How to Configure Magento 2 Payment Methods?

All of your marketing and sales efforts have one goal — to lead customers to the purchase. Once they are on that final checkout step every detail counts and Magento 2 payment methods in particular. 

Even the slightest detail like a few payment options or poor payment methods configuration can step in the way of a successful transaction. Not speaking about the bounce rates and conversions. 

The last thing you want is customers leaving Magento 2 checkout because of the absence of their preferred payment option, right?

So, in this article, you’ll go through the Magento 2 payment methods, default and integrated. You will also learn everything about the configuration options to make sure you provide the best shopping experience for your customers.

Let's start right away.

All of the Magento 2 payment methods are located within one location. So, to configure them go to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Payment Methods. Here you will find them grouped under different categories.

However, don't forget that before you start you should choose the Merchant Location.

Magento 2 is a complex system that actually has everything you need to manage your Magento 2 store successfully. One of the basic functions it offers you is the default payment methods. So, we’ll start with them.

Check/Money Order

Magento allows you to receive payments by check or money order. It is the equivalent of a credit card payment in offline stores. It is advised to enable check/money order payment method only for some specific countries for security reasons.

You can also set it as default payment on the checkout page if it is the most common payment for your customers.

To configure Check/Money Order payment in Magento 2:

1. Enable Check/Money Order payment.
2. Enter the Title of the payment method that will be displayed on checkout. 
3. Set the New Order Status for orders submitted via this method if you want to approve them or assign any other order status.
4. Set whether you want to take Payment from applicable Countries to allow either customer from All Allowed Countries or Specific Countries to use this payment method.
5. In the Make Check Payable to field enter the party whom the check will be paid to.
6. Enter your PO Box or street address to receive checks by mail.
7. Set the Minimum and Maximum Order Total so that the order qualifies for this payment method.
8. In the Sort Order field you set the position of the Check/Money Order payment in the list of payment methods.

And this is how it will look like on storefront:

Bank Transfer Payment

Bank Transfer is one of the most popular payment methods in Magento 2. The payment is transferred from the payer’s bank account and deposited in the merchant’s account. It is relatively simple.

However, same as Check/Money Order you can enable it only for specific countries. So only authorized customers can use it.

To configure Bank Transfer Payment in Magento:

1. Enable this payment method. 
2. Set the Title for it to be displayed on the checkout page.
3. Select the New Order Status to be displayed in the admin order grid before you confirm the order.
4. Choose whether the Payment from Applicable Countries will be available for All Allowed Countries.
5. If you chose to apply this payment method for Specific Countries, select them in the Payment from Specific Countries field.
6. In the Instructions field, you set the information your customers need to initiate the bank transfer. 

The required information depends on your country, but it might include:

• Bank account number
• Bank routing code
• Bank name
• Bank address

7. Set the Minimum and Maximum Order Total amounts to make orders applicable for this payment method.

8. Set the Sort Order to define the place of the Bank Transfer payment method in the list of payment methods on Magento checkout. 

On the storefront it will be like:

Zero Subtotal Checkout

Zero Subtotal Checkout name speaks for itself. It is the payment method used in Magento 2 when the order total equals zero.

This is the case when a discount or coupon covers the price of the product and shipping. Or if the price of a simple, downloadable, or virtual product is zero. Correspondingly it is extremely easy to set up.

To configure Zero Subtotal Checkout payment in Magento 2:

1. Enable Zero Subtotal Checkout payment method.
2. Set the Title of the method.
3. Choose the New Order Status.
4. Choose what countries the payment will be available for in the Payment for Applicable Countries field.
5. Select payment from Specific Countries, if you want to provide Zero Subtotal Checkout only for some of them.

If you're interested in how it will be displayed, check it out:

Purchase Order

Purchase Order is unlike other Magento 2 payment methods we’ve just discussed. It is usually applied to wholesale orders placed by commercial customers who use authorization numbers (PO numbers) to make a purchase.

Purchase Orders are authorized and issued by a company prior to placing an order. Then, when the order is placed a company processes and pays for the order in their payment systems, upon the invoice receipt they receive from the store.

It is important to note that you have to establish the creditworthiness of the commercial customers to make sure they will pay for the order.

To configure Purchase Order payment in Magento:

1. Enable Purchase Order payment.
2. Set the Title to display on the storefront.
3. Select the Status of New Order if you want to confirm it before processing the order delivery.
4. Decide whether to make Purchase Order payment available for the specific or all countries in Payment from Applicable Countries field.
5. Select these Specific Countries, if you selected the first.
6. Set Minimum and Maximum Order Total for Purchase Order payment.
7. Enter the Sort Order to set the position of the Purchase Order list of the payment methods.

As for the payment method configuration, all customers will have to do on the payment step is set the PO Number:

Purchase Order is the final default Magento payment method available for you. However, we shouldn’t forget about plenty of other methods.

Other Magento 2 Payment Methods

Since Magento is a complex platform that provides you with all the necessary features to manage your store, default payment methods are not all it offers you.

The more payment methods you provide on your Magento checkout the better it is since customers will have a choice to pay in the most convenient way. 

Correspondingly, you also have to configure PayPal in Magento 2 and consider adding Braintree Payment in Magento.

Though these are the most popular payment methods, you might want to explore the other Magento payment gateways too.