Yes. Shopify itself works from almost anywhere: its pricing page says Shopify “is available in nearly every country in the world,” and you can manage the admin, products and orders from any location. What depends on where you live is how you get paid. Shopify Payments only works if your business is located in one of its supported countries, and some of those countries also require the owner to live there. If you can’t use Shopify Payments, you can still sell through a third-party payment provider, but Shopify adds a transaction fee of 2% on the Basic plan to every sale.
This guide explains the rules Shopify publishes for the US, Canada and the UK, what to do if you live outside the country you sell to, and what the fee difference costs at different sales levels. Shopify’s Help Center and pricing page were checked on October 26, 2026.
The short version: the store is easy, the payments are not
Three things decide whether running a store from abroad is simple or awkward:
- Where your business is located. Shopify Payments asks for a business address in a supported country. In the US, that is “the official physical address of the business in the United States, where the business operations primarily occur.”
- Where you personally live. For individuals and sole proprietors, the US and UK require you to live in that country. Companies have more room.
- Where your bank account is. Payouts go to a local account. A US account must be a full checking account with a US bank in USD.
Customers do not need to be in the same country as you. A store based in Canada can sell to US shoppers, and a UK company can sell to Europe. The question is only whether your business, your residence and your bank line up with one of Shopify Payments’ countries.
Where Shopify Payments works
Shopify’s supported countries page lists 41 countries and regions as of October 26, 2026. They include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Norway and most EU member states. The page says you can use Shopify Payments “if your business is located in one of the supported countries.”
Notable countries are not on the list, including India, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines. If your business is based in one of them, you sell through third-party providers instead. That is a normal setup, not a workaround. It just costs more, as the fee section below shows.
The residence and bank rules by country
The detail sits on each country’s requirements page. Here is what Shopify says for the three markets most of our readers sell in.
Business address Physical US address where operations primarily occur Valid, physical Canadian address; no P.O. box UK address matching Companies House records (for companies)
Must an individual or sole trader live there? Yes: “Individuals and Sole Proprietorships are required to live in the United States.” Must give a residential address in Canada Yes: sole traders “must live in the UK”
Can a company owner live elsewhere? Yes, for other business types you “should be able to update your home address to a different country” Not stated on the page Yes: “you don’t need to personally live in the UK, but your business must be registered there”
Tax or registration number EIN for the business; SSN or ITIN for individuals and sole proprietors, which “can’t be bypassed” Business registration number, typically the 9-digit CRA business number Companies House registration for companies
Bank account Full checking account with a US bank, in USD, ACH-eligible Checking account with a Canadian bank (USD payouts can go to a Canadian or US institution) UK bank, GBP, Faster Payments eligible
Accounts that don’t work Savings, wire-only and multi-currency (flex-currency) accounts Savings accounts Savings accounts
ID if you live abroad Non-US residents can provide a photo of a valid passport Not stated on the page Submit a photo of a valid passport
Source: Shopify Help Center, Shopify Payments requirements pages for the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Checked October 26, 2026. Requirements can change, so confirm on the page for your country before you apply.Two points in that table catch people out. First, in the US, anyone who owns 25% or more of the business must also be listed on the account as a beneficial owner. Second, the address and name you enter must match your documents exactly. Shopify asks for business documents issued within the past 6 months when it needs to verify an address.
Four common situations and what each means
These scenarios show how the rules apply in practice. They describe Shopify’s platform requirements only. They are not advice on where to form a company or where you owe tax.
You live in Canada and sell mainly to US customers
This is the simplest cross-border case. You set up Shopify Payments as a Canadian business with a Canadian address and bank account, then show prices in USD to US shoppers. Shopify says Canadian stores receive payouts in CAD on all plans, and only the Advanced and Shopify Plus plans can receive payouts in multiple currencies (CAD and USD). On other plans, when a customer pays in a currency other than your payout currency, Shopify charges a currency conversion fee, which is 2% for stores outside the US. On a hypothetical US$50 order, that is US$1.00 per sale on top of card fees.
You moved abroad but kept a US sole proprietorship
Shopify’s US page is direct: individuals and sole proprietors must live in the United States, and they need an SSN or ITIN. If you have moved, Shopify Payments US for a sole proprietorship no longer fits its rules. Shopify notes that other business types can set a home address in a different country. If your new country is on the supported list, you could also set up the store under a business located there. Which of those suits you is a legal and tax question for an accountant in both countries.
