Which payout methods can I use, and can affiliates choose one?

You can pay affiliates with Autopay, PayPal, Shopify store credit, or manual payments. You choose the method, and affiliates can't choose or change it themselves. They only add the details that your method needs, such as a PayPal email or the bank account for Autopay.

The payout methods

• Autopay: Simple Affiliate charges your card or bank account through Stripe and pays each affiliate's bank account. It needs a store currency that Autopay supports, and you pay its fees on top of the commission. See What is Autopay?
• PayPal: Simple Affiliate sends the payouts from your PayPal Business account with PayPal Payouts. PayPal must approve your account for PayPal Payouts, and you enter the Client ID and Secret of your PayPal app under Configure in the PayPal row. Each affiliate needs a PayPal email in the affiliate dashboard, and an affiliate without one isn't paid. PayPal doesn't let accounts in some countries, such as India and Mexico, send payouts.
• Store credit: Simple Affiliate adds Shopify store credit to the affiliate's customer account. Turn on store credit in your Shopify customer accounts settings first. Store credit pays only in your store currency.
• Manual payments: Simple Affiliate creates the payments, you send the money with the service that you prefer, and then you click Confirm payment in Payments. Manual payments are on Premium, on stores whose currency Autopay doesn't support, and on some stores that had them before.

PayPal, store credit, and manual payments have no Simple Affiliate processing fee. The setup steps are in How to connect PayPal Payouts and How to enable store credit payouts.

Set your default method

1. Open Settings > Payout.
2. Turn on the method that you want under Payout methods. If your store has no manual payments, turn off the other method first.
3. Click Configure in its row and finish the setup of that method, if it has one.
4. Select Default in that row, and click Save.

   

A store with manual payments can turn on more than one method. Other stores on Starter, Basic, and Pro use one of Autopay, PayPal, or store credit. The default method also decides which payment fields the signup form shows.

Pay a group or one affiliate another way

When two or more methods are on, you can give a group or one affiliate its own method:

• For a group, open Groups, open the group, and choose a method in Group payout method.
• For one affiliate, select the affiliate in Affiliates and click Set payment method.

Simple Affiliate uses the method of the affiliate first, then the method of the group, then your default.

When payouts go out

Each method has its own Monthly schedule switch in Settings > Payout, and the Payout threshold decides which affiliates are in a monthly payment. Autopay sends its monthly payment after you confirm it, unless you turn off Require confirmation to send monthly autopay. Monthly PayPal and store credit payouts wait for you to send them. You can also pay an affiliate at any time: click Pay now on the affiliate's page, click Continue, and review the payment before you send it.