Note: This article covers Rakuten Pay, a mobile payment service available only to merchants and customers in Japan. The information below will not be relevant if you are not selling in the Japanese market.
"I want to offer more payment options on my Shopify store, but where do I even start?" Does this sound familiar?
This article clearly summarizes the steps to add the popular mobile payment service Rakuten Pay to Shopify, along with its benefits and drawbacks. It also covers costs and handy integration apps, making it a must-read if you're considering adopting it.
What Is Rakuten Pay?
Rakuten Pay is a mobile payment service offered by the Rakuten Group. It can be used not only for in-store shopping but also for online shopping. Another notable feature is that it lets users earn and redeem Rakuten Points.
Benefits of Adding Rakuten Pay
No credit card information needed
Rakuten Pay lets customers pay simply by authenticating with their Rakuten account information. With credit card payments, customers have to enter their card number, expiration date, security code, and so on — this reduces that data-entry burden.
Customers can earn and use Rakuten Points
By offering Rakuten Pay as a payment method at checkout, customers can earn and redeem Rakuten Points. This gives Rakuten users who regularly use Rakuten Points a reason to choose your Shopify store.
The blog article below introduces the benefits of adding a points system to Shopify along with recommended points apps. Please use it as a reference.
Helps reduce cart abandonment
According to a Baymard Institute survey, the 4th most common reason for cart abandonment is "didn't want to enter credit card information," and the 10th most common is "not enough payment options."
Many Rakuten users likely think, "I want to pay easily with Rakuten Pay without entering my credit card information," or "I want to use Rakuten Pay so I can earn Rakuten Points."
For this reason, adding Rakuten Pay to your Shopify store can help reduce cart abandonment among Rakuten users.
The blog article below introduces other reasons for cart abandonment as well as countermeasures beyond simply adding more payment options. Please use it as a reference.
Drawbacks of Adding Rakuten Pay
It comes with a cost
The main drawback of using Rakuten Pay is that it comes with additional costs.
Using Rakuten Pay incurs a payment processing fee, and setup fees or monthly fees may also apply.
Also, because Rakuten Pay is a payment method outside Shopify Payments, a transaction fee applies as well.
High fees eat into your store's profit margin, so if you want to keep costs down, choose a payment provider with lower fees.
What is a transaction fee?
A transaction fee is a fee charged when you receive payment from a customer.
Transaction fees are waived when using Shopify Payments, but the following fees apply when using an external payment provider.
| Shopify Plan Name | Starter | Basic | Grow | Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fee | 5.00% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 0.60% | 0.20% |
If you use Shopify Payments, you only pay the payment fee, but if you use another provider, you'll pay both a payment fee and a transaction fee.
Reference article
The blog article below explains in detail the benefits of using Shopify Payments and its payment fees. Please use it as a reference.
The blog article below thoroughly compares Shopify plans across various criteria besides transaction fees, such as monthly cost and staff account limits. Please use it as a reference.
How to Add Rakuten Pay
To add Rakuten Pay to Shopify, you need to sign a contract with one of the following payment providers.
SB Payment Service
SB Payment Service is a payment processing service operated by SB Payment Service Corp., part of the SoftBank Group. In addition to supporting a wide range of payment methods, it's known for its marketing support to boost sales and its robust security setup.
The blog article below explains SB Payment Service in detail. Please use it as a reference.
Rakuten Pay Fees
| Setup Fee | Monthly Fee | Payment Fee |
Payment Service Usage Fee Rate |
Transaction Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¥1,000 | ¥1,000 | 4.0% | 0.5% | ¥5 |
KOMOJU
KOMOJU is known for having no setup fee or monthly fee, and for its fast screening process.
The blog article below introduces KOMOJU in detail. Please use it as a reference.
Rakuten Pay Fees
| Setup Fee | Monthly Fee | Payment Fee |
|---|---|---|
| ¥0 | ¥0 |
Physical goods 4.40% Digital content 8.40% |
PingPong Checkout
Finally, there's PingPong Checkout.
As an overseas payment provider, it may not be a familiar name. It supports not only Rakuten Pay but also other major Japanese mobile payment services such as PayPay and LINE Pay.
Rakuten Pay Fees
Please contact them for details
A Shopify App That Can Automatically Hide Rakuten Pay
After adding Rakuten Pay, you may run into situations where you want to hide it — for example, "digital products have high fees, so I want to hide Rakuten Pay for those," or "I want to hide Rakuten Pay when a preferred delivery date is set."
This section introduces a Shopify app that can hide Rakuten Pay under any condition.
RuffRuff Order Limits
RuffRuff Order Limits is fully localized for Japanese and is Japan's first Shopify app built on the Cart and Checkout Validation API.
By using the Cart and Checkout Validation API, it handles order-restriction logic on the server side — processing that previously could only be done on the front end. As a result, it achieves more robust order restrictions that are harder to bypass compared to existing order-limit apps.
With a single app, you can apply quantity limits, amount limits, bundling restrictions, customer restrictions, and payment method hiding.
Using this app, you can achieve things such as:
・Hide Rakuten Pay when the cart total reaches ¥3,000 or more
・Hide Rakuten Pay when the cart contains digital products
・Hide Rakuten Pay for guest customers only
The blog article below explains how to use RuffRuff Order Limits to hide Rakuten Pay. Please use it as a reference.
Q&A About Rakuten Pay
Can I use Rakuten Pay with GMO Epsilon?
GMO Epsilon's Rakuten Pay support is limited to the makeshop and Color Me Shop cart systems, so please note that Rakuten Pay cannot be used with Shopify.
Reference: Frequently Asked Questions | GMO Epsilon
In Closing
In this article, we covered the benefits, drawbacks, and setup steps for adding Rakuten Pay to your Shopify store.
Shopify also supports a variety of other payment methods. The blog article below introduces other payment methods you can add to Shopify besides Rakuten Pay. If you're considering adding a new payment method, please use it as a reference.
