Having issues with your payment gateway can significantly impact your sales and customer experience. If your Shopify store’s payment gateway isn’t working, here are a few common reasons and actionable steps you can take to resolve the issue.
1. Verify Your Payment Gateway Settings
Sometimes, payment gateways fail to process payments due to incorrect settings. This could include misconfigured accounts, incorrect API keys, or mismatched currencies.
Solution:
- Check Payment Gateway Integration: Go to Settings > Payments in your Shopify admin. Ensure your payment provider (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, PayFort) is correctly set up.
- Currency Settings: Verify that your store’s currency matches the one supported by your payment gateway.
- API Keys: If using a custom payment gateway, ensure the correct API keys are entered.
2. Ensure Your Payment Gateway is Active
Payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe may be temporarily deactivated due to account issues or maintenance.
Solution:
- Login to Your Payment Gateway Account: Check if there are any restrictions or notifications from the payment provider. Ensure your account is active and fully verified.
- Check for Maintenance or Downtime: Visit the payment provider’s website or support page to see if there is any scheduled maintenance or unexpected downtime.
3. Review Your Store’s SSL Certificate
A missing or expired SSL certificate can prevent your payment gateway from processing secure transactions, as customers’ payment information isn’t protected.
Solution:
- Check SSL Status: Shopify automatically provides SSL for your store. You can check the SSL status by looking for the padlock symbol next to your store’s URL.
- SSL Error Fix: If there is a problem, contact Shopify support to resolve the SSL certificate issue.
4. Verify Your Payment Gateway Limits and Restrictions
Each payment gateway has specific rules, such as country limitations, account verification steps, or transaction limits. If your store exceeds these limits, transactions may fail.
Solution:
- Check Gateway Limitations: Review the terms and conditions of your payment provider for any limitations, including transaction volume, country restrictions, or monthly caps.
- Ensure Compliance: Make sure you’ve completed all necessary account verifications and your business complies with the payment gateway’s terms.
5. Test with a Dummy Transaction
A common issue with payment gateways is incorrect settings or billing information. Running a test transaction can help identify the problem.
Solution:
- Use Test Mode: If your gateway supports it, enable the “Test Mode” to simulate transactions without actual charges. This will help you check if the payment gateway is working properly without affecting real transactions.
- Check for Errors: Review any error messages after the test transaction to pinpoint the issue.
6. Troubleshoot Payment Gateway Errors
Payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe often display error messages (e.g., “Payment Declined” or “Card Expired”). These errors can help you troubleshoot the root cause.
Solution:
- Review the Error Code: If your payment gateway shows an error message, look up the error code in your payment provider’s documentation for a solution.
- Customer Payment Issues: Sometimes, payments fail due to customers using expired or invalid credit cards. You can provide them with a support email to resolve their issues.
7. Update Your Payment Gateway Integration
Payment gateways frequently release updates to improve functionality or compliance with regulations (e.g., PSD2 in the EU). Failing to update these integrations can cause them to malfunction.
Solution:
- Check for Integration Updates: Go to Settings > Payments in your Shopify admin and check if there are any updates or additional steps required for your payment gateway.
8. Contact Shopify or Your Payment Gateway Support
If you’ve gone through all the steps above and the payment gateway still isn’t working, it might be time to reach out to support.
Solution:
- Shopify Support: Shopify’s support team can assist with troubleshooting payment gateway issues. Visit the Shopify Help Center to get in touch with them.
- Payment Gateway Support: Contact the support team of your payment gateway provider (e.g., PayPal, Stripe, PayFort) for direct assistance.
How Shop Zinga Can Help
If you’re struggling to resolve payment gateway issues, Shop Zinga can help you identify the root cause and fix the problem quickly. Our team of experts can help with payment gateway setup, testing, and integration to ensure smooth transactions.
