Shopify Payment Fees
Australian Shopify Fees explained.
How much does it cost to use Shopify in Australia?
Are there credit card fees for Australian Shopify owners? What about PayPal transaction fees on Australian Shopify stores?
We build Shopify websites too.
Are you confused by what it actually costs to run a Shopify store in Australia?
You’re not alone. At MyWork we have been working with Shopify for a number of years. We are certified Shopify Experts and have designed, developed & launched literally hundreds of Shopify stores. Still to this day though, we have people ask questions about credit card fees for Shopify stores in Australia.
Common Shopify payment questions
- If I use Shopify Payments, do I pay transaction fees?
- If I use PayPal or eWay (or any other payment gateway) do I have to pay transaction fees to Shopify?
Below we have attempted to lay the answers out in plain English, & ultimately answer everything relating to Shopify Australian transaction, credit card fees & percentages.
Here’s an easy to follow pricing chart
Here is the most important thing to remember: Prices vary dramatically depending on whether or not Shopify Payments is turned on or off.
Below is a table, that at first may look daunting, however it ultimately has an answer to every scenario possible. Prices below are accurate if you are on the mid-tier “Shopify” monthly plan. See the Shopify Pricing page for how the percentages vary between different monthly plans.
| BASIC | SHOPIFY | ADVANCED | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fraud analysis When you use Shopify Payments, you automatically get a built-in fraud analysis feature. This feature flags orders that are potentially fraudulent and brings them to your attention. | |||
| Online Australian credit card rates | 1.75% + 30¢ AUD | 1.6% + 30¢ AUD | 1.4% + 30¢ AUD |
| Online International/Amex credit card rates | 2.9% + 30¢ AUD | 2.8% + 30¢ AUD | 2.7% + 30¢ AUD |
| Bancontact rates | 2.9% + 30¢ AUD | 2.8% + 30¢ AUD | 2.7% + 30¢ AUD |
| iDEAL rates | 2.9% + 30¢ AUD | 2.8% + 30¢ AUD | 2.7% + 30¢ AUD |
| In-person credit/debit card rates | 1.95% + 0¢ AUD | 1.85% + 0¢ AUD | 1.75% + 0¢ AUD |
| Third-party transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments Third-party transaction fees are charges that apply for each transaction if you use a third-party payment provider to take customer payments. | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.5% |
Transaction fees vs credit card fees
One of the more confusing aspects of working out how Shopify fees work is the terminology used to describe the different fees. Some documentation will read “If you use Shopify Payments, there are no transaction fees.” When you first read this, you might think… “what, you mean it is completely free to use Shopify Payments?”. Well no, it isn’t. Sure, there are no “transaction fees” but there are still “credit card fees”. To simplify this, at MyWork we concluded that a “fee is a fee”.
Whatever you want to call it, you’re being charged something when a sale is made, & it is important to understand the what those fees amount to.
What is it & why is it so important?
Shopify Payments is Shopify’s own payment gateway. It makes it easy to take Visa & Mastercard payments directly in your checkout. There are many reasons why this payment method exists, with one of the obvious ones being that Shopify themselves prefer to process all of your payments as they ultimately make more money this way.
The good news is, if you opt to use Shopify Payments in your store, your customers will find it easier to check out, calculating your profit margins will be more straight forward & you’ll almost certainly run a more productive & profitable store.
Another big benefit is that you’ll save money on PayPal fees.
As the table above shows, if you have Shopify Payments turned on, you do not incur any fees from PayPal. Rather you simply pay the Shopify Payments rates.
We can build a Shopify store for you.
Some common examples
Here are some examples of the fees you would incur based off of some rather common ways your customers may pay for your products. Remember, the most important determining factor on how your fees are calculated comes down to whether Shopify Payments is turned on or off. Once again, all examples below are using the “Shopify” mid-tier plan. Refer to the Shopify Payments page for the appropriate percentages for your plan.
Your customer buys a $100 AUD product & enters their Visa card directly.
1.6% of $100 AUD is $1.60 AUD
30c USD at current exchange rate is 42c AUD
Therefore, your fee for this sale is $2.02 AUD.
Your customer buys a $100 AUD product & uses PayPal.
1.6% of $100 AUD is $1.60 AUD
30c USD at current exchange rate is 42c AUD
Therefore, your fee for this sale is $2.02 AUD.
As you have Shopify Payments turned on, there are no additional PayPal fees.
Your customer buys a $100 AUD product & uses PayPal, but instead of logging into their PayPal account, they enter their AMEX card into PayPal directly.
2.8% of $100 AUD is $2.80 AUD
30c USD at current exchange rate is 42c AUD
Therefore, your fee for this sale is $3.22 AUD.
As you have Shopify Payments turned on, there are no additional PayPal fees.
You sign up for eWay as an Alternative Payment Method.
Your customer buys a $100 AUD product & pays for it via your eWay payment method
eWay fees vary, in this example I’m going to us a hypothetical rate of 1.2% per transaction.
1.2% of $100 AUD is $1.20 AUD which is charged by eWay.
As eWay is an Alternative Payment Method, Shopify charges you 1%
1% of $100 AUD is $1 AUD
Total fee for this sale is $2.20 AUD.
Your customer buys a $100 AUD product & uses PayPal.
Current PayPal fees in Australia are:
2.6% + 30c AUD
2.6% of $100 is $2.60 AUD
Add the 30 cents PayPal fee is $2.90
As Shopify Payments is turned off, PayPal is now considered an Alternative Payment Method & therefore Shopify charges you 1%.
1% of $100 AUD is $1 AUD
Total fee for this sale is $3.90 AUD
You sign up for eWay as an Alternative Payment Method. Your customer buys a $100 AUD product & pays for it via your eWay payment method. As you can see, Alternative Payment Methods are not dictated by Shopify Payments being on or off, therefore the calculation below is identical to the one we did for eWay earlier.
eWay fees vary, in this example I’m going to us a hypothetical rate of 1.2% per transaction.
1.2% of $100 AUD is $1.20 AUD which is charged by eWay.
As eWay is an Alternative payment method, Shopify charges you 1%
1% of $100 AUD is $1 AUD
Total fee for this sale is $2.20 AUD
Pick the payment methods that work best for you
We hope the information we’ve provided here helps. We’re confident that this is one of the few, if not only, resources available that actually explain Shopify fees for Australian merchants in a way that can actually be clearly understood. Please reach out to us if you have questions or feedback, as we’d love to hear back.
Remember to do your calculations & figure out what Payment Method works best for your business.
Still unsure? We are here to help. Contact the MyWork team today.