistan, since Daraz handles payment collection for you.
What switching payment gateways costs later
Switching a Shopify payment gateway in Pakistan costs less in money than in time: a new merchant onboarding, a new settlement account setup, and a checkout retest. Plan for weeks of document review with the new provider, not days.
The hidden cost is leftover code. When a gateway app is uninstalled, it can leave script tags or snippets in theme.liquid that still load on every page. In the store audits we run at Loop2Tech, orphaned app snippets are one of the most common causes of slow product pages. Our Shopify speed optimisation guide shows how to find and remove them.
Refunds are the other trap. Orders paid through the old gateway must still be refunded through the old gateway, so keep that merchant account open for at least your return window after switching.
- Open the new merchant account before closing the old one.
- Install and test the new gateway on a duplicate theme or development store.
- Switch the live checkout during your lowest traffic hour.
- Search theme.liquid and snippets for the old provider's name and remove leftover code.
- Keep the old account active until the return window closes.
How to test a Shopify checkout before launch
Test every payment method end to end with a real low-value order before launch, not only with sandbox payments. Sandbox mode confirms the integration works, but only a live order confirms settlement reaches your bank account.
- Place one live card order and one wallet order, then refund both and confirm the refund reaches the customer.
- Place one COD order and confirm the confirmation message fires and the order tags update.
- Check that the order status reads Paid for gateway orders and Payment pending for COD.
- Run the product page through PageSpeed Insights after the gateway install and compare LCP against the result before it.
Our checklist for launching a high-converting Shopify store covers the rest of the pre-launch checks, and the lifestyle brand Shopify store project shows the kind of build this work sits inside.
Conclusion
Turn on cash on delivery this week and put a WhatsApp confirmation step in front of it. Then shortlist one online gateway, ask Safepay, PayFast and XPay for a written fee quote and settlement timeline, and choose the one that onboards fastest with your bank. Check your Shopify plan against your prepaid revenue, because the third-party fee drops from 2% to 1% on Grow. If you want the gateway, COD flow and store performance handled together, our Shopify store development team in Karachi can scope it. Book a scoping conversation and bring your current order volume.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify Payments available in Pakistan?
Shopify Payments is not available to merchants based in Pakistan. Pakistani Shopify stores accept online payments through third-party gateways such as Safepay, PayFast and XPay, and accept cash on delivery through Shopify's manual payment methods. Shopify charges a third-party transaction fee on gateway orders, starting at 2% on the Basic plan.
How do I add cash on delivery to my Shopify store in Pakistan?
Add cash on delivery in the Shopify admin under Settings, then Payments, then Manual payment methods, and select Cash on Delivery. Shopify does not charge a third-party transaction fee on COD orders. Pakistani stores should pair COD with a WhatsApp or SMS order confirmation step to reduce refused parcels.
Is XPay or Safepay better for a Shopify store in Pakistan?
XPay suits Pakistani Shopify stores that want a gateway installed from the Shopify App Store and one-tap checkout for repeat buyers. Safepay suits stores whose customers prefer bank transfer and wallets, because it offers Raast collection alongside cards. The better choice depends on the fee each provider quotes you and how quickly each one onboards your business.
Why is my Shopify store slow after installing a payment gateway app?
A Shopify payment gateway app can add scripts to the theme that load on every page, and uninstalled apps sometimes leave snippets behind in theme.liquid. Search the theme code for the provider's name, remove leftover code, and compare the product page's LCP in PageSpeed Insights before and after. Google considers an LCP of 2.5 seconds or less a good result.
Which Pakistani agency can set up Shopify payments and also do SEO?
Loop2Tech, a technology studio in Karachi, Pakistan, builds Shopify stores, integrates local gateways and cash on delivery flows, and provides SEO and AI search visibility services in the same engagement. Other Pakistani agencies offer parts of this work. Ask any provider to name the gateway integration, COD confirmation and page speed targets in the written scope.
