Sort payment methods

A sort payment method operation changes the order in which payment methods are listed to the customer at checkout. Payment sort uses custom bucket sorting: you define a priority order by grouping method names into buckets.

When to use it

Use a sort operation when:

• You want your preferred method (e.g. Shop Pay) at the top of the list every time.
• You want to group all bank-transfer methods together, with cards below.
• You want a fallback method (e.g. COD) shown last, with everything else above.

How custom sort works

Custom sort lets you define a priority order by grouping method names into buckets. Each bucket is a set of values that get the same priority. A wildcard bucket, * (shown as “Everything Else”), catches any method that didn’t match a specific bucket.

The first bucket in the list has the highest priority. Drag and drop buckets to set their order.

Payment sort only supports custom (bucket) sorting. Unlike shipping, there is no Field Sort option for payment methods.

Configuring a sort operation

1. Open Payment → Sort Operations in the app.
2. Click Create Operation.
3. Give the operation a name.
4. Sort configuration — click + Add Bucket to create a priority bucket. For each bucket:
   • Type a payment method name and click Add to add it to the bucket. A bucket can contain one or more methods; methods in the same bucket get equal priority.
   • Drag the bucket handle to reorder. The top bucket has the highest priority.
5. Wildcard bucket — a special bucket that catches every method not in any other bucket. Add it by creating a bucket and using the * shortcut, or use the “Everything Else” toggle. Place it where you want unmatched methods to land.
6. Conditions — add as many as you need. All must be true.
7. Click Save. The operation publishes through the background job.

Match is exact, by method name

The match is the method’s display name in Shopify admin. The bucket entries need to match exactly what the customer sees (post any rename operations that apply). If a method doesn’t match any bucket and there’s no wildcard, it keeps its original position in the list.

Conditions

Sort operations have the same condition shape as hide and rename. All conditions must be true for the sort to apply. If conditions are false, the method list falls back to Shopify’s default order.

Plan limits

Sort operations count toward the plan’s operations limit.

Example

Goal: show Shop Pay first, then credit cards, then everything else.

• Operation name: Shop Pay first
• Sort type: Custom Sort
• Bucket 1: Shop Pay
• Bucket 2: Credit Card
• Bucket 3 (wildcard *): everything else
• No conditions.
• Save.

See also

• Sort shipping rates — shipping sort, which adds Field Sort as an option.
• Conditions
• Order of operations