Key advantages of Airwallex for Shopify merchants

Why the Payment Gateway Matters for Shopify Merchants

When they first start selling on Shopify, many merchants focus on choosing a theme, optimizing product pages, and running ads. Yet one factor that directly affects revenue often gets overlooked: the payment gateway.

A good checkout needs to be more than fast and easy to use. The payment gateway should also help customers pay with methods they trust, support refund and dispute handling, and reduce the store's dependence on a single system.

This is why Airwallex is worth considering for Shopify merchants, especially stores targeting international customers. Airwallex offers a Payment Acceptance solution that connects to Shopify, supporting international cards along with more than 160 local payment methods. Merchants can review the full list of Airwallex Shopify features in the official documentation.

1. Support for 160+ Local Payment Methods to Expand Conversion Opportunities

What are local payment methods?

Local payment methods are the payment options that shoppers in each market are familiar with. For example, customers may prefer e-wallets, bank transfers, buy-now-pay-later options, or a payment provider that is popular in their country, rather than using an international card.

For cross-border merchants, offering only Visa or Mastercard can create friction during checkout. Customers might want to buy a product but not have a suitable card, may not want to pay extra currency conversion fees, or may simply be unfamiliar with the available payment method.

Airwallex helps tailor checkout to each market

The Airwallex Payment Gateway supports more than 160 global and local payment methods, depending on the market, account type, transacting currency, and the methods you enable. On Shopify, merchants can connect Airwallex apps to offer cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many local payment methods such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, Klarna, iDEAL, and others suited to their target markets.

According to Airwallex documentation, Shopify merchants can use the Airwallex Online Payments App to offer 160+ local payment methods. Merchants can also use the Additional Payments App to display multiple local payment methods natively within the Shopify checkout, depending on their account configuration.

More payment methods can support higher conversion

When customers see a payment method they recognize, they usually feel more confident and find it more convenient to complete their order. This is especially important in cross-border e-commerce, where each market has different payment behaviors.

For example:

• Customers in China may be used to Alipay or WeChat Pay.

• Customers in Europe may prefer iDEAL, Klarna, or local payment methods.

• Customers across many Asian markets may use e-wallets or familiar bank transfer methods instead of international cards.

Of course, enabling more payment methods does not automatically guarantee higher revenue. Merchants still need to choose the right methods for each market, monitor payment success rates, and optimize the checkout experience. Even so, offering more relevant options helps reduce the chance of customers leaving simply because they can't find a familiar way to pay.

You can review the Airwallex payment methods list to check which methods fit your markets and business model.

2. Reduce the Risk of Depending on a Single Payment Gateway

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" in online payments

For a Shopify merchant, the payment gateway is not just a tool for receiving money. It is also critical operational infrastructure for the entire store. If the payment gateway runs into problems, the store can be affected in many ways, from being unable to accept new payments to struggling with refunds, disputes, and cash flow.

A common risk is relying entirely on Shopify Payments. When a payment account or store is restricted, suspended, or blocked, sales activity can be disrupted. If a merchant runs multiple stores that all depend on the same payment setup, the knock-on impact can be even larger.

For this reason, a sound approach is not to place your entire payment operation in a single option. Adding a third-party payment gateway such as Airwallex can help merchants build a backup plan and take a more proactive approach to risk management.

Airwallex also notes that Shopify allows merchants to configure multiple third-party payment providers in certain cases. This opens up the ability to combine different payment methods rather than relying on a single gateway. Merchants should check the applicable conditions, fees, and compatibility with their store before implementing.

Airwallex supports multiple Shopify stores

From the Airwallex Web App, merchants can view and manage connected Shopify stores, installed apps, and related configurations. For merchants expanding into multiple markets, centralized management makes it easier to track connections and payment methods.

That said, it's important to be clear: Airwallex is not a guarantee that a merchant will never face account restrictions or risk-related issues. Every payment provider has its own vetting process, transaction monitoring, and compliance requirements. The value of Airwallex lies in helping merchants diversify their payment infrastructure, gain more operational options, and reduce reliance on a single system.

3. Two-Way Bank Account Connectivity to Support Refunds and Disputes

What is a two-way bank account?

In the context of e-commerce payments, a two-way bank account can be understood simply as an account that can both receive money and support outgoing transactions when needed.

This matters because a transaction's lifecycle doesn't end the moment a customer pays. Afterward, a merchant may need to handle:

• Full or partial refunds.

• Disputes or chargebacks.

• Amount adjustments after reconciliation.

• Transactions related to settlement and cash flow management.

Why the outgoing side can affect store operations

Suppose a merchant only pays attention to whether the account can receive money, without checking whether it can support outgoing transactions. When a refund or dispute occurs, the payment platform may need to draw funds from the linked account to reimburse the buyer or fulfill related obligations.

If the bank account doesn't support outgoing transactions, has insufficient balance, or is restricted by the bank, this processing can be disrupted. In some situations, this issue can lead to the payment gateway being restricted until the merchant provides additional information or resolves the underlying cause.

This is why new merchants should check the two-way capability of their bank account from the start, rather than only confirming whether the account can receive payouts.

Airwallex helps merchants manage cash flow more centrally

Airwallex connects Payment Acceptance with the Airwallex Wallet and multi-currency accounts. According to Airwallex documentation, payment funds can be settled into your Airwallex balance in supported currencies, and merchants can also manage refunds, disputes, and reconciliation within the same ecosystem.

For Shopify, Airwallex recommends that merchants process refunds from the Shopify Admin so that refund status stays accurately synced between Shopify and Airwallex. This is an important operational detail: choosing the right place to take action helps avoid situations where a transaction has been refunded but the status on Shopify hasn't been updated.

Merchants can find more detail in the guide on getting started with Airwallex Payment Acceptance for Shopify, which covers the payment apps, account connection, and refund handling.

How Should New Shopify Merchants Get Started?

If you're just building your Shopify store, you can follow these steps:

1. Identify your target markets and the payment methods that are popular in each one.

2. Check the merchant country, shopper country, currency, and payment method conditions before enabling any payment method.

3. Connect Airwallex to Shopify using the app that fits your needs: cards, local payment methods, or methods displayed natively in the checkout.

4. Verify that your bank account and Airwallex account can support both incoming funds and the outgoing transactions you may need.

5. Run test transactions and check settlement, refunds, disputes, and reconciliation before scaling up your ad spend.

6. Track payment success rates by market to learn which methods actually create value.

Conclusion

For new Shopify merchants, choosing a payment gateway should be seen as a decision about growth and risk management, not just a technical setup step.

Airwallex offers three notable advantages:

• Support for more than 160 local payment methods, helping your store deliver a more relevant experience for international customers.

• Helping merchants reduce reliance on a single payment gateway and proactively build a backup plan.

• Supporting a financial ecosystem and cash flow model better suited to the settlement, refund, dispute, and reconciliation needs of cross-border e-commerce.

If you're just getting started with Shopify, prioritize building a checkout that is convenient, diverse, and operationally stable from day one. The right payment platform will help your store not only capture more orders but also stay ready to expand into new markets