Shopify can be a great ecommerce platform. However, Shopify Payments might not be the right solution for every merchant. With Shopify, merchants may discover that they offer products that Shopify Payments cannot support.
In such situations, merchants will have to create a separate payment strategy. For merchants who pose higher risks, the right Shopify account will include a supported merchant account, a compatible payment gateway, product disclosures, and fraud and chargeback monitoring tools.
Why Shopify Payments Isn’t Right for Every High-Risk Merchant
Shopify Payments has certain eligibility rules. To qualify, merchants must be in a supported country, cannot sell prohibited products, and must comply with the applicable terms of Shopify Payments. However, some legal business models may still not be supported by Shopify Payments.
Shopify Payments may not be an option for merchants with products or offers in high-risk categories that Shopify may prohibit. The types of products that may fall into this category include regulated goods, financial services, adult content, pseudo-pharmaceuticals, gambling, and counterfeit goods. Depending on the product categories a merchant plans to offer, Shopify Payments may not be the best payment processor for that merchant. It is critical that merchants confirm that Shopify Payments will support the products and services they plan to offer before they begin accepting customer orders.
How to Accept Payments on Shopify Without Shopify Payments
If merchants can’t use Shopify Payments, they can use Shopify with a third-party provider. Shopify states that there are many third-party credit card payment providers that stores can use, including direct providers and external providers. With direct providers, the customer stays on the Shopify store to complete their purchase. With external providers, the customer is sent to a third-party checkout page to complete their purchase.
For high-risk merchants, there are two main components to the payment stack. The first component is the merchant account. This is the financial institution that agrees to process the transaction and authorizes the merchant to accept payments. The second component is the high-risk payment gateway Shopify connection. This is the technical link that allows the store to connect to the merchant account to process transactions.
Best Shopify Payment Alternatives Compared
Provider fit depends on the merchant’s products, chargeback history, ticket size, gateway needs, subscription model, volume and whether the provider can support the category.
| Provider Or Setup | Best Fit For | Key Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Nerds | Shopify merchants that need high-risk merchant account guidance, gateway strategy and chargeback controls | Strong fit for high risk payment processors Shopify merchants can compare, plus underwriting, gateway fit and VAMP monitoring | More consultative than instant onboarding |
| High-Risk Merchant Account + Gateway | Eligible high-risk Shopify stores that need processor support outside Shopify Payments | Underwriting is built around the real business model | Requires documentation and setup planning |
| Authorize.net + Merchant Account | Shopify merchants that want a recognized third-party provider | Shopify documents Authorize.net as a payment provider for eligible stores in certain countries | Approval depends on the merchant account behind it |
| NMI + Merchant Account | Merchants needing gateway flexibility and processor choice | NMI documents a Shopify plugin that connects a store to the merchant’s gateway | Integration limits and regional support must be reviewed |
| SoarPay | High-risk merchants comparing category-specific account placement | Positions itself around high-risk and regulated industries, with Shopify integration support | Terms depend on underwriting and category fit |
| PaymentCloud | High-risk ecommerce merchants needing application support | High-risk positioning and Shopify-focused guidance | Approval and pricing vary by risk profile |
| PayPal / Alternative Wallets | Lower-risk merchants that want familiar checkout options | Customer familiarity and easy setup | May not replace a true high-risk card-processing setup |
| ACH / eCheck Add-On | B2B, subscription or high-ticket merchants | Can reduce card-fee and chargeback pressure for certain payments | Does not replace card checkout for every customer |
Payment Nerds is usually the strongest fit when the merchant needs help deciding whether to stay on Shopify, add a third-party provider, or rebuild the payment stack around a dedicated high-risk merchant account.
What to Look for Before Choosing a Shopify Payment Alternative
First, confirm that the new provider supports the product category you are interested in. Do not rely on the fact that they offer gateway connections to platforms like Shopify. The merchant account has to approve the business model.
Shopify also has a specific workflow. Ensure that your new provider supports your country, currency, and checkout processes, as well as support for refunds, subscriptions, chargebacks, sales reports, transaction descriptors, tools to prevent fraud, and any third-party transaction fees.
Another factor to consider is whether the provider sets up your store in a direct or external manner. An external checkout may not be ideal for your customers.
Lastly, prepare the underwriting documents. If you have a high-risk Shopify store, you will need to provide documents to verify your business’s legitimacy. This includes tax and business documents, owner ID, bank statements, product pages, return policy, fulfillment process, suppliers, licenses (if any), and previous sales and chargeback reports.
How Visa VAMP Impacts High-Risk Shopify Merchants
The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is a program that Visa runs to monitor fraud and disputes on its cards. The VAMP ratio is the number of fraud and non-fraud disputes divided by the total number of settled Visa transactions. Visa’s record for fraud reports is the TC40 rate, while the TC15 rate is Visa’s record for disputes or chargebacks.
