How to integrate Pakistani Payments for Shopify/WooCommerce?
Integrating Pakistani local payment methods for Shopify or WooCommerce requires choosing the right payment gateway based on the target customer base and business requirements. Below is a step-by-step professional guide:
I. Mainstream payment options in Pakistan
- Bank card payments:
- International: Visa/MasterCard (via Stripe/2Checkout)
- Local debit card: 1Link (covers 95% Ba bank account)
- Mobile Wallet:
- JazzCash (over 40 million users)
- EasyPaisa (owned by Telenor, penetration 62%)
- Direct bank connection:
- HBL Pay
- UBL Omni
- BNPL services:
- QisstPay (exclusively for the Pakistani market)
II. Shopify integration programme
- Official Solution:
{% if checkout.shipping_address.country_code == 'PK' %}
Enable JazzCash/EasyPaisa Button
{% endif %}
Recommended Application:
III. Shopify integration programme (continued)
1. Officially supported payment gateways (for Pakistan)
Shopify Payments does not support Pakistan at the moment, so you will need to go through a third-party payment provider:
✅ Recommended apps (available to install in the Shopify App Store):
- [JazzCash Payment Gateway](https://apps.shopify.com/jazzcash-payment-gateway) - Direct support for PKR settlement
- [EasyPaisa for Shopify](https://apps.shopify.com/easypaisa) - owned by Telenor, for mobile payment users
- [Stripe (International Card + JS Bank Co-operation)](https://stripe.com/en-pk) - Visa/MasterCard/1Link support (corporate registration required)
- [2Checkout (now Verifone)](https://www.verifone.com/) - PKR Currency Support + Local Bank Settlement
2. API integration approach (custom development)
If the existing plugin does not meet the requirements, it can be interfaced via Shopify Admin API + Webhooks:
"`javascript
// Example: JazzCash API Integration (Node.js)
const jazzcash = require('jazzcash-merchant-api');
jazzcash.configure({
merchantId: 'YOUR_MERCHANT_ID',
password: 'API_PASSWORD',
hashKey: 'SECURE_HASH'
});
app.post('/process-payment', async (req, res) => {
const paymentData = {
amount: req.body.amount,
orderRef: req.body.order_id,
customerPhone: req.body.phone // JazzCash requires mobile phone number
};
try {
const response = await jazzcash.initiatePayment(paymentData);
res.json({ redirectUrl: response.paymentUrl });
} catch (error) {
res.status(500).json({ error });
}
});
“`
📌 Key point:
- PK e-commerce must support `SSL certificates' (otherwise the payment gateway may refuse to connect).
- `return_url` & `callback_url` need to handle order status correctly
—
IV. WooCommerce Integration Solution
WooCommerce is more flexible and can be directly interfaced through plugins or code:
✅ Recommended Plug-ins
1. [JazzCash WooCommerce Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/jazzcash-for-woocommerce/)
- Features.
- PKR Pricing Automatic Conversion
- Mobile Wallet + Card Payment
- Fraud detection
2. [EasyPaisa Gateway for WooCommerce] (https://wordpress.org/plugins/easypaisa-payments/)
3. Stripe with UBL/HBL Plugins:
"`php
// Add custom gateway in WooCommerce
add_filter('woocommerce_payment_gateways', 'add_custom_gateway');
function add_custom_gateway($gateways) {
$gateways[] = 'WC_Custom_PK_Gateway'.
return $gateways.
}
“`
—
V. Compliance and Optimisation Recommendations
1️⃣ Tax Compliance:
- FBR requires `17% GST' for all e-commerce transactions → *Ensure that the checkout page displays the tax-inclusive price*.
2️⃣ Localisation Optimisation:
"`liquid
{% if customer.country == "PK" %}
{% endif %}
“`
3️⃣Logistics combined:
👉 *Bundled COD (Cash on Delivery) + EasyPaisa prepaid discount* → *Reduced return rate*
4️⃣️ Performance Optimisation:
⚠️ Avoid international CDNs! Instead, use Pakistani servers to host static resources (*such as Cloudflare Pakistan PoP*)
—
VI. Alternatives (in the absence of a merchant account)
Consider if you are unable to register a local company:
🚀 Payoneer Collections + PSO Agent Settlement
🚀 PayPal Personal Account → JazzCash Withdrawal (Fee ~ 4%)
Need code examples or rate comparisons for a specific scheme?