A Comprehensive Guide to Managing Payment Methods in WooCommerce
By Editorial Team |
Numerous WooCommerce store administrators often activate every payment gateway available, but this approach can sometimes overwhelm shoppers and increase cart abandonment rates.
Through extensive experience managing e-commerce platforms, many developers have discovered that carefully selecting payment options can enhance conversion rates and simplify the checkout experience. You might need to restrict certain payment methods depending on shipping destinations, product categories, or order values.
Fortunately, WooCommerce provides built-in configuration options and plugin solutions to manage which payment methods customers can access. Understanding where to locate these settings and how to adjust them is key to effective payment management.
This guide presents multiple reliable approaches to deactivate payment methods within WooCommerce. We will explore various situations, whether you need to eliminate payment options entirely or hide them conditionally based on specific criteria.
When to Restrict WooCommerce Payment Methods
Managing payment gateways in WooCommerce involves more than simply providing numerous payment choices. Occasionally, limiting payment methods becomes necessary to optimize business operations and minimize transaction expenses.
Reducing available payment options can also improve the customer experience, as presenting too many choices during checkout may create confusion.
Based on observations from experienced developers, maintaining simplicity with primary options like Stripe for card payments and PayPal typically works effectively for most global stores.
However, when serving particular markets with localized payment preferences, you may require greater control over when and how different payment options appear.
Here are common situations where you might consider disabling WooCommerce payment methods:
- Order Value– You might require specific payment methods for larger purchases. This approach can help reduce transaction costs for payment gateways that charge percentage-based fees. Alternatively, you may disable cash on delivery for high-value orders.
- Geographic Location– Certain payment gateways only function in specific regions. In such cases, you may need to hide them from customers residing outside those areas. Similarly, some payment methods incur higher costs in particular regions, making them less desirable to offer.
- User Classification– You can configure payment gateways according to user roles, such as providing wholesale customers with different payment options than regular shoppers. This strategy can help reduce transaction fees or mitigate risk for orders with higher values.
- Special Events– You might need to modify payment options during holiday sales periods, especially if certain payment methods could delay order processing.
With these considerations in mind, let's examine five distinct methods for disabling payment gateways in your WooCommerce store.
You can use the following quick links to navigate to your preferred approach:
- Option 1: Disable Payment Methods Using WooCommerce Settings (For All Customers)
- Option 2: Set Up Conditional Payment Gateways With a Free Plugin (Easy + Customizable)
- Option 3: Use Wholesale Suite to Restrict Payment Methods (For Wholesale Customers)
- Option 4: Use Advanced Coupons to Restrict Payment Methods (For Specific Coupons)
- Option 5: Add Custom Code to Disable Payment Methods (Advanced + No Plugin)
- Frequently Asked Questions About Disabling Payment Methods
Option 1: Disable Payment Methods Using WooCommerce Settings (For All Customers)
WooCommerce includes native settings to deactivate payment methods, eliminating the need for additional plugins with this approach. The specific steps will vary slightly depending on your objectives.
We will demonstrate how to disable primary payment methods, PayPal-specific options, and Stripe payment methods, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
Please note that we recommend using only one method from this section if you intend to completely disable a payment option for all customers.
These methods do not allow you to hide payment options based on specific criteria such as user roles or product categories.
How to Disable Your Main Payment Methods
You can disable primary payment methods, including entire payment gateways or direct bank transfers, directly within your WooCommerce settings.
Navigate to WooCommerce » Settings. Then, proceed to the 'Payments' tab, where you will see all available payment gateways in WooCommerce.
We have activated the following payment methods: Stripe for credit and debit cards, direct bank transfer, check payments, cash on delivery, and PayPal.
Here is how the checkout appears to customers when all these options are active:
To disable a WooCommerce payment method, simply click the toggle switch under the 'Enabled' column for any active payment option.
The payment option will then disappear from your checkout page.
If you decide to reactivate some of those payment methods later, you can always return to this page to enable them again.
When you visit your checkout page, the disabled payment methods should no longer be visible:
How to Disable PayPal's Alternative Payment Methods
If you have multiple payment methods enabled through PayPal, you can easily restrict them as well. For example, your business might not support Venmo payments, so you may want to disable this option.
First, you can use the same method discussed previously.
Go to WooCommerce » Settings » Payments. Then, click the toggle switch for any payment method labeled '(via PayPal).'
