Shopify Payments in the Philippines (2026): GCash, Maya, PayMongo & Stripe Compared

The question I get most often from PH store owners setting up Shopify: "How do I accept GCash and Maya on my Shopify store?"

The short answer: you can't use Shopify Payments directly (it's not available in the Philippines as of early 2026), so you use a payment gateway that connects to Shopify. The long answer is more useful, so here it is.

I've built and run my own Shopify store out of the Philippines, plus set up stores for clients. This guide covers every payment option that actually works, what each one costs, where each one leaks money, and the combination I recommend in 2026.

TL;DR: What to use

If most of your customers are in the Philippines: use PayMongo as your primary gateway. It supports GCash, Maya, GrabPay, credit cards, and online banking through one integration.

If most of your customers are international: use Stripe as primary, PayMongo as secondary for PH buyers.

If you sell both PH and international: run both gateways — Stripe for cards (international + PH), PayMongo for GCash/Maya/QR Ph.

Don't try to use just Maya Business Manager alone on Shopify — the integration is clunkier and misses GCash.

Why Shopify Payments doesn't work in the Philippines

Shopify Payments is Shopify's own built-in gateway (Stripe under the hood, with some special integration). It's available in ~25 countries — mostly the US, UK, EU, AU, NZ, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong. Not the Philippines.

When Shopify Payments isn't available, Shopify charges a transaction fee (0.5%–2% depending on your plan) on top of whatever your payment gateway charges. This is how Shopify makes money when you use a third-party gateway.

You can't avoid this fee by using a third-party gateway. The only way to avoid it is to use Shopify Payments itself, which you can't do from the Philippines.

So the real question: which third-party gateway loses you the least money and the fewest sales?

The 4 payment gateways worth considering

1. PayMongo

What it does: Accepts GCash, Maya, GrabPay, credit/debit cards, online banking (BPI, UnionBank, etc.), and QR Ph. Philippines-based company.

Fees:

Cards: 3.5% + ₱15 per transaction

GCash: 2.5%

Maya: 2.5%

GrabPay: 2.0%

Online banking: ₱15 flat

Shopify integration: Yes, via the PayMongo app in the Shopify App Store.

Shopify transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify, 0.5% on Advanced.

Pros:

Covers every major PH payment method in one integration.

Clean Shopify checkout (stays on your domain for most methods).

Philippines-based support that actually responds.

Cons:

Card fees are on the higher side (3.5% vs ~2.9% elsewhere).

Payouts are daily but reach your bank next business day.

GCash sometimes hits API limits during big sales.

My take: This is the default recommendation for PH-focused stores. The GCash/Maya coverage alone makes it worth it.

2. Stripe

What it does: Credit/debit cards. No GCash or Maya. Supports GrabPay in some regions but not reliably in PH Shopify.

Fees:

Domestic PH cards: 3.4% + ₱15

International cards: 3.9% + ₱15

Payout fee: ₱15 per payout

Shopify integration: First-class. Stripe is what Shopify Payments runs on under the hood.

Shopify transaction fee: Same as above (0.5%–2%).

Pros:

Cleanest checkout experience.

Strong fraud protection out of the box.

Easy to handle international cards.

Great developer tools for custom checkout.

Cons:

No GCash, no Maya. This is a big miss if you sell primarily to PH buyers.

Higher fees for international cards.

Payouts take 3–7 business days in PH (slower than PayMongo).

My take: Use Stripe as your card processor, especially if you sell internationally. Pair it with PayMongo for PH wallet payments.

3. Maya Business Manager (Maya Checkout)

What it does: Accepts Maya, credit/debit cards, and (in some setups) online banking.

Fees:

Cards: 3.5% + ₱15 (similar to PayMongo)

Maya: 1.5%–2.5% depending on negotiated rate

Shopify integration: Available but less polished than PayMongo. Some setups require the customer to be redirected off your domain, which hurts checkout conversion.

Pros:

Slightly cheaper Maya fees if you can negotiate a rate directly.

Direct relationship with Maya if that matters.

Cons:

No GCash. Big miss.

More manual setup than PayMongo.

Redirect checkout flows lose sales.

My take: Skip unless you already have a Maya Business account for other reasons.

