Last updated: September 2025

Most UK Shopify merchants leave PayPal first in their checkout by default. Here's why that choice costs conversions and fees — and how positioning Pay by Bank via Fena first improves both, without removing PayPal.

Button order is a conversion decision most merchants never make deliberately

Most UK Shopify merchants didn't choose the order their payment methods appear at checkout. They added PayPal because it was familiar, added Shopify Payments because it was built in, and left everything in the default order. The result is a checkout that reflects whatever Shopify and PayPal chose to display, not what actually converts best for their specific customer base.

Payment method ordering is one of the highest-leverage checkout optimisation changes available because it influences conversion at the moment intent is highest and effort is lowest — the customer has decided to buy and is choosing how to pay. The method at the top of the list captures a disproportionate share of completions, particularly on mobile where only one or two payment options are visible without scrolling.

This guide covers why positioning matters, where each payment method performs best, and how adding Pay by Bank via Fena — and positioning it correctly — improves conversion and reduces payment costs simultaneously.

Quick summary

• Payment method position at checkout influences which method customers choose — the first visible option captures a disproportionate share of completions, particularly on mobile

• PayPal remains valuable for specific customer segments but is not the highest-converting first option for most UK mobile checkout flows

• Pay by Bank via Fena is a strong primary payment option for mobile-first UK stores because it uses biometric bank authentication without requiring account login, password recall, or redirect to a third-party platform

• The optimal positioning for most UK Shopify stores in 2025 is Pay by Bank first, followed by device-native wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay), then PayPal, then standard card entry

• This ordering doesn't remove PayPal — it places it where customers who specifically want it will find it, while giving the fastest option primary prominence

• A/B testing payment method ordering and tracking routing changes alongside conversion rate and net revenue gives merchants data to optimise for their specific customer base

Why mobile checkout makes payment ordering critical

Over 70% of UK Shopify orders are completed on mobile devices. On a mobile screen, the average customer sees one or two payment buttons before the fold. Everything else requires scrolling.

This has a direct consequence: the first method visible absorbs the largest share of conversions — not because customers are deliberately choosing it, but because it's what they see and it's what they tap. Customers who are completing a purchase on mobile in a real-world context (on the bus, between tasks, during a brief window of focus) will take the fastest available path. If that path is PayPal, they use PayPal. If it's Pay by Bank, they use Pay by Bank.

This means the ordering of payment methods is, in practice, a conversion and cost decision — not just a visual preference. The question worth asking for every Shopify merchant is: which payment method should I most want customers to use, and is it in the position most likely to be tapped?

The PayPal checkout flow on mobile

PayPal has strong brand recognition and genuine conversion benefits for specific customer segments — particularly customers who have PayPal balances, international buyers, and older demographics with entrenched PayPal habits. For these customers, seeing PayPal in the checkout is a positive trust signal and a reason to complete the purchase.

The mobile checkout flow itself is more involved than it might appear:

The customer taps the PayPal button, is redirected to the PayPal platform, needs to log in if session cookies haven't persisted (which they often haven't on mobile, particularly if the customer has cleared their browser or is on a new device), selects their funding source, and is redirected back to Shopify for confirmation.

For customers in a strong PayPal session with saved credentials, this flow can be fast. For customers who haven't used PayPal recently, who don't remember their password, or who are on a device where the session hasn't persisted, it's a multi-screen flow with genuine friction. On mobile, friction correlates with abandonment more strongly than on desktop.

PayPal also triggers Shopify's third-party gateway surcharge on Basic and Shopify plans — adding 2% or 1% respectively to every PayPal transaction, on top of PayPal's own fees. For merchants where a significant proportion of orders go through PayPal, repositioning it away from the primary slot reduces this cost without removing the option for customers who specifically want it.

The Pay by Bank checkout flow on mobile

Pay by Bank via Fena uses a fundamentally different flow. When a customer selects Pay by Bank, they choose their bank from a list of supported UK banks, are taken to their banking app — which they typically have installed and use regularly — and authenticate the payment using biometrics or their banking PIN. The confirmation returns to Shopify, the order is confirmed.

The critical difference for mobile conversion is that this flow uses the customer's most familiar and most frequently used mobile authentication — the same biometric confirmation they use to check their bank balance. There's no password to recall, no account to log in to, no funding source to select. The authentication is the banking app's own authentication, which the customer performs multiple times per week for routine banking.

For mobile users — particularly those making first purchases from unfamiliar merchants — this flow carries a trust advantage that goes beyond its speed. Authenticating within their own banking app, rather than entering card details on a merchant's checkout page or logging into a third-party payment platform, feels more controlled and more secure. The trust rests with the bank they already have a relationship with.

How to structure your payment method order

The recommended ordering for most UK Shopify stores with predominantly UK and mobile customer bases:

First position: Pay by Bank via Fena.

Biometric bank authentication, lowest per-transaction cost, no chargebacks, same-day settlement. This is the fastest completion path for the majority of UK mobile customers and the lowest-cost routing for the merchant.

Second position: Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Device-native payment options that use the customer's stored card through their device's biometric authentication. Fast on mobile, familiar to customers who already use their device for contactless payment, and significantly lower friction than full card entry.

Third position: PayPal.

Retained and clearly visible for the customer segments where it's genuinely preferred — repeat PayPal users, international customers, higher-AOV purchases where PayPal's buyer protection influences the decision. Accessible without being dominant.

Fourth position: Standard card entry.

The universal fallback. Necessary for completeness and for customers who don't use any of the above. Last in the list because it's the highest-friction option.

This ordering isn't anti-PayPal. It's pro-completion. Customers who specifically want PayPal will scroll to it; customers who want the fastest path will take Pay by Bank without even noticing the other options.

