Skip to main content
A payment method is a way for a customer to pay, and the provider that handles it. Most stores need more than one, because different customers pay differently and not every method suits every order. A typical setup might pair a card gateway for everyday retail with one or two methods your team uses on back-office orders. A business customer placing a large order may need to pay on invoice rather than by card, and a shop with a counter may take payment in person. Each of those is its own payment method, and each can be shown to customers or kept for staff only. To manage payment methods, navigate to Settings → Payment methods, under the Selling group.
Stripe is included with Spree out of the box, so you can take card payments by connecting an account rather than installing anything first.

​
Reviewing Your Payment Methods

The Payment methods list, showing each method's provider, storefront visibility and status Each row shows:
  • Name - What the method is called, with its customer-facing description beneath.
  • Provider - What handles the payment behind the scenes.
  • Storefront - Visible if customers can choose it, Admin only if it is reserved for staff.
  • Status - Whether the method is active or disabled.
The order of this list is the order customers see at checkout. Drag the handle on any row to move it, and put your most-used method at the top.

​
How to Add a Payment Method

Click Add payment method. A panel opens, and the first thing to choose is the provider. The Add payment method panel, with the provider dropdown and visibility settings

​
Choosing a provider

The Provider decides what actually processes the payment, and which settings appear afterwards. There are two kinds. Third-party providers, such as Stripe, connect to an outside payment processor. They need credentials from that provider, which you enter in the same panel while creating the method. Built-in methods need no credentials because nothing is being processed elsewhere:
  • Check - Records that a customer will pay by cheque or bank transfer. The order is created and your team marks it paid when the money arrives.
  • Store Credit - Lets customers pay with credit already on their account.
  • Custom Payment Source Method - A generic method for payment arrangements handled outside Spree, such as an account customer paying on invoice.
  • Bogus - A test method that simulates payments without moving money. Use it to try a checkout end to end, and keep it Admin only so customers never see it.

​
Provider configuration

Third-party providers need credentials before they will work. The fields differ by provider, and they appear in the panel as soon as you choose one. The Provider configuration section, with the credential fields a provider needs Enter the keys from your provider’s own dashboard. Stored credentials are not shown back to you afterwards, and each has a Replace button for rotating a key later. Built-in methods have no configuration section, because nothing is being processed elsewhere.

​
Naming and visibility

These settings decide how a method is displayed:
  • Name - What customers see at checkout, such as “Credit card” or “Pay by invoice”.
  • Description - The customer-facing description shown at checkout, useful for explaining what happens next on anything other than a card payment.
  • Visible on storefront - On by default. When off, only staff see this option, which is what you want for methods used on back-office orders and manual entry.
  • Active - On by default. Inactive methods are hidden from checkout entirely.
Visible on storefront and Active do different jobs. Turning off Visible on storefront keeps a method available to your team; turning off Active withdraws it from everyone.

​
When to charge customers

This decides the moment a customer’s money actually moves. Every method inherits the store default unless you override it here. Which one suits depends on how quickly you fulfil: At checkout is the simplest and suits stores shipping in-stock goods promptly. The money is in before you pack, and reconciliation is straightforward because every order has a payment against it. On dispatch suits made-to-order goods, pre-orders and anything with a wait, where charging weeks before a customer receives anything invites complaints and refunds. The amount is reserved at checkout so you know the card is good, and taken when the parcel leaves. Manually suits orders that need a person to decide, such as a business order awaiting approval, a quote being finalised, or an order shipping in parts. Staff take the payment when they are ready.
Reserved amounts do not hold indefinitely. Card authorisations expire after a period set by the card network, so On dispatch and Manually need the order fulfilled or the payment taken within that window, or the reservation lapses and has to be retaken.
Click Create payment method when you are done.

​
How to Edit a Payment Method

Open the row menu and choose Edit to update the name, description, visibility, status or credentials. The edit panel shows the provider in its subtitle rather than as a dropdown. The provider cannot be changed once a method exists. If you need a different provider, create a new method and disable the old one.
Test a new payment method with a real checkout before making it visible to customers. A method with wrong credentials still appears at checkout and fails when a customer tries to use it.

​
How to Delete a Payment Method

Open the row menu and choose Delete. Spree confirms that the method will no longer be available at checkout.
Disabling a method is usually better than deleting it. Turning Active off withdraws it from checkout while keeping it attached to the orders that used it.

​
Further Reading