You are a UK sole trader who travels a lot
The UK page says sole traders “must live in the UK” to be eligible, and that people who don’t should use an account for their region of residence. Spending part of the year abroad while keeping your UK home is a different situation from moving abroad permanently. If you are unsure which applies, ask Shopify Support before your details change, not after a verification request arrives.
You live in a country where Shopify Payments isn’t available
You can still build and run the store. In your admin, go to Settings > Payments and click Choose a provider in the Payment providers section. Shopify says the list “is filtered based on your store’s address in Settings > General,” so it shows the providers that operate in your country. Only the store owner can add a provider. Outside the US and France, every new store also gets a PayPal Express Checkout account automatically, according to Shopify’s PayPal page.
The trade-off is the third-party transaction fee. The next section puts numbers on it.
What a third-party provider costs you
When you use a third-party provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify charges its own fee on each sale, on top of whatever the provider charges. Shopify’s US pricing page lists these rates, checked October 26, 2026:
Basic $39/month $29/month 2.9% + 30¢ 2%
Grow $105/month $79/month 2.7% + 30¢ 1%
Advanced $399/month $299/month 2.5% + 30¢ 0.6%
Source: shopify.com/pricing (US). Checked October 26, 2026. International cards add 1% on Shopify Payments. Local pricing pages in other countries may show different prices and rates.A worked $50 order
Take a hypothetical $50 order on the US Basic plan, paid by a domestic card:
- With Shopify Payments: 2.9% of $50 plus 30¢ is $1.75.
- With a third-party provider: assume the provider charges the same 2.9% + 30¢ (an assumption for comparison; real provider rates vary). That is $1.75 to the provider plus Shopify’s 2% fee of $1.00, so $2.75.
The difference is $1.00 per order. At 300 orders a month, that is $300 a month, or $3,600 a year, paid only because the store uses a third-party provider. If your provider charges more than Shopify Payments would, the gap is wider.
When a higher plan pays for itself
If you can’t use Shopify Payments, the plan you pick changes the fee rate. A higher plan costs more each month but takes a smaller cut of every sale, so at some sales level it becomes cheaper overall. The chart shows the plan price plus Shopify’s third-party fee at US yearly-billing prices.
Monthly cost = plan price + monthly sales x Shopify’s third-party fee rate. Prices from shopify.com/pricing (US), checked October 26, 2026. Provider fees are not included.
$2,000 $69 $99 $311
$5,000 $129 $129 $329
$10,000 $229 $179 $359
$25,000 $529 $329 $449
$50,000 $1,029 $579 $599
Our calculation from US yearly-billing prices. Shopify charges only; the payment provider’s own fees are extra. Calculated with a formula and checked with an integer-cent loop; both give the same results.On yearly billing, Grow costs the same as Basic at $5,000 a month in third-party sales and is cheaper above it. Advanced matches Grow at $55,000 a month. On monthly billing, the break-even points are higher: $6,600 for Grow over Basic and $73,500 for Advanced over Grow. Our Shopify fees calculator shows the rest of the fee stack by plan.
One small benefit applies in countries without Shopify Payments. Shopify’s refunds page says that for a third-party gateway order where Shopify Payments isn’t available in your store’s country, “any transaction fees are refunded equivalent to the amount of the customer’s order that was refunded.” That credit applies only when you refund through your Shopify admin, not through the provider’s own dashboard. Where Shopify Payments is available, third-party transaction fees are not returned, as our guide on whether you get fees back when you refund a Shopify order explains.
If you move after your store is set up
Shopify’s business settings page says that if your store uses financial services such as Shopify Payments, Shopify Balance, Shopify Capital or Shopify Credit, “you need to deactivate all financial services before you can change your store’s country.” Plan for that before you move:
- Let pending payouts arrive and settle any open chargebacks first. Our guide on what happens when Shopify holds your payout covers what can delay money.
- Decide which country the business will be located in afterwards, and whether Shopify Payments is available there.
- Line up the local bank account and documents before you switch, so checkout is not left without a payment method.
- Deactivate the financial services, change the store country, then set up payments for the new country.
- Check your store address in Settings > General. Shopify describes it as the customer-facing address shown on your store and policy pages, and it is separate from the billing address on your Shopify bills.
