What We Learned Building an Official Shopify Payment App

Shopify is one of the world’s leading ecommerce platforms, with a growing number of merchants relying on it. For payment providers, being part of Shopify’s ecosystem offers access to a large and active merchant base – but designing a Shopify payment app comes with specific challenges. Shopify payment app development is still relatively niche in the UK, so there aren’t many resources out there to guide you through the process. This is especially true if you’re building a buy now pay later solution that requires finance approval and documentation beyond a simple card transaction. Here are the key lessons we learned at Autify that can help you avoid the most common pitfalls.

Understanding Shopify’s Payment App Constraints

Shopify’s rules for payment apps are strict. Payment apps must use only the Shopify payment API, and transactions can only result in limited outcomes – accepted, rejected or, in some cases, pending. You can’t embed custom checkout logic beyond that, even if it would improve the customer experience.

We had to learn this the hard way at Autify. Initially, we wanted to build in more features to handle buy now pay later finance approvals, but Shopify simply doesn’t allow it. When we tried to build in these features, Shopify told us to remove them. The key takeaway here is simple: keep payment apps minimal and follow Shopify’s basic ruleset from the start. Trying to work around these constraints will only slow you down.

Start Simple and Split When Needed

Complex payment solutions like buy now pay later involve finance approval, additional documentation and timelines that can stretch over hours or even days. This might tempt you to build something feature-rich from the outset. Don’t do it. Keep the first version as simple as possible, because the approval process can take a long time.

Autify’s strategy was to split the solution into two separate apps. The first is a straightforward payment app that handles the core payment flow within Shopify’s constraints. The second is an admin app that takes on all the complex merchant-facing features we couldn’t include in the payment app itself. This approach not only streamlined the approval process but also allowed us to deliver a better experience for both customers and merchants without compromising functionality.

Even the second app should be kept minimal in its first version. Keeping it simple accelerates approval and gets you to market faster. You can always add features later.

It’s also worth noting that refund handling is mandatory for all payment apps, so factor that into your design from day one.

The Logo Approval Process: Don’t Put It Off

Getting your logo approved might not be at the front of your mind when you’re in the middle of development, but it should be. Building an app is one thing. Getting the app approved is another. But getting the logo approved?

Logo approval is an entirely separate process from app approval and managed by a different team. In our experience, it typically takes four to eight weeks to get your payment provider’s logo approved and live.

To keep it from derailing your timeline, you should start the logo approval process at the very beginning of development, in parallel with building the app itself. Don’t assume it’s a quick formality – plan for it from the start.

Navigating the App Approval Process

The Shopify payment app approval process itself can take one to two months, and that’s excluding your development time. The timeline depends entirely on the availability of Shopify’s payment app approval team, and there’s no way to speed it up.

The process works like this:

• You submit your app to Shopify.
• Shopify reviews your submission within one to two weeks.
• If issues are found, Shopify notifies you.
• You fix the issues and resubmit.
• Each review and resubmission cycle adds another one to two weeks.

If you have issues flagged repeatedly, you’re looking at months of back-and-forth, so the key is to minimise the chances of getting rejected in the first place. Here are the best practices we learned to minimise the risk of your app being declined:

• Verify you’re using the latest APIs. This is essential. In the few months it took us to develop the app, one of the critical APIs for payment apps was deprecated. Normally Shopify gives developers a year’s notice, but exceptions happen. Before your final submission, double-check that every API you’re using is current and supported.
• Record your app flow in all currently supported browsers. Shopify requires video recordings demonstrating the entire flow on all seven browsers it supports – https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/supported-browsers . Testing just one or two isn’t enough – the recordings prove your app works across all environments. Don’t forget to upload the video to google drive (public link access) and include them with your submission.
• Use plain, factual language in your application. When you submit your payment app, you’ll need to fill in an extensive application form. This isn’t the place for promotional language or subjective claims like “this is the best app in the world.” Stick to straightforward, factual descriptions of what your app does and how it works. Be thorough and avoid marketing speak.
• Ensure screenshots contain no personally identifiable information (PII). Any images you include in your app listing must not show real names, card details or any other personal data. Even if you think it makes the screenshot more realistic or helpful for merchants, Shopify won’t approve it. Mask or remove all PII before submission.

Realistic Timeline Expectations

If you’re planning to build a Shopify payment app, here’s what you should realistically expect in terms of timelines:

Development: three to six months, depending on the complexity of your payment solution.

App approval: an additional one to two months, depending on how smoothly the review process goes and how many rounds of feedback you need to address.

Logo approval: four to eight weeks. Start this process while development is underway to avoid delays.

When you factor in all these stages, a payment app project can easily take six to nine months from start to finish. Plan for these timelines from the outset, especially if you have stakeholders or clients expecting quicker turnarounds.

By planning carefully, setting expectations early, and learning from the experiences we at Autify – and doubtless many other developers – have had, you’ll give your payment app the best chance of a smooth and stress-free launch.

Pre-Launch Checklist

Before you hit submit, follow our handy checklist to make sure you’ve covered every critical step

• Verify you’re using the latest Shopify APIs.
• Record your app flow in all supported browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari (macOS/iOS), Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Google Chrome for Android.
• Include video recordings with your app submission to demonstrate functionality across all environments.
• Use plain, factual language in your app’s documentation and submission forms. Avoid marketing claims.
• Ensure all screenshots and sample data contain no personally identifiable information.
• Start the logo approval process while development is underway to avoid launch delays.

At Autify, we’ve navigated these challenges firsthand while building payment apps for clients in the UK. If you need support, get in touch or email us at info@autify.co.uk – we’re here to help. Good luck with your Shopify payment app project – here’s to a smooth review and a successful launch!