Shopify Payments in Canada: fees, payouts and Quebec taxes
Partner · Strategy, advertising and measurement
In Canada, Shopify Payments costs 2.15% to 2.8% + 30¢ per online sale, depending on your plan. The real calculation happens elsewhere: turning down Shopify Payments adds a 0.2% to 2% fee on every sale, selling in another currency costs 2% in conversion, and Shopify Payments does not remit GST or QST for you.
- Shopify Payments rates drop with the plan: 2.8% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.6% on Grow, 2.4% on Advanced and 2.15% on Plus, for a standard card online.
- Another payment provider adds a Shopify fee on every sale: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
- Shopify Payments funds arrive at the earliest three business days after the sale, with no weekend payouts.
- A sale in a currency other than your payout currency costs 2% in conversion for a store based in Canada.
- Shopify Payments collects taxes with the price, but you file and remit GST and QST yourself.
On this page
Third-party transaction fee
The third-party transaction fee is the percentage Shopify takes on every sale when a store collects its payments through a provider other than Shopify Payments. It comes on top of the chosen provider's own fees. In Canada, it ranges from 0.2% on Shopify Plus to 2% on the Basic plan.
Shopify Payments rates in Canada
Shopify Payments is the payment system built into Shopify. In Canada, it is run by Stripe Payments Canada and it accepts credit cards without a contract with a separate payment company. Its price is listed on Shopify's plans page: a percentage of the sale, plus 30¢ per transaction.
The percentage depends on the plan. For a standard credit card online, Shopify Payments costs 2.8% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.6% + 30¢ on Grow, 2.4% + 30¢ on Advanced and 2.15% + 30¢ on Shopify Plus. American Express and foreign-issued cards cost more: 3.5% on Basic, 3.4% on Grow, 3.3% on Advanced and 3.15% on Plus, always with 30¢ per transaction.
On a $100 order paid with a standard card, Shopify Payments therefore costs $3.10 on Basic and $2.90 on Grow. The gap looks small. It matters once you multiply it by a year of orders, and it is one of the numbers that belongs in the calculation of a plan change.
Shopify Payments or another payment provider
Nothing forces a Canadian store to use Shopify Payments. It can collect its sales through another provider, often its bank's or the one it used before moving to Shopify. Shopify then adds its own fee on every sale: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
That fee comes on top of the provider's fees. On the Basic plan, a store that collects $200,000 a year through another provider can pay Shopify $4,000 more, before that provider's own fees. For another provider to pay off, its rate has to beat Shopify Payments by at least the size of that fee, which rarely happens on the smaller plans.
Shopify Payments also comes with dependencies. Selling in several currencies with Shopify Markets requires Shopify Payments to be turned on, as we explain in multi-currency selling. Changing payment provider can therefore change what your store is able to do.
What to calculate before keeping another provider
The right comparison sets the total cost of each option side by side over a year of real sales, not the advertised rates.
- What is our current provider's real rate, monthly fees included?
- How many sales a year would Shopify's third-party transaction fee hit?
- Do we sell, or want to sell, in a currency other than the Canadian dollar?
- Is our current plan the right one once those fees are counted?
A good answer gives a yearly amount for each option. An answer that only compares two percentages forgets the third-party transaction fee.
Shopify Payments payouts
In Canada, Shopify Payments funds arrive at the earliest three business days after the sale, with no minimum amount. There are no payouts on weekends or public holidays: Friday, Saturday and Sunday sales are grouped into a single payout. A store that sells mostly on weekends should plan its cash flow around that.
The account that receives payouts is a chequing account at a Canadian bank, in Canadian dollars for payouts in Canadian dollars. Shopify refuses savings accounts. Canadian-dollar payouts to a Canadian account cost nothing extra.
A store can also receive its payouts in US dollars. On Basic and Grow, it can make the US dollar its payout currency for a 1.5% fee. Receiving payouts in both Canadian and US dollars requires Advanced or Plus, with a 1.5% fee on Advanced and 1.25% on Plus.
Payment disputes follow the same logic. Shopify charges $15 per chargeback (the customer disputes the payment with their bank), in your payout currency, and returns the fee if the dispute is settled in your favour.
Selling in another currency with Shopify Payments
When a customer pays in a currency other than your payout currency, Shopify Payments converts the amount. For a store based in Canada, conversion costs 2%; the 1.5% rate only applies to stores based in the United States. No fee applies when the customer pays in your payout currency, and conversion fees are not returned if the sale is refunded.
