Fees, Shop Campaigns, and Shop Cash
Shop Cash and Shop Campaigns can both be used during checkout, but they represent different kinds of value. Understanding the difference can help your finance, support, and marketing teams reconcile orders, campaign costs, and payouts correctly.
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Standard Shop Cash acceptance
Accepting a customer's Shop Cash balance doesn't add a new fee to your account beyond the Shopify Payments processing terms that apply to the order. The Shop Cash portion of an order is remitted to you through Shopify Payments payout activity.
If an order is paid partly with Shop Cash and partly with Shop Pay or Shop Pay Installments, then the order contains separate payment transactions for each payment method. The payment legs can also produce separate payout or balance transactions and separate refund transactions. Reconcile them to the same order by payment method and transaction ID.
Types of value that can be used with Shop Cash
The following types of value can be used during a Shop checkout:
| Value | Funding source | How merchants view it |
|---|---|---|
| Customer's Shop Cash balance | Shopify-funded value that the customer has already earned. | Recorded as Shop Cash on the order and settled through a shop_cash_credit payout transaction. |
| Shopify-funded Shop Cash rewards | Shopify-funded rewards, such as Shop Pay cash back or Shopify-funded promotions. | After the customer earns it, it spends in the same way as the customer's Shop Cash balance. |
| Shop offer or Shop Campaign value | Merchant-funded promotional value from your Shop Campaign budget. | Included in the same shop_cash order transaction amount, and charged separately to your Shopify bill. |
| Shop Pay or Shop Pay Installments payment | The customer's payment method for the remaining order balance. | Recorded as the payment method for the amount not covered by Shop Cash. |
Shop offers and Shop Campaigns
Shop offers are merchant-funded promotional value from Shop Campaigns. A customer might use their own Shop Cash balance, a Shop offer, or both on the same order. If a Shop offer has a minimum order value, then eligibility is based on the order subtotal before shipping fees and taxes are applied.
In Admin API order transaction data, customer-balance Shop Cash and Shop offer value are included in the same shop_cash transaction amount. You don't receive a separate order transaction for the Shop offer portion.
As of January 2026, merchant-funded campaign costs are charged to your Shopify bill instead of deducted from your Shopify Payments payouts. Treat Shop Campaign charges as campaign expense activity, not as a discount or standard Shop Cash acceptance cost. For more information, refer to Paying for Shop Campaigns.
Campaign billing transaction types
For activity before January 2026, Shopify Payments payouts can include Shop Campaign billing activity with the following transaction types:
| Transaction type | Description |
|---|---|
shop_cash_campaign_billing_debit | A Shop Campaign billing debit. This is the campaign cost for the order or campaign activity. |
shop_cash_campaign_billing_debit_reversal | A reversal of a Shop Campaign billing debit. |
shop_cash_campaign_billing_credit | A Shop Campaign billing credit. |
shop_cash_campaign_billing_credit_reversal | A reversal of a Shop Campaign billing credit. |
These historical campaign billing rows can be included alongside regular Shopify Payments payout transactions, Shop Cash credits, and Shop Cash refund debits. Use them only to reconcile pre-January 2026 payout activity. To review current Shop Campaign charges, go to the Billing page in the Shopify admin. For more information about payout transaction types, refer to Reconciling Shop Cash payouts.
Refunds for Shop offers
When an order with a Shop offer is refunded, the customer doesn't receive the merchant-funded Shop offer amount back as Shop Cash. The customer is refunded only the amount that was taken from their own Shop Cash balance.
For example, if a customer uses $10 USD from their Shop Cash balance and receives a $5 USD Shop offer, then only the $10 USD from the customer's balance can be returned to the customer's Shop Cash balance during a refund. The $5 USD Shop offer amount isn't returned to the customer as Shop Cash.
In payout activity, refunds of customer-balance Shop Cash are recorded as shop_cash_refund_debit transactions. For activity before January 2026, campaign billing reversals or credits can represent refunds or adjustments for campaign-funded Shop offer value.
Reconciliation guidance for campaign activity
When you reconcile Shop Cash and Shop Campaign activity, follow these guidelines:
- Treat standard Shop Cash redemptions as payment activity.
- Treat current Shop Campaign charges on your Shopify bill as campaign expense activity.
- Don't treat Shop Cash as a discount, gift card, or store credit.
- Don't expect a separate
shop_offerorder transaction in Admin API order transaction data. - Reconcile pre-January 2026 Shop offer costs using historical campaign billing transactions in payout activity.
For details about Shop Campaign setup, budgets, and campaign management, refer to Shop Campaigns.