Shopify has introduced a new tool called Shopify Bill Pay, allowing merchants to manage and pay vendors within the Shopify admin. Powered by Melio, an Israeli-based B2B payments, and bill pay service, Shopify Bill Pay is available to US merchants at no additional cost other than payment processing fees on some payment methods.
One of the standout features of Shopify Bill Pay is that merchants can pay vendors using their preferred payment method, even if the vendor doesn’t accept it. This means a merchant can pay with a credit card, for example, and then pay the vendor with a check or ACH transfer. This is a novel feature that can save merchants time and hassle.
Shopify Bill Pay also integrates with Shopify Balance, a free business account offered by Shopify for merchants. This means merchants can use their Shopify Balance account balance to pay their bills.
This move by Shopify makes sense for their business model, as their revenue has been built around controlling customer payments. By offering the ability for merchants to pay vendors with a credit card and subsequently taking a cut of the transaction, Shopify is adding to its revenue through payment processing fees.
Shopify prioritizes bringing financial services in-house over other features, which should bode well for the company in the long run. This can give them a tremendous advantage over other e-commerce platforms whose revenue is only derived from subscription fees.
