Shopify Payments is a service that allows Shopify merchants to accept credit card payments directly through Shopify, without having to sign up for a third-party payment processor. Shopify Payments is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
In order to use Shopify Payments, merchants must have a Shopify account and must be using one of Shopify’s supported themes.
Shopify Payments is powered by Stripe, and uses Stripe’s infrastructure to process credit card payments. When a customer enters their credit card information on a shop’s checkout page, the information is sent to Stripe, which then charges the card and sends the funds to the merchant’s bank account.
Shopify Payments charges a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee on all credit card transactions, and there are no monthly or setup fees.
So is Shopify Payments a gateway or processor? That depends on how you define these terms. Technically, Shopify Payments is a processor, because it uses Stripe’s infrastructure to process payments.
However, many people consider Shopify Payments to be a gateway because it allows merchants to accept credit card payments without signing up for a third-party payment processor. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter whether you consider Shopify Payments to be a gateway or processor; what matters is that it’s an easy way to accept credit card payments on your shop.
Conclusion:
Whether you consider Shopify Payments to be a gateway or processor depends on how you define these terms. Technically, Shopify Payments is a processor because it uses Stripe’s infrastructure to process payments. However, many people consider Shopify Payments to be a gateway because it allows merchants to accept credit card payments without signing up for a third-party payment processor.