How to Reorder Payment Methods at Shopify Checkout

Customers tend to pick what they see first. At the payment step, the option at the top of the list gets the most attention, and the ones further down get skimmed or ignored. If your cheapest, fastest, or lowest-risk payment method is sitting fourth in the list, you are leaving that decision to chance.

Shopify does not offer a drag-and-drop ordering setting for payment methods at checkout. But a Payment Customization function can move methods up or down, and it can do it conditionally, so the order changes with the customer's country, cart, or history.

Why payment method order matters

Processing costs differ. Card processing, wallets, bank transfers, and buy-now-pay-later providers each carry different fees. Putting your lower-cost option first nudges more customers toward it without removing choice.

Local preferences differ. In some markets, customers expect a local bank transfer or wallet. In others, cards or cash on delivery dominate. A single global order serves nobody well.

Risk differs. For stores in COD-heavy regions, cash on delivery carries refusal risk. Moving prepaid options above COD encourages prepayment while still leaving COD available.

Clarity. A long list of similar-looking options slows customers down. Putting the most relevant option first reduces hesitation.

Promotions. If you offer a perk for paying a certain way, such as a bank transfer discount, it makes sense to show that method first.

Your options on Shopify

Native Shopify settings

Shopify determines the default order of payment methods, and merchants have limited control over it from the admin. You can activate or deactivate providers and manual payment methods, but you cannot freely set a custom sequence, and you certainly cannot vary it by country or customer.

Theme or script hacks

Checkout is not part of your theme. Shopify's modern checkout does not allow arbitrary JavaScript or CSS edits to the payment step, so theme-based reordering is not an option. Older approaches that relied on checkout.liquid no longer apply to the current checkout.

Shopify Functions (Payment Customization)

A Payment Customization function runs server-side when the payment step loads. It can hide, rename, and reorder payment methods based on cart contents, cart total, shipping address, and customer data. Reordering is done by moving a method to a specific position in the list.

Public apps that use Payment Customization work on all Shopify plans. Custom apps with these functions generally require Shopify Plus.

Step-by-step setup

1. List your active payment methods

Write down exactly how each method appears at checkout today, for example "Credit card," "PayPal," "Bank Deposit," "Cash on Delivery (COD)." Functions match methods by name, so exact names matter.

2. Decide your default order

Start with one global order based on cost and customer preference. A typical sequence might be your main card processor first, then a popular wallet, then local methods, then COD last.

3. Add conditional overrides

Only add overrides where the default clearly does not fit. Common overrides are by shipping country, cart value, or customer tag.

4. Set the rule priority

When several rules could apply, decide which one wins. A country rule and a cart-value rule may both try to place a method first. Keep rules few and non-overlapping where possible.

5. Test in each scenario

Test checkouts with shipping addresses in each market you target, at low and high cart values, and as tagged and untagged customers.

Rule examples

Reordering pairs well with the other two Payment Customization actions. If a method should not appear at all for some orders, hide it instead; our guide to hiding COD with Shopify Functions covers that. If a method's name is confusing, rename it; see renaming payment methods on Shopify checkout.

Reorder, hide, or rename?

Reordering is the gentlest of the three. It never removes a choice, so it carries the lowest risk of hurting conversion.

Pitfalls and edge cases

Name changes break rules. If a payment provider updates its display name, or you rename a manual method in the admin, rules that match the old name stop working. Recheck rules after any payment settings change.

Renamed methods. If you rename a method with one rule and reorder it with another, make sure the reorder rule targets the method correctly. Test the two together.

Conflicting rules. Two rules both moving different methods to position one produce an unpredictable result for merchants reading the config later. Keep the rule set small.

Wallets at the top of checkout. Express wallet buttons can appear above the main payment list, so a customer may pay before reaching your reordered list. Reordering still matters for everyone who scrolls down to the main payment section.

Changing too often. Customers who return regularly learn where their method sits. Frequent reshuffles make checkout feel unfamiliar.

Expecting dramatic results. Reordering is a nudge, not a mandate. Measure the share of orders using each method before and after, and give it a few weeks.

Setting this up with Blockly Checkout Customizer

Blockly Checkout Customizer, launching soon on the Shopify App Store, is built to let you set payment method order without code. You will be able to drag methods into your preferred default order, then add conditions such as shipping country, cart total, or customer tag for markets or segments that need a different sequence. Because it uses Shopify's Payment Customization function, the same rule set can also hide or rename methods, and it is designed to work on all Shopify plans.

For a wider view of what else can be customized at checkout, see our Shopify checkout customization guide.

Takeaway

The payment list is a small piece of checkout with an outsized effect on which methods customers use. Shopify does not give you direct ordering controls, and theme code cannot touch checkout, so Payment Customization is the reliable route. Start with one sensible default order, add overrides only where a market or segment clearly needs one, keep rules from overlapping, and measure the payment mix over a few weeks before adjusting.