Why Shopify secure fields can negatively impact conversion

There is a new wave of embedded card tools on Shopify, which will allow brands to collect card payments through what we call secure fields. This payment flow enables customers to enter their card details in a UI that matches the brand they’re paying into, vs the recognized payment provider’s hosted UI, and does not create a redirect to the provider’s third party site.

Some providers claim that removing the redirect step from checkout is the fastest way to lift conversion. While at first glance this might make sense, it’s important to consider all the other factors that will influence conversion beyond a single extra click. 

Here, we weigh up the pros and cons of the embedded secure field offering for card payments on Shopify, and what works better when it comes to conversions. 

Secure fields eliminate the ability to save card details and offer a one-click return journey

Returning customers are where checkout speed compounds. A one-click, saved-card journey lets a repeat customer pay in around a second rather than typing out a 16-digit card number, expiry date and CVV every time. This has been proven to significantly increase card conversion. 

With secure fields, customers need to enter their card details every time they pay, creating significantly more friction and eliminating the ability to save card details to offer a one-click experience. 

The redirect isn't the biggest source of drop-off

"Fewer redirects mean better conversion" sounds intuitive, and for a narrow slice of card transactions it can be true. But redirects are not where most South African card payments are lost. 

Many of these can be avoided through one-click checkout with saved card details.

Card only checkout leaves higher converting methods on the table

This new solution places the embedded fields card option as the first payment method at checkout, which often means it will become the method of choice for customers.

However, this solution applies only to card payments, not to other methods like  Apple Pay, Google Pay, Capitec Pay, Pay by bank or BNPL, each of which now accounts for a meaningful share of how South Africans choose to pay. In our 2026 report, 93.3% of consumers said they had tried a new payment method in the past year, with one-click wallets as the most popular choice at 57.5%, ahead of BNPL at 38.9% and bank-specific apps at 38.6%. Capitec Pay alone made up 24.6% of online purchases.

Digital wallets like Apple Pay are high in demand and convert better than card. In our 2025 Consumer Payments Report, Apple Pay transactions succeeded well over 90% of the time, compared with 80% for card. A checkout tool that optimises card entry while leaving these methods to a separate flow, or out of the checkout altogether, is solving for a single payment method while sidelining additional options that convert better.

Trust matters: customers recognize payment providers 

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With secure fields, it’s not clear how a customer’s payment is being processed as the customer is not redirected from the familiar Shopify checkout flow through to a trusted payment provider. The entire experience happens within the merchant’s UI. For large, trusted brands like Takealot and Checkers60, this makes sense. For smaller brands still earning consumer trust, this can create concern and break that trust.

Giving customers clear alternative options in the event of failure leads to better conversion

The metric that matters is the percentage of customers who start checkout and go on to complete a successful payment, often referred to as first-attempt success rate. That number is shaped by the breadth of payment methods on offer and whether a customer who faces a declined or failed payment understands why and what to do next. 

Generic error messages leave a customer guessing. At Stitch, we build in decline messages that explain the reason, such as insufficient funds or an incorrect CVV, so a customer can fix the issue and try again rather than abandon the purchase.

Why this matters for e-commerce businesses operating on Shopify

For merchants weighing up checkout tools, the most reliable approach is to look at the full payment mix rather than a single UX change to card entry. 

Stitch Express online checkout was built specifically for e-commerce merchants operating on platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. Thanks to deep datasets, we understand exactly what leads to better conversion, and how to continually optimise checkout for consumers. 

We support the full range of payment methods South African consumers use, from card payments and Apple Pay to Pay by bank and Pay Later, coordinated through payment orchestration so merchants can route each transaction the way that performs best. 

Sign up for Stitch Express and go live in less than a day at express.stitch.money.

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FAQs

What are embedded card fields on Shopify?

Embedded card fields let a customer enter their card details directly on a merchant's own checkout page instead of being redirected to a separate hosted payment page. The card data is tokenised in the browser and passed to the payment provider for processing, which removes the redirect step, but only for card payments.

Does removing a checkout redirect improve conversion?

It can reduce friction for the small share of failures caused by an abandoned 3D Secure step, but our platform data shows this accounts for only around 5% of failed card payments, compared with 37% caused by insufficient funds and 27% by invalid card details. Removing a redirect does not address the majority of reasons a payment fails.

Do embedded card checkouts support Apple Pay and Google Pay?

Not directly. Embedded card fields apply to card payments only, so digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, along with methods like Capitec Pay and Pay by bank, need to be integrated separately.

Why do digital wallets convert better than card payments?

Digital wallets use tokenised, biometric-authenticated payment credentials already saved on a customer's device, which removes manual data entry and typically returns a faster authorisation. According to our 2025 Consumer Payments Report, Apple Pay transactions succeeded well over 90% of the time, compared with 80% for card.

What should merchants prioritise to reduce checkout drop-off?

Coverage across the payment methods customers prefer to use, including one-click saved cards for returning customers, matters most, alongside decline messaging that explains why a payment failed and how to fix it. Together, these affect far more checkout attempts than the number of redirects in a card payment flow.

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