Since April 6, 2026, these conversion fees are calculated on the gross order amount. A Quebec store that sells to the United States in US dollars therefore pays conversion on every American sale if it receives its payouts in Canadian dollars. The choice of payout currency becomes a pricing decision, which we cover in opening a market with Shopify Markets.
The Shopify Payments rate is compared over a year of real sales, third-party transaction fees and conversion included.
Falia analysis frameworkGST and QST with Shopify Payments
Shopify Payments collects the price with taxes included. That does not make it your bookkeeper: Shopify states that it does not file your returns or remit your taxes. You stay registered for GST (5%) and QST (9.975%) and you remit the amounts collected yourself.
Calculating taxes, however, can happen in Shopify. Shopify Tax calculates GST, HST, PST and QST based on the customer's address. For stores created since May 13, 2026, it is free on the first $100,000 of lifetime sales, then costs 0.25% per transaction (0.15% on Plus). You first need to enter your tax registration numbers in Shopify. Older stores that were already collecting Canadian taxes before that date have other terms, to check in their account.
Before choosing, pull the last twelve months of sales from your account, by payment method and by currency. That report is enough to calculate what each option costs: Shopify Payments, another provider with the third-party transaction fee, then the conversion of sales in foreign currencies.
Before turning on Shopify Payments
Moving up a plan, where Shopify Payments rates drop, is costed in the calculation before moving to Shopify Plus. Declined payments abroad are covered in declined payments outside Canada. For building or migrating the store itself, see our Shopify agency in Montreal.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify Payments mandatory in Canada?
No. You can collect your sales through another payment provider. Shopify then adds a fee on every sale: 2% on the Basic plan, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, on top of your provider's own fees.
How much does Shopify Payments cost per sale?
For a standard credit card online, Shopify Payments costs 2.8% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.6% + 30¢ on Grow, 2.4% + 30¢ on Advanced and 2.15% + 30¢ on Plus. American Express and foreign cards cost more, from 3.15% to 3.5% + 30¢ depending on the plan.
When does Shopify Payments money reach my account?
In Canada, funds arrive at the earliest three business days after the sale, with no minimum amount. There are no payouts on weekends or public holidays: Friday, Saturday and Sunday sales arrive in a single payout.
Does Shopify Payments remit GST and QST to the government?
No. Shopify Payments collects the price with taxes included, but Shopify states that it does not file your returns or remit your taxes. You stay registered for GST and QST and you remit the taxes yourself.
How much does a chargeback cost with Shopify Payments?
Shopify charges $15 per chargeback (a customer disputing a payment with their bank), in your payout currency. The fee is returned if the dispute is settled in your favour.
- Shopify, Plans and pricing in Canada, consulted October 2026. Prices of the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans, Shopify Payments online rates and third-party transaction fees.
- Shopify, Payout timing, help centre, consulted October 2026. Three-business-day delay in Canada and weekend payouts grouped together.
- Shopify, Payouts in multiple currencies, help centre, consulted October 2026. US-dollar payouts and fees by plan.
- Shopify, Shopify Payments requirements in Canada, help centre, consulted October 2026. Bank account, business address and accepted business types.
- Shopify, Chargeback process, help centre, consulted October 2026. $15 fee per chargeback.
- Shopify, Local currencies and Currency conversion calculation, help centre, consulted October 2026. 2% conversion fee in Canada and gross-amount calculation since April 6, 2026.
- Shopify, Canadian taxes and Shopify Tax, consulted October 2026. Shopify does not remit taxes; GST and QST calculation, Shopify Tax pricing.
- Shopify, Processor list, consulted October 2026. Stripe Payments Canada as the processor in Canada.
Gabriel almost always takes your first call and carries out your audit. He builds the strategy starting from your growth goal: where to put your budget, which market to test and how to connect each lead to a real sale in your CRM. He mainly leads engagements for three goals: Optimize the profitability of your digital campaigns, Develop a new market, and Generate demand and growth. With Geneviève, he also works on organic search (SEO), AI visibility (GEO) and conversion rate optimization (CRO). The sales a Google Ads or Meta Ads campaign brings in depend on the page that receives the click. He writes mainly about marketing strategy, paid advertising and measurement.
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