4. Dragonpay

What it does: Online banking, over-the-counter (7-Eleven, Bayad Center), some wallets.

Fees:

Online banking: ₱15–₱25 flat or % depending on method

OTC: ₱25 flat

Wallets: 2%–3%

Shopify integration: Yes, but the checkout UX is dated.

Pros:

Best coverage for OTC payments (7-Eleven, Cebuana).

Good for customers without cards or wallets.

Cons:

Redirects off your site — big checkout conversion hit.

UX looks very 2015.

Support is slow.

My take: Only worth adding if a meaningful slice of your customers want to pay cash at 7-Eleven. For most D2C brands in 2026, skip it.

The stack I actually use (and recommend)

For a PH-focused D2C Shopify store in 2026:

1. PayMongo as the primary gateway

Handles GCash, Maya, GrabPay, cards, QR Ph

Kept as the first-option gateway at checkout

2. Stripe as a secondary

Set as the card processor for international buyers

Activated only if you sell outside PH

3. Cash on Delivery as a last resort only

Add only if you have the fulfillment maturity to handle COD well

Expect 15%–30% refused/canceled orders

Price accordingly

Shopify lets you have multiple gateways active. At checkout, customers see the options relevant to them.

How checkout payment methods affect your conversion rate

Here's what most store owners miss: which payment methods you offer directly changes your conversion rate.

Real data from stores I've worked on:

Adding GCash to a fashion store: +18% checkout conversion (mostly from Gen Z buyers)

Adding Maya: +4% (smaller incremental lift because most Maya users also have GCash)

Adding GrabPay: +2% (nice to have, small impact)

Removing the "Redirect to Bank" flow: +6% (the UX was killing sales)

Adding COD: +25% to checkout, but -8% to net revenue after returns

The takeaway: for PH ecom, GCash coverage is not optional. If you don't have it, you're losing 10–20% of your possible sales.

The Shopify transaction fee workaround (sort of)

You can't avoid Shopify's transaction fee on third-party gateways. But you can reduce the impact:

Upgrade to Shopify plan (₱7,500/month): transaction fee drops to 1%. Worth it once you're past ~₱200,000/month in revenue.

Upgrade to Advanced plan (₱26,500/month): drops to 0.5%. Worth it past ~₱800,000/month.

Do the math on your own numbers. Plan upgrades pay for themselves at specific revenue points.

Setting up PayMongo on Shopify — step by step

1. Sign up at paymongo.com with your business details.

2. Complete KYB (business verification). Expect 2–5 business days.

3. In Shopify admin, go to Settings → Payments → Add payment methods.

4. Search for "PayMongo" and install the app.

5. Connect your PayMongo account (API keys).

6. Choose which methods to enable: GCash, Maya, GrabPay, cards.

7. Set a test transaction with a real ₱1 charge to confirm the flow end-to-end.

8. Go live.

Common mistakes:

Not testing the GCash flow on mobile before launching.

Forgetting to set up webhook URLs for order status updates.

Mixing up your test and live API keys.

Tax, BIR, and why this matters

One thing people forget: Shopify's payment receipts aren't BIR-compliant invoices. If your store is BIR-registered, you'll still need to issue your own ORs.

PayMongo's dashboard shows you transaction data, but you're responsible for the tax side. Most PH store owners use:

Taxumo or JuanTax for sales tax filing

A separate process to issue BIR-compliant invoices after the order ships

This is outside the scope of this post, but don't let it catch you out. Talk to an accountant before you hit your first ₱3M in revenue.

What to do this week

If you're setting up a Shopify store in the Philippines right now:

1. Sign up for PayMongo today. KYB takes days.

2. Sign up for Stripe if you sell internationally. KYB is faster.

3. Pick a Shopify plan that matches your revenue stage (Basic if starting, Shopify if ₱200K+/month).

4. Test every checkout path — desktop, mobile, GCash, Maya, card — with real ₱1 transactions before launch.

5. Don't add COD unless your fulfillment is dialed. It will haunt you otherwise.

If you want the full setup done for you — store build, payments, ads, and tracking all in one shot — that's what my Shopify Expert service does. For additional practical walkthroughs, use my free Shopify videos on YouTube.