Table of Contents
Every decision at checkout shapes a shopper’s view of your brand. Digital payments already power more than 88% of all online orders in India’s growing ecommerce market, and so the payment choice is now a major factor for sales and customer loyalty. BNPL usage will reach $21.95 billion in India by the end of 2025, showing that shoppers increasingly think differently about affordability and convenience.
Alongside BNPL, UPI, mobile wallets, and card payments create a blended payment mix covering first-time impulse buys and repeat subscriptions to Shopify stores.
Why Payment Trends Matter to Your Shopify Store
Brands on Shopify can scale and gain buyer trust by adding new payment flows and making sure that shoppers always find their preferred way. A multi-method payment approach has fewer abandoned carts, higher order value, and stronger repeat purchase rates.
Cashfree’s Shopify payment gateway makes this shift seamless, bringing 180+ modes like UPI, BNPL, wallets, EMIs, and cards into one. When every buyer finds a familiar, reliable, and fast way to pay, they become more likely to complete their journey and return for more.
What does a future-ready payment experience look like for your Shopify store in 2025? Let’s break down the payment trends defining the next wave of Shopify success.
BNPL Supercharges Sales and Conversions
Buy Now, Pay Later is quickly changing how Indians purchase electronics and fashion. The BNPL sector in India is expected to surpass $21.95 billion by the end of 2025, growing at a double-digit CAGR with deepening credit penetration and consumer trust. Unlike credit cards, BNPL serves a massive “new to credit” audience, with penetration in Tier 2/3 cities now accelerating faster than metro areas.
Key factors driving BNPL’s adoption:
- Order values rise: Brands report up to 60% growth in average order values when shoppers choose instalment plans over lump-sum payments. Products once considered too expensive become attainable for more buyers.
- New segments: Less than 5% of Indian adults have a credit card, while BNPL is available to a much wider group. These include students, gig workers and those who have limited or no credit history.
- Reduced cart abandonment: The hesitation of customers is less and they are more likely to complete the purchase when transparent monthly payment options or no-cost EMI offers are shown at check-out.
Shopify Best Practices:
- BNPL and EMI plans should be placed above the fold for major products so that buyers can have an understanding of affordability before deciding.
- Automate reminders and payments confirmations, making the process of paying effortless and secure.
- Offer points, credits, or cash back rewards for repeated BNPL consumers.
UPI Takes India’s Commerce by Storm
UPI is now the default mode of payment in India for digital transactions, handling over ₹24 lakh crores of transactions every month and having processed 18+ billion transactions in June 2025 itself. UPI reaches close to half a billion customers and 65 million merchants. What is even more noteworthy is that UPI is unique because it is instant, free, and also mobile-enabled.
Why UPI drives conversion and retention:
- Most preferred: 85% of all digital transactions in India now go through UPI, with person-to-merchant payments making up more than half the total volume (source: RBI, June 2025).
- Always on: Real-time, 24/7 settlement for refunds and order updates means customers never have to wait for money to arrive or leave their accounts.
- Mobile power: UPI is used by mobile-first buyers, who expect a tap-and-go experience, not a multi-step, card-entry slog.
Shopify Best Practices:
- Show UPI QR/pay options at the start of checkout and as a fallback if a card fails, to recapture almost-lost sales.
- Use “Pay with UPI for instant refunds” in cart nudges and order update emails, giving buyers confidence to commit.
- Promote UPI’s secure two-factor authentication in store FAQs and banners to reassure new shoppers and reduce drop-off from security fears.
Digital Wallets Bring Convenience to Checkout
The digital wallets linked to UPI, card balances, and rewards in the market account for more than half of the online transactions in India and may surpass $25 trillion in the next year in the international market. The mobile wallet transactions in the Indian market include PhonePe and Paytm.
How digital wallets benefit Shopify stores:
- One-touch checkout, increased conversions: Wallets provide a single-touch checkout procedure for repeat consumers and newcomers. Hence, consumers are less likely to have carts abandoned due to typing payment information or receiving OTPs.
- Enhanced security and trust: Consumers also link popular wallet brands with security and convenience, and this, in turn, makes them more trusting of unknown or high-value merchants and websites.
- Flexible usage: Wallets are used for various orders like subscriptions or cash backs or rewards, which help in increasing the frequency and size of the order.
Shopify Best Practices:
- Display wallet icons clearly at checkout, and use “Wallet Exclusive Offer” pop-ups to prompt faster payments.
- Encourage users to save wallet as default for next orders, speeding up future checkouts and repeat sales.
- Highlight “Instant cashback on wallet pay” in push notifications and cart reminders to turn undecided visitors into buyers.
Contactless and QR-Based Payments Offer Speed and Safety
Contactless payment transactions, both online and offline, have significantly increased as a result of enhanced safety awareness brought on by the pandemic. QR code solutions are the ones that link the physical and online worlds and provide seamless last-mile commerce experiences for Shopify brands.
Unique advantages of Contactless and QR Payments:
- Safe and touch-free: The desire for touch-free payment systems has not only survived but is actually here to stay since the COVID-19 experience.
