Use this guide to decide whether you need a checkout rule or Shopify payment customization. The choice depends on whether you want to stop an order or change the payment methods a customer sees.
| | Checkout rule | Payment rule | | ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | What it does | Stops an order that matches your conditions and shows your error. | Changes the payment methods shown when your conditions match. | | Use it when | The customer must fix the cart or checkout before placing the order. | The order can proceed, but payment choices should change. | | Example | Stop checkout when the cart subtotal is below your minimum. | Hide a payment method when the cart total is above a set amount. | | What the customer sees | The error message you wrote. | Different payment options or payment method names. |
Which rule do I need?
| Your goal | Choose | Recipe | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Stop orders below a minimum cart subtotal. | Checkout rule | Set a minimum order value | | Require a minimum number of items in the cart or on a cart line. | Checkout rule | Set a minimum order quantity (MOQ) | | Stop orders shipping to certain ZIP codes or countries. | Checkout rule | Block orders to specific ZIP codes or countries | | Stop orders with “PO Box” in the first shipping address line. | Checkout rule | Block PO boxes in the shipping address | | Hide cash on delivery above an order amount. | Payment rule | Hide cash on delivery above a set order value | | Hide an invoice or payment terms method from buyers who are not purchasing for a company. | Payment rule | Show certain payment methods only to B2B customers | | Move or rename a supported payment method. | Payment rule | Reorder or rename payment methods at checkout |
Choose a checkout rule to stop an order
Shopify checkout validation checks whether an order meets your requirements. If a checkout rule matches, Shopify checkout shows the error message you set. For example, if you require a minimum cart subtotal, tell the customer how much they need to add. See Create your first checkout rule for the setup steps.
Choose a payment rule to change payment choices
Payment rules can hide selected methods, show only selected methods, change their order, or rename one. For example, you can hide a payment method for carts above a chosen amount. The rule changes payment choices; it does not show a checkout rule's error message. See What payment rules can do for the available actions.
Shopify may reject move or rename changes for some wallet or logo-based methods.
Be careful with an action that hides all payment methods. It can leave the customer with no way to pay, which prevents them from completing checkout.
Use both together
Checkout rules and payment rules work independently, so you can keep both Live for the same order. For example, set a checkout rule that stops carts below a $100 subtotal, and a payment rule that hides cash on delivery when the cart total exceeds $200. An order with a $250 subtotal and $250 total passes the minimum and, if cash on delivery is available, has that option hidden. Each rule checks its own conditions.