Shipping from where you live
Running the store remotely does not mean you have to ship from your own country. Many remote owners use a fulfillment partner, a print-on-demand app or dropshipping suppliers in the market they sell to. Our guide to selling online without keeping inventory compares those models and their costs.
If you buy labels through Shopify Shipping, Shopify says your business needs “an eligible fulfillment location” and that “eligibility varies by carrier and country.” Domestic return labels are available if you have a location in the US or Canada, and shipping insurance is offered if you ship from the US. Check what your fulfillment location qualifies for before you promise delivery times.
What this article does not cover
Where your business should be registered, where you owe income tax, and whether you must collect sales tax, GST/HST or VAT are legal and tax questions that depend on your citizenship, residence and customers. Shopify’s rules tell you what the platform accepts, not what the law requires of you. Talk to an accountant who knows both countries before you form a company abroad to qualify for a payment provider.
What you should check next
- Open Shopify’s supported countries page and confirm whether your business country is listed.
- Read your country’s requirements page and check that your residence, business type and bank account all match.
- If Shopify Payments isn’t available, list the providers in Settings > Payments and compare their rates plus Shopify’s third-party fee.
- Use the table above to see whether Grow or Advanced would cut your total fees at your current sales.
- If you sell in another currency, add the 1.5% (US) or 2% conversion fee to your margin maths. Our break-even ROAS guide shows how fees change the return your ads need.
Frequently asked questions
Can I open a Shopify store without living in the US?
Yes. You can open and run a store from nearly any country. What changes is the payment setup: Shopify Payments US requires a US business address and a US bank account, and individuals and sole proprietors must live in the US.
Can a non-US resident use Shopify Payments with a US company?
Shopify’s US page says business types other than individuals and sole proprietorships can set a home address in another country, and non-US residents can provide a passport photo for identity checks. The business still needs a physical US business address, an EIN and a US checking account in USD.
Do I pay extra if Shopify Payments isn’t available in my country?
Your payment provider charges its own fees, and Shopify adds a third-party transaction fee. On US pricing that is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. Check your local Shopify pricing page, since rates can differ by country.
Can I sell to customers in a different country from where I live?
Yes. Customer location and business location are separate. A Canadian business can sell to US customers through Shopify Payments Canada, for example, though currency conversion fees may apply when customers pay in another currency.
Is PayPal available if I can’t use Shopify Payments?
In most countries, Shopify sets up a PayPal Express Checkout account automatically when you create a store. Shopify says it isn’t available to merchants in France or the United States, where PayPal is offered through Shopify Payments instead. PayPal Express Checkout counts as a third-party gateway for Shopify’s fee rules.
The takeaway
You can run a Shopify store from almost anywhere. Before you build, check whether your business country supports Shopify Payments and whether your business type lets you live elsewhere. If it doesn’t, budget for Shopify’s third-party fee and choose your plan with the break-even table in mind, because that fee can cost more than the plan itself.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center, “Supported countries for Shopify Payments”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Bank account and personal information requirements for Shopify Payments in the United States”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify Payments requirements for Canada. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Accepting payments and understanding pay periods with Shopify Payments in Canada”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify Payments requirements for the United Kingdom. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Adding business settings for your store” (store address, changing store country). help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Configuring third-party payment providers”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Third-party transaction fees”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Refunding orders” (transaction fee credits). help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “PayPal” and “Exploring PayPal payment integrations and fees”. help.shopify.com and help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Currency conversion fees”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help Center, “Shopify Shipping”. help.shopify.com
- Shopify, “Pricing” (US plan prices, card rates, third-party transaction fees, availability FAQ). shopify.com/pricing
Last reviewed: October 26, 2026. Country lists, requirements, fees and admin paths match Shopify’s Help Center and US pricing page as checked on that date.
How this article was made: researched and drafted with AI assistance, with every factual claim checked against the sources above. The $50 order, the 300-order example, the US$50 conversion example and the assumed third-party provider rate are hypothetical; the break-even table is our calculation from Shopify’s published US prices.
Related guides
- How to Start a Shopify Store in 2026: Real Costs, Step by Step
- Payment Processing Fees Compared for Canadian Merchants
- Why Are My Shopify Orders Flagged as High Risk? Should You Cancel?
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