Getting started with payments apps

A public app becomes a payments app after you've configured your payments app extension, submitted it for approval, and published a version. This guide introduces some key considerations for Partners that are building payments apps.

How it works

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You can create a payments app to provide customized payment processing services for merchants, and install your payments app on a development store to test your app. Only approved Partners can build payments apps on Shopify's Payments Platform.

When you publish your payments app, your app becomes available, and merchants can install and use the app in their Shopify stores.

How a merchant installs a payments app

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The following diagram describes the different phases of the onboarding cycle for payments apps:

A diagram showing the lifecycle of a payments app

The payments apps can be installed by merchants directly through an installation link that's shared by the payments developer or through Shopify’s public list of payment gateways in the Shopify admin.
The merchant connects the app using OAuth.
The merchant is redirected to the payments app page to perform configuration. During this time, a banner shows that the provider isn't ready to process payments.
The merchant configures the payments app.
The app marks itself as ready by calling the Shopify API.
Shopify enables the app to be activated by the merchant in the Shopify admin.
The merchant activates the app.
Conditional: The merchant deactivates the legacy payment gateway to avoid duplicate payment methods during checkout, if applicable.

Considerations

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The following table introduces the key considerations for Partners that are building payments apps.

Consideration	Description
Minimum product requirements	All payments apps must adhere to technical requirements and provide a high-quality merchant experience.
Required approval process	To make sure merchants can present a positive buyer experience, any app extension configurations must be approved by Shopify. You need to have an approved and published configuration before your payments app can be installed on a Shopify store. For more information on requirements for payments apps, refer to the requirements for third-party payments apps in the Shopify App Store.
Making your app discoverable	For a payments app to appear on Shopify’s public list of payment gateways, the payments app must meet certain criteria. After the criteria are met, Payments Partners can apply to Shopify to have their payments app included in the list of payment gateways in the Shopify admin. Shopify reviews and determines whether the payments app is approved for public listing.
Payments Partner responsibilities	Payments apps must adhere to all Payments Partner responsibilities, including revenue share agreements.