The fee impact of changing payment method order

Payment method ordering isn't just a conversion optimisation — it's a cost management decision.

Each method carries a different effective fee rate. Pay by Bank via Fena typically processes at 0.5–1% with no Shopify gateway surcharge for eligible merchants. Apple Pay and Google Pay via Shopify Payments process at approximately 1.5–1.7% plus £0.25. PayPal carries its own fee (approximately 3.4% plus £0.20) plus Shopify's gateway surcharge.

When Pay by Bank is in the primary position, volume naturally shifts toward it — not because customers are coerced, but because they take the first visible option. As volume shifts to Pay by Bank, average payment processing cost per transaction falls. The blended effective fee rate across the full payment mix decreases.

For a merchant doing £500,000 annually where 30% of volume shifts from PayPal to Pay by Bank, the annual saving in payment fees can be £10,000–£15,000 at representative fee rates. That's without any change to conversion rate — purely from the same customers choosing a different (cheaper, faster) payment method because it's more prominent.

The UX principles that support this structure

Good checkout UX for payment methods in 2025 follows a few consistent principles worth applying:

Show only what matters above the fold.

On mobile, two payment options above the fold is typically optimal. More creates choice paralysis; fewer may miss customers who specifically want a second option. Ensure the two above-fold options are your highest-converting and lowest-friction choices.

Use clear, plain-language labels.

Pay by Bank is still unfamiliar to some customers. A brief label — "Pay with your bank app — confirm with Face ID or fingerprint" — removes uncertainty and increases selection. Avoid technical language like "Open Banking" which means nothing to most customers, or "account-to-account payment" which is similarly jargon-heavy.

Don't clutter.

Every additional payment logo at checkout adds visual noise and decision load. If a payment method isn't being meaningfully used (check your analytics), removing it from the displayed list reduces friction without losing conversions. Keep the primary options clear and secondary options accessible but below the fold.

Test, don't assume.

The optimal ordering for your specific store depends on your customer demographics, device mix, AOV, and product category. Run A/B tests with payment method ordering as the variable, measure routing percentages, conversion rate, and net revenue after fees across at least two complete sales cycles. Let your customers' actual behaviour determine the configuration rather than industry averages.

Where PayPal still earns its prominence

PayPal shouldn't be removed from the checkout — it should be placed where it performs best.

The customer segments where PayPal genuinely adds conversion value are: customers with established PayPal habits who specifically look for and select it, international customers who use PayPal as their cross-border payment mechanism, customers making higher-value purchases where PayPal's buyer protection is a meaningful factor in the purchasing decision, and older demographics who have used PayPal for years and find it more familiar than bank-app authentication.

For these segments, PayPal at third position is still findable and still converts. The change is that it no longer captures conversions from customers who were using it by default rather than by preference — those customers now route through Pay by Bank at lower cost and with faster settlement.

A/B testing payment method ordering

Running a proper test on payment method ordering requires a few considerations:

What to measure.

The primary metrics are: payment method routing percentages (what proportion of orders go through each method), overall checkout conversion rate, and net revenue after payment fees. All three matter — routing changes that increase cheaper payment method share while maintaining conversion rate are commercially positive even if the headline conversion rate doesn't move.

Test duration.

Run for at least two full sales cycles — two weeks for most stores, longer for stores with lower transaction volumes where statistical significance takes more time to reach.

Device segmentation.

Mobile and desktop customers may respond differently to ordering changes. Segment results by device to understand whether the change performs differently across platforms.

One variable at a time.

Test button ordering in isolation before testing microcopy, visual design, or other checkout elements. Changing multiple things simultaneously prevents you from attributing any change to a specific cause.

Frequently asked questions

Should I remove PayPal from my Shopify checkout?

No. PayPal remains valuable for specific customer segments and removing it risks losing those customers to competitors who offer it. The correct approach is positioning — PayPal in a visible but secondary position, Pay by Bank in the primary spot for mobile-first UK stores.

Will moving Pay by Bank to first position actually increase conversion?

For mobile-first UK stores, yes — primarily because Pay by Bank's biometric authentication flow is faster and lower-friction than PayPal's login-and-redirect flow for customers who don't have a strong persisted PayPal session. The magnitude depends on your specific customer base and should be confirmed through A/B testing.

Does changing payment method order affect how Shopify processes fees?

Indirectly, yes. If volume shifts from higher-cost payment methods (PayPal with gateway surcharge) to lower-cost methods (Pay by Bank), the blended effective fee rate across your payment mix decreases. This isn't a Shopify fee change — it's a result of the same customers routing through a less expensive payment method.

Do customers trust Pay by Bank without a familiar brand name?

Most UK customers are familiar with using their banking app for authentication. A clear, plain-language label explaining that Pay by Bank is confirmed through their banking app is typically sufficient to build confidence. The trust comes from the bank association rather than Fena's brand name — which is appropriate and honest.

How do I A/B test payment method ordering on Shopify?

Use Shopify's native analytics to track payment method distribution before and after changing ordering. For more controlled testing, Shopify's A/B testing capabilities or third-party CRO tools can split traffic between different checkout configurations. Measure routing percentages, conversion rate, and net revenue after fees across at least two full sales cycles.

What about international customers — should Pay by Bank still be first?

For stores with significant international customer bases, the optimal configuration may be different. Pay by Bank via Fena covers major UK banks, but non-UK customers may not have eligible bank accounts. For stores where a large proportion of traffic is international, maintaining PayPal and card options in prominent positions for those customers — through geographic targeting if possible, or by keeping all options accessible — is important.

Does positioning Pay by Bank first affect accessibility?

The ordering change itself doesn't create accessibility issues. Ensure that all payment options are properly labelled for screen readers, that tap targets meet accessibility size requirements, and that fallback options are always available for customers who can't or don't want to use biometric authentication.