Accepting payments and understanding pay periods with Shopify Payments in Germany

Shopify Payments is a payment solution that allows businesses based in Germany to accept a range of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, accelerated checkouts, and local payment methods. This article outlines the process of accepting payments with Shopify Payments in Germany.

Key benefits and features of using Shopify Payments in Germany

Review the following key benefits and features of using Shopify Payments in Germany:

Accept multiple payment methods: Shopify Payments allows you to accept major credit cards, providing a seamless checkout experience for your customers.
Automatic setup: When you create your Shopify store with Shopify Payments activated, your store is automatically set up to accept credit and debit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, and UnionPay.
Automatic payouts: Funds from your sales are automatically deposited into your bank account on a regular basis, making it easy to manage your cash flow.
Flexible card rates: The card rate for your transactions is based on your store's Shopify subscription plan. You have the flexibility to change plans whenever you need, allowing you to choose the pricing structure that best suits your business.
Integrated with Shopify: As an integrated payment solution, Shopify Payments simplifies the management of your online store by consolidating your payment processing and order management in one platform.
Secure Transactions: Shopify Payments ensures the security of your customers' payment information through advanced encryption and fraud detection measures, such as 3D Secure checkout.

Available payment methods when using Shopify Payments in Germany

Review the following available payment methods for Shopify Payments in Germany.

Credit and debit cards

You can accept payments from the following credit and debit cards:

Visa
Mastercard
Maestro
American Express
UnionPay

Accelerated checkouts

You can offer customers the following accelerated checkout options:

Local payment methods

You can accept payments using the following local payment methods:

Receiving payouts in multiple currencies with Shopify Payments in Germany

If your store is on the Advanced plan, or Shopify Plus plan, then you can choose any supported payout currency to be your default payout currency. If this currency is your domestic currency - in Germany, the domestic currency is EUR - then you aren't charged Multi-Currency Payout fees on these payouts. If you set up additional bank accounts to receive payouts in, then you're charged a Multi-Currency Payout fee depending on your location and Shopify plan. If an order is placed in a currency other than the currencies you have added to your Shopify Payments account, then it is paid out to your default currency bank account. A currency exchange fee is applied if the bank account is in a non-domestic currency. You aren't charged additional fees on orders placed in your domestic currency, and paid out to a bank located in your domestic region, if your domestic currency is not your default payout currency.

If you choose a non-domestic currency as your default currency - for example, when using Shopify Payments in Germany, you choose USD as your default currency - then any payouts you receive are charged a Multi-Currency Payout fee depending on your location and Shopify plan.

You aren't charged additional fees on orders placed in your domestic currency, and paid out to a bank located in your domestic region, if your domestic currency is not your default payout currency.

Supported payout currencies with Shopify Payments in Germany

Available payout currencies when using Multi-Currency Payouts with Shopify Payments in Germany.
Payout currency	Bank account location	Domestic currency	Multi-Currency Payout fee
EUR	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom	Yes	No
AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, NOK, NZD, PLN, RON, SEK, SGD, USD, ZAR	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom	No	Yes

If you want to receive payouts in multiple currencies, then you must adhere to certain Shopify subscription, location, and bank account requirements. Learn more about multi-currency payouts.

Currency considerations

The currency that your customers use to pay for their orders can be different from the currency of your payouts from Shopify Payments. Your store currency can be different from the currency of your bank account. Learn more about selling and getting paid in different currencies.

Fees for Shopify Payments in Germany

Shopify Payments fees are location-dependent and can vary. To get the most accurate and detailed information about fees, visit the plans and pricing page for Germany. This page provides a breakdown of the rates and fees associated with Shopify Payments based on your selected plan.

The plans and pricing page is accessible only in the language and currency specific to that country. If you need to translate the plans and pricing page, then you can use a browser extension, such as the Google Chrome extension.

View payment rates in your Shopify admin

If you already use Shopify Payments, then you can access information about the specific rates and fees applicable to your store location and chosen plan. For more details about applicable fees, you can access the Shopify Payments Terms of Service from your Shopify admin.

Steps:

From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
In the Shopify Payments section, click Manage.
View the rates that apply to different payment methods.

Pay periods in Germany

Your pay period refers to the amount of time between the date that a customer's payment is captured and the date that those funds are sent to your bank account. The date and time that a customer's payment is captured is recorded in UTC time. Funds from payments that are captured on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are grouped and sent together as one payment. The minimum amount that can be paid out for Shopify Payments accounts in Germany is €1 EUR. If there's a payout for less than this amount, then the payout stays in pending state until more funds are available to pay out.

In Germany, the pay period for transferring funds from your Shopify Payments sales to your bank account is 3 days. The actual timing for when the funds display in your account depends on your bank's processing times. You have the option to customize this pay period to a daily, weekly, or monthly payout schedule. You can't receive payouts on weekends or public holidays.

When you switch from one payout schedule to another, any pending payouts are delayed until the next applicable payout date under your new schedule. For example, if you normally receive payments weekly on Monday and you change your payout schedule to every Friday on the preceding Thursday, then your funds won't be available until Friday of the following week. You should avoid frequent changes to your pay period to prevent delays in receiving your payouts.

Learn more about scheduling your payouts.

View your payouts

You can view your payouts in the Shopify admin and review any transfers that are pending, in transit, paid, or failed.

Desktop

From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
In the Shopify Payments section, click View payouts.

iPhone

From the Shopify app, tap > Settings.
In the Store settings section, tap Payments.
In the Shopify Payments section, tap View payouts.

Android

From the Shopify app, tap > Settings.
In the Store settings section, tap Payments.
In the Shopify Payments section, tap View payouts.