- Instant Confirmation: The moment a payment is done, instantaneous alerts are sent to both parties. As a result, dealings involving high amounts as well as time-sensitive deliveries are more credible.
- Bridging online and offline: Dynamic QR codes connect digital and physical commerce, allowing Shopify brands to offer flexible payment even outside their website.
Shopify Best Practices:
- Offer QR pay for COD orders, reducing failed deliveries and speeding up cash reconciliation.
- Use dynamic QR codes in email invoices or WhatsApp order updates for secure, one-tap pay.
- Position contactless payment options as a benefit in omnichannel marketing, such as “Order online, pay at pickup” or “Scan & Pay at your doorstep.”
Card Payments Still Anchor High-Value and Subscription Transactions
Credit and debit cards remain a mainstay for large purchases and subscription commerce in India, despite the rise of UPI and wallets. Cards enable easy EMI plans, allow for international orders, and support automatic billing for memberships or SaaS products.
Card payment strengths for Shopify stores:
- Trusted for big spends: Credit cards have earned consumers’ trust for big spends, as premium clientele uses credit cards for the purchase of electronic items, appliances, and luxury products, thereby availing EMI.
- Subscription payments made easy: Cards enable convenient subscription payments and membership schemes with the help of tokenization, thus securing important data that should not be compromised.
- Instant refunds and services: Card transactions provide an instant refund facility together with an efficient dispute resolution process and additional guarantees that a buyer usually demands when a transaction is valuable.
Shopify Best Practices:
- Make saved card checkout fast and secure, with tokenisation and one-click repeat buys.
- Promote “Easy EMI on cards” with transparent terms, letting buyers see savings or benefits upfront.
- Support instant refunds and dispute resolution for card buyers, building trust for high-value and repeat purchases.
Powering Shopify Growth with Cashfree’s Shopify Payment Gateway
A unified payment solution removes barriers at checkout and helps brands serve every type of buyer. Cashfree’s Shopify Payment Gateway creates this experience, supporting over 180 payment modes including UPI, cards, wallets, netbanking, and a full range of EMI and pay-later options.
- Unifying Every Payment Method Indian Shoppers Want
Shopify sellers can provide customers with services beyond the simple and cash wallet payment solution. Through Cashfree, customers can experience 180+ payment options available on their favorite stores – UPI, cards, cash wallets, net banking, and flexible EMI, so all customers have access to their favorite payment solution at checkout.
- Optimizing Checkout for Mobile-First India
Mobile transactions drive the majority of ecommerce orders in India. Cashfree’s Shopify gateway is built for these journeys, streamlining flows for UPI apps, mobile wallets, and cards, reducing drop-offs, speeding up approvals, and adapting to busy sales periods without slowing down.
- Elevating Sales with BNPL Plus
Within the gateway, Cashfree’s BNPL Plus feature brings instant, tailored pay-later and EMI options to every product page and checkout. This lets shoppers visualise affordable payments up front, making bigger baskets and impulse purchases much easier. Merchants see higher average order values and conversion rates, with personalised plans extending flexible finance to more segments, including those with no prior credit history.
- Fast Settlements and Real-Time Insights for Merchants
Merchants get rapid fund settlement, minimizing cash flow delays. Cashfree’s reporting dashboard tracks trends across every payment mode, helping teams spot buyer preferences and refine their payment strategy. Transparent analytics empower Shopify businesses to make faster, data-driven decisions for growth.
Final Thoughts
Shopify merchants who prioritise local payment habits consistently see fewer abandoned carts and larger baskets. When UPI, wallets, cards, and pay-later plans all appear together at checkout, buyers complete their orders with more confidence.
Cashfree’s Shopify gateway lets brands act on these payment shifts quickly, making it possible to support mobile-first shoppers, promote higher-value sales with BNPL, and track what works through clear analytics. Building this flexibility into your store keeps customers coming back and turns payment into a real growth driver. Experience the difference first hand get started with Cashfree and elevate your Shopify store’s checkout.
FAQs:
- Which payment system is most suitable for a Shopify store?
The most preferred payment choice can vary depending on the location and preferences of the target market. For the Indian market, UPI in combination with cards, wallets, and the BNPL model performs better in terms of conversions.
- What method works best to get payments on Shopify?
The best method will be using a payment gateway that integrates seamlessly with your Shopify platform. The addition of UPI, cards, wallets, and BNPL payment methods increases payment success.
- Does Shopify allow payment by UPI?
Shopify offers UPI payment services through approved Indian payment gateways.Customers are able to make payments using UPI applications during the checkout process.
- What is the most common method of paying for customers in a retail store?
UPI remains at the forefront of payments in the Indian market as far as speed is concerned as well as peoples’ familiarity with the system. Cards and wallets continue to support in-store and online purchases.
- Why are BNPL and alternative payments important for Shopify stores in 2025?
BNPL increases affordability for higher-value purchases. It supports better checkout completion among younger and mobile-first shoppers.