Moving away from Shopify Payments does not eliminate the need to monitor for fraud and chargebacks. Any merchant who opens a new high-risk merchant account will be reviewed for chargebacks, fraud reports, refund issues, and customer complaints.
In addition to monitoring for fraud and chargebacks, the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program also performs enumeration monitoring. Enumeration monitoring detects enumeration attacks, in which bots attempt to test Visa cards on the checkout page. The enumeration ratio is the number of suspected enumeration attacks divided by the total number of authorization attempts on the checkout page.
For Shopify merchants, the best way to handle Visa’s requirements for the next merchant account is to make the checkout process as secure as possible against fraud. This includes implementing fraud-detection software, AVS, CVV, and 3DS as needed, clear checkout descriptors, a clear refund policy, order fulfillment with proof of shipping, and alerts for chargebacks.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Replacing Shopify Payments
The biggest mistake when replacing Shopify Payments is assuming that a third-party gateway will solve the problem. A Shopify merchant account must be underwritten for your products to process transactions. If the merchant account does not support the products, then it can be shut down.
Another of the biggest mistakes is to hide the real category of the products. If a company changes the names of its products, hides its claims for a while, and places them under a general description of what they are, then the next time the company is reviewed, it could be worse. A merchant selling high-risk products must use a provider that understands their product category before accepting customer payments.
FAQs About Shopify Payment Alternatives
Q: Can high-risk merchants use Shopify?
A: Some high-risk merchants can use Shopify but may not find Shopify Payments to be supportive of their business model and products. In these instances, merchants must use a third-party provider with a high-risk merchant account and transaction gateway that can connect to their Shopify store.
Q: What is a high-risk merchant account Shopify setup?
A: A high-risk merchant account Shopify setup involves obtaining a merchant account that has been approved for the merchant’s risks and a transaction payment gateway that can connect to their Shopify store. Each component of the package must be appropriate for the merchant’s business model.
Q: What are high-risk payment processors Shopify merchants can use?
A: High-risk payment processors that Shopify merchants can use depend on their products, the country in which they operate, their chargeback history, and the compatibility of their payment gateway to that processor. Payment Nerds can assist high-risk Shopify merchants in comparing the compatibility of several payment provider options.
Q: What is a Shopify merchant account?
A: A Shopify merchant account is the merchant account that accepts payments to a Shopify store. For merchants who have met Shopify’s eligibility requirements, this will usually be Shopify Payments. However, merchants who may not qualify will need to use a separate merchant account linked to their Shopify store via a third-party transaction provider.
Q: What is a high-risk payment gateway Shopify integration?
A: A high-risk payment gateway Shopify integration involves linking a Shopify store to a payment gateway that can transmit purchases to a merchant account. While the merchant account must be able to handle the transactions, the payment gateway is only the technical link between the store and the account.
Q: Can Authorize.net work with Shopify?
A: Shopify has documented Authorize.net as a payment provider for eligible stores in certain countries. However, the merchant must have the proper Authorize.net configuration and a merchant account that accepts their business.
Q: Can NMI work with Shopify?
A: NMI documents a plugin for Shopify stores to connect to a merchant’s payment gateway. However, merchants must confirm that the plugin is still available and appropriate for their region and Shopify store.
Q: Does VAMP impact high-risk merchants on Shopify?
A: As part of Visa’s efforts to control fraud, the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) rates merchants on their level of fraudulent activity. High-risk merchants on Shopify may be affected by unusually high levels of fraud or chargebacks on their stores.
Q: Can Payment Nerds help high-risk merchants with Shopify Payments alternatives?
A: Yes! Payment Nerds works with merchants to evaluate the high-risk merchant account options available for Shopify merchants. We can compare high-risk merchant accounts, Shopify merchant account setup alternatives, high-risk Shopify payment gateways, and VAMP to find the best fit for your high-risk business.
Conclusion
Shopify merchants who are taking significant risks do not always have to leave the Shopify platform behind. Often times, all that is needed is the proper payment setup for the type of products being sold and the risk level of the Shopify store.
Payment Nerds can assist Shopify merchants by providing information about the high risk payment processors that can be used by stores currently on Shopify, high risk merchant accounts for Shopify, merchant account setups for Shopify stores, and high risk payment gateways for Shopify. Our goal is to allow merchants to continue to sell their products without having to rebuild their store or merchant account.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center. “Shopify Payments Eligibility.” Accessed July 2026.
- Shopify Help Center. “Third-Party Payment Providers.” Accessed July 2026.
- Shopify Help Center. “Authorize.net Payment Provider.” Accessed July 2026.
- NMI Support. “Shopify.” Accessed July 2026.
- SoarPay. “High-Risk Merchant Accounts for Shopify.” Accessed July 2026.
- PaymentCloud. “How to Acquire a High-Risk Merchant Account With Shopify.” Accessed July 2026.
- Visa. “Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Fact Sheet.” Accessed July 2026.
