Which Shopify rate does a payment link, tap or keyed card get?

Which Shopify rate applies to each way a customer pays?

Shopify’s rates page sorts card charges into three families: online card types, in-person cards and manually entered card payments. The figures depend on your plan and region, so this table gives the family for each route, not a percentage; your own figures are under View payment rates.

The card matters too. An international card adds a charge above the base rate.

One POS draft can land in two rows. Load it back into the POS cart and have the customer tap, and it’s an in-person payment. Email it from POS and let them pay online, and it’s a checkout payment. Saving and emailing drafts in POS needs POS Pro. Shopify Quick Sale works the same way, since it offers both a link and Tap to Pay.

Does a Shopify payment link get the in-person rate if the customer is in the store?

No. In-person rates cover Shopify POS, Shopify card readers and Tap to Pay, and a link is paid on your online checkout wherever the customer opens it. If they’re at the counter, take the card on your reader or with Tap to Pay instead. Every Shopify payment link type in the table above ends at that checkout.

Shopify POS also has an in-store option called Pay by link, where the customer scans a QR code to pay with a local method such as iDEAL or Klarna on their own phone. That’s a different feature, explained in our guide to Shopify POS Pay by link.

Is a card keyed into Shopify POS charged more than a tapped card?

Yes. Shopify’s help says manually entered payments are “subject to higher fees” and, with Shopify Payments, are “charged at a different rate than in-person card payments.” That covers a card typed into POS with Manual card entry and one typed on an admin draft.

The steps for both are in our guide to Shopify’s virtual terminal options. Shopify asks staff to review the rates and the fraud risks of taking a card by phone before keying.

Merchants have asked about this, and the community answers disagree. A 2021 reply said keyed cards get online rates. A 2023 reply said fees depend on the payment method, not how it’s entered. Shopify’s current help is clear that how the card is entered changes the rate.

Is a payment link cheaper than keying the card in over the phone?

Shopify publishes no separate rate for payment links, so check your own payout export. It does say a link is paid on your online checkout, not in person, and that keyed payments carry higher fees. Compare the Fee column for a few of each.

The practical difference is who types the card. With a link, the customer does.

Does Shopify charge a transaction fee on a draft order invoice?

Not with Shopify Payments. You pay the card rate and no transaction fee. With a third-party gateway, Shopify adds its third-party transaction fee to the provider’s own card fees. Drafts marked paid are covered in the table above. Your plan’s fees are on Shopify’s pricing page.

How do I check which rate I was charged on a payment?

Check your rates in the admin, then the fee on each payment in a payout export. Match each order to its route in the table above to see which family it fell into.

To see your rates:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2. In the Shopify Payments section, click Manage.
3. Click More actions > Manage payment methods.
4. Click View payment rates.

If your store is part of an organization, select Shopify Payments under Payment providers, then the payment entity under Accounts, in place of step 2.

To see the fee on each payment (Shopify’s payout help):

1. Go to Finance > Payouts.
2. Open a payout. The Transactions table shows the total fees for the payout.
3. Click the export icon (or Export in the original payouts view), then Export payout transactions.
4. In the export, read the Fee column (the fee applied to the transaction) and Net (the amount minus the fee).

If a fee still looks high, the Payments finance report under Analytics > Reports shows transaction volume by card type.

Where do keyed cards and native links get awkward at the counter?

A keyed card puts the card number in staff hands and carries higher fees. Shopify’s native links avoid that, but each one sends the customer to an online checkout. The draft invoice link asks them to select a shipping method there, which can add shipping to the total your staff quoted. Send cart and emailed POS drafts need POS Pro.

Send a payment link from the Shopify POS cart with Pay Link

Instead of keying a caller’s card yourself, staff can make a payment link from the Shopify POS cart with Pay Link, from Countermade. The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, so staff never see or type card details. It’s an online checkout payment, like a draft invoice or Send cart link. See how Pay Link compares with Shopify’s native link options.

• Staff see the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping. For counter orders, turn on local pickup so the customer can choose it at checkout.
• A double tap makes one payment link, not two.
• Staff can see whether a link has been paid.
• It takes full payment only and needs Shopify POS Pro.

Next step

Open View payment rates in your admin, then compare it with the Fee column on your next payout export, route by route.

Pay Link isn’t on the Shopify App Store yet. Get early access and we’ll email you when it’s ready to try.