Activating a payment gateway in test mode

To test your checkout process without placing a real order, you can simulate transactions by using any of the following options:

• Shopify's Test payment gateway
• Shopify Payments test mode
• Test mode for a third-party payment provider

These options allow you to place test orders without incurring any charges from your payment provider. Payment gateways that are in test mode don't accept real credit card information, and require you to use specific pre-set test payment information in order to complete the transaction. You can also test and preview failed transactions using test payment information.

Test orders and simulated transactions don't display in your payouts or reports. You can test a payment gateway only after you've chosen a paid plan.

Using Shopify's Test payment gateway

To simulate a transaction on your online checkout, you can set up Shopify's Test payment gateway. The Test payment gateway is a payment provider that any store can use to create test orders, and requires specific test payment information to complete transactions. Real credit card information isn't accepted using the Test payment gateway.

When the Test payment gateway is active, the following icon is used in the Shopify Checkout:

Activate Shopify's Test payment gateway

You can activate Shopify's Test payment gateway the same way you'd activate any third-party payment integration. If you have a credit card payment provider active, then you need to deactivate it before you can activate the Test payment gateway.

When the Test payment gateway is active, every order you create is a test order. The test purchase amount needs to be greater than the equivalent of $1 USD in any currency.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.

2. If you have a credit card payment provider activated, then deactivate it before continuing:

   • If you have a third-party payment provider activated, then deactivate it. Click Manage > Deactivate (this button also displays the name of your payment provider, for example Deactivate Shopify Payments), then confirm your deactivation.
   • If you have Shopify Payments activated:
     • In the Shopify Payments section, click Manage > Manage payment methods.
     • At the bottom of the page, click Switch to a third-party provider, and then click Switch to a third-party provider again to confirm.

3. Open the list of all available payment providers:

   • If you're eligible for Shopify Payments in your country, then in the Shopify Payments section, click See all other providers.
   • If Shopify Payments isn't available in your country, then in the Payment providers section, click Choose a provider.

4. Select Test payment gateway from the list.

5. Activate Test payment gateway.

6. Click Save.

Test payment gateway test payment details

You can simulate a successful payment, a declined transaction, and a chargeback using test credentials in the Test payment gateway. When placing a test order using the Test payment gateway, enter the following test credit card details instead of genuine numbers at checkout:

Using Shopify Payments' test mode

Test mode is a feature of Shopify Payments. You can use it to test how your customers pay for their orders, and to test how you and your staff process those orders. While test mode is activated, you can't use real credit cards to pay for orders. Some local payment methods, such as Sofort and iDEAL | Wero, aren't available in the checkout when test mode is activated. For these reasons, you shouldn't activate test mode on a store that's in production.

Test mode isn't available to test payments with Shopify POS card readers, Shop Pay Installments, or PayPal Wallet.

Learn more about testing Shopify Payments.

You can also test Shop Pay credit card transactions by adding a Shopify Payments test card to Shop Pay and entering test_card at the beginning of the card's Nickname (optional) field. Learn more about testing Shopify Payments with Shop Pay.

Activate Shopify Payments' test mode

Before you can create test orders, you need to activate test mode for Shopify Payments.

Steps:

Shopify Payments test mode payment details

To simulate a successful transaction, use the following information when you're asked for credit card details at checkout:

• Name on card: Enter at least 2 words.
• Expiry date: Enter any date in the future.
• Security code: Enter any 4 digits to test American Express, and enter any 3 digits to test all other cards.
• Card number: Use any of the following numbers:

If you want to view the credit card error messages that might display to a customer during checkout, then use the following test credit card numbers to simulate different failed transactions:

Activating test mode for a third-party payment providers

Some integrated third-party payment providers, such as Braintree or PayPal Payflow Pro, offer the option to activate test mode from the Shopify admin. In order to use this test mode, refer to the payment provider's documentation on how to activate and test the integration with Shopify Checkout. This can include adjusting additional settings on their side, and using specific test payment card credentials.

If this option isn't available for your third-party provider in the Shopify admin, then you can choose to do any of the following options:

• Reach out to your third-party payment provider's support team to review what options are available to place a test order using their gateway.
• Activate Shopify's Test payment gateway instead. As the Test payment gateway is completely separate from other third-party payment gateways, it might not offer the same functionalities as your chosen third-party payment provider.