Payment Methods
Payment methods are defined for the installation and then enabled per cart, so different shops can offer different ways of paying.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Commercial:
- Carts — the cart itself and its options
- Shop Insights — what buyers looked for
- Vendor Approvals — applications waiting on a decision
Architect Panel → Data:
- Datastores — then View Data on a cart table, where most shop administration lives
Architect Panel → Configuration:
- Instance Configuration Fields — where gateway credentials live
Two kinds
- Online — taken through a gateway at checkout. Card, and the wallet methods that sit on top of it.
- Offline — recorded as a promise to pay, settled outside the shop. Cash, bank transfer, cash on delivery.
The distinction matters because an offline method means an order exists that has not been paid for. Somebody has to reconcile it, and if nobody does, you have shipped goods for free.
The list is per installation
Each method carries a name, whether it is enabled, whether it is offline, and the icons shown at checkout. Enabling a method for a cart is a separate step, so a method can exist without every shop offering it.
Only enable what you can honour
The common failure. A method appears at checkout because it was enabled during setup, a customer chooses it, and nobody has arranged to actually process it.
Before enabling one, be able to say who handles it and how it is reconciled.
Offline methods need a process
An order paid by bank transfer sits waiting for somebody to confirm the money arrived and mark it accordingly. Decide who does that and how often before you offer it — weekly is usually enough, never is not.
Credentials belong in instance configuration
Not in a field on the cart. Gateway keys are among the most sensitive values you hold, and instance configuration is where they are encrypted and restricted.
Fewer is usually better
Every method is one more thing to reconcile, support and explain. Most shops need card and perhaps one alternative; a checkout offering six methods is usually offering four nobody uses.
Test each one you enable
End to end, with a real order, before opening. A method that appears but fails is worse than one that is not offered, because the customer has already decided to buy.
Worked example
A shop offers card and bank transfer only. Bank transfer orders are held until the finance team confirms receipt, which they do each morning from a saved view of unpaid orders — a five-minute job that replaced an untracked spreadsheet.
Recommendations
- Enable only what you can process.
- Name who reconciles each offline method.
- Keep credentials in instance configuration.
- Place a real order through every enabled method.