Shopify Store Credit: Issue, Refund and Expiry

Shopify store credit is a balance you add to a customer's account in the Shopify admin, which the customer spends at checkout on your online store, in Shopify POS or in the Shop app. To issue it, go to Customers, open the customer, click Edit in the Store credit section and choose Credit. To give it in place of a refund, pick Store credit in the Refund method menu when you refund an order. The feature is built in and on by default, but online customers must sign in through customer accounts or use Shop Pay to apply it, and it doesn't work with legacy customer accounts, draft orders or edited orders.

This guide follows Shopify's Help Center as of 26 October 2026. It is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.

How does Shopify store credit work?

Store credit is value you owe a customer, held on their customer profile and spent like a payment method. Refunding to credit keeps that value in your store: the customer spends it with you later instead of getting the money back on their card. Shopify's store credit guide lists uses such as refunds, goodwill gestures, retention campaigns and loyalty or referral rewards. These rules shape how you can use it:

Where it can be spent: the online store, Shopify POS and Shop. Shopify says other sales channels don't accept it.
How customers apply it: a customer who is signed in through customer accounts, or who uses Shop Pay, sees an Apply store credit option in the Payments section of checkout, with the total available. Since a May 2025 update, Shop Pay authentication shows the credit even when the customer isn't logged in to your store.
No partial amounts: only the full store credit amount can be applied as a payment method, so customers can't choose to use part of it. Credit can share an order with another payment method: Shopify's third-party transaction fee page uses the example of an order paid with a credit card plus $10 CAD of store credit. Shopify doesn't document what happens when the balance is larger than the order.
One balance per currency: if a customer holds credit in several currencies, only the balance that matches the checkout currency is shown.
Subscriptions: credit can pay for the first subscription order, not recurring subscription bills.
A ceiling: you can issue less than $15,000 USD of store credit on a single customer account.
Fees on newer stores: for stores created on or after 12 May 2025, Shopify charges third-party transaction fees on the amount paid with store credit, even when the store uses Shopify Payments. Stores created before that date aren't charged this fee, and the same page says transaction fees don't apply to POS orders. The rate depends on your plan; the Shopify fees calculator lists it for each plan.

Shopify first offered issuing store credit from the admin in early access in June 2024, to stores using the new customer accounts. The store credit help page doesn't list a plan requirement, and Shopify's built-in features page labels it "Included with Shopify".

Shopify B2B stores can also add store credit to a company location, which every B2B customer assigned to that location can use. Credit on an individual customer profile can't be used in a B2B online store. This guide covers credit on customer profiles.

Can you apply store credit to an order you create in the admin?

Not directly: store credit can't be applied to draft orders or edited orders. For phone or email orders, Shopify suggests creating a draft order and clicking Send invoice, so the customer pays through checkout and applies the credit there.

What do you need before you issue store credit?

Check these four things first, and again if store credit isn't showing in your admin or at checkout.

Customer accounts, not legacy accounts. Store credit isn't available with legacy customer accounts, which Shopify's upgrade guide calls deprecated. The guide's final step is to click Upgrade in the banner in Settings > Customer accounts, after you've worked through its preparation steps and your store passes the upgrade check.
The Store credit toggle. Store credit is on by default. To confirm, go to Settings > Customer accounts and check that the Store credit toggle in the Customer accounts section is on.
Staff permissions. Staff need Store credit and Edit store credit to add or remove credit, View store credit transactions to see history, and the Refund to store credit permission under Orders to refund to credit.
POS, if you sell in person. Staff need the POS role Customers permission to redeem and manage credit in store. You can switch store credit off for POS on its own, but POS can't accept it