Payment methods

Big Cartel offers seamless integration with both PayPal and Stripe, allowing you to give your customers multiple payment options in your online shop. This includes credit/debit cards, wallet payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as Buy Now Pay Later options like Afterpay or Affirm. Providing a range of payment options enables you to create a personalized and recognizable payment experience, which can attract a larger customer base.

It's important to note that payment methods may vary depending on your location and fees may differ. To help simplify this decision for you, we have consolidated all the information about payment methods in one place here.

Cards

Both Stripe and PayPal allow you to accept a wide range of debit and credit cards for purchases. With Stripe, customers can conveniently enter their card information on the checkout page to complete their purchase.

If you are exclusively using PayPal as your payment processor, customers have the option to bypass the PayPal account login and checkout as a guest using their credit or debit card.

Note: PayPal does have limitations and restrictions with guest checkout and sadly we have no control over these. To ensure all customers have the option to pay with a major credit/debit card, we recommend connecting Stripe to your store as a checkout option if you want to accept card payments in your shop.

Wallets

Boost checkout conversion rates and streamline transactions with digital wallets, saving customers time and effort, reducing friction, and driving increased orders for your shop! Wallet payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay are linked to a card or bank account, but can also store monetary value. Wallets typically require customer verification (e.g., biometrics, SMS, passcode) to complete a payment.

In addition to being able to pay via Apple Pay or Google Pay at checkout, customers with these payment methods enabled on their device can breeze past the cart and checkout form in your shop by purchasing their product directly from the product page.

Buy Now Pay Later

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is a growing category of payment methods that offers customers immediate financing for online payments, typically repaid in fixed installments over time. You’re paid immediately and in full and your customers pay nothing or a portion of the total at purchase time.

Buy Now Pay Later options open up the buying potential for many customers, particularly among younger customers who often don’t have a credit card. Customers are more likely to make a purchase, especially a large one, if they can pay for the item over time which can lead to a big boost in order value.

Keep in mind that fees can vary for BNPL payment methods and tend to be a tad higher than other options like credit/debit cards. You can read more on those fees from the links below.

In-person Payments

Take your shop on the road and accept cash and/or credit/debit card payments in person using the Big Cartel iOS or Android app. With the checkout app, you can manually accept cash or credit/debit card payments via Stripe. Or you can use a card reader from Stripe to swipe or use the chip reader to process card payments with both the iOS and Android app.