Accept bank transfer payments in Shopify
A bank transfer is a manual payment method: the customer sends the money from their bank to yours, and Shopify takes no payment at checkout. The work is in the instructions and in the matching: the customer needs your account details, and you need a way to tie each transfer to the order it pays for.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Order | $320.00, bank transfer |
| Shopify transaction fee | $0.00, manual methods are exempt |
| Reference | Order number on the transfer |
| Order status | Unpaid until the transfer lands |
| Reconciliation | Match the transfer amount to the order total |
Download the record: bank-transfer-reconciliation.csv (152 bytes).
A reconciliation sheet for the bank transfers in this tutorial, matching each transfer to its order by amount and reference. The transfer column sums to $640.00 and the order total column sums to $640.00.
1Open Payments settings
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2Find the manual payment methods
In the Payment providers section, look at the suggested manual payment methods. Common types of manual payments include cash on delivery, money orders, and bank transfers.
3Add bank transfer
Select Bank Deposit from the suggested manual payment methods, or create a custom manual payment method called Bank transfer if you want your own wording. Note that Bank Deposit is a reserved name in Shopify, so you cannot use it as a custom method name.
4Write the instructions
In the payment instructions, put your account title and number, and ask the customer to put the order number in the transfer reference. The reference is the only link between the money in your bank account and the order in your admin, so make it prominent.
5Activate the method
Activate the method and save. Bank transfer now appears as a choice at checkout, and orders paid that way are marked as unpaid on the Orders page.
6Match the transfer and mark the order paid
When a transfer lands, match its amount and reference to the order. In this tutorial order #1047 is $320.00 and its transfer is $320.00 with the reference Order 1047, so it matches. Then open the order and mark it as paid. Do not mark an order paid on a transfer that does not match in both amount and reference.
The arithmetic
The reconciliation is an exact match, and that is the point of the exercise:
| Order | Transfer | Order total | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1047 | $320.00 | $320.00 | Yes |
| #1048 | $320.00 | $320.00 | Yes |
| Two transfers together | $640.00 | $640.00 | Yes |
Both transfers are $320.00 and both orders are $320.00, so the two columns sum to the same $640.00. A transfer that does not equal the order total is not a match: check whether the customer paid a different amount, paid for two orders at once, or sent the money to the wrong account.
Held at the counter
Bank Deposit is a reserved name. The names Bank Deposit, Cash, Cash on Delivery (COD), custom, External Credit, External Debit, Gift Card, Money Order, and Store Credit are reserved by Shopify and cannot be used as custom manual payment method names. Use the suggested method instead, or pick a different custom name.
No reference means no match. A transfer with no order number in the reference cannot be tied to an order with confidence. Put the reference instruction in the payment instructions and repeat it in the order confirmation email.
Manual means unpaid until you say so. Orders that accept manual payments are marked as unpaid on the Orders page. A transfer that has landed but has not been marked paid still shows as unpaid, so your reports will understate what you have been paid until you mark it.
Sources
- Manual payment methods — Shopify's help pages: bank transfers as a suggested manual method, the reserved names list, and the unpaid marking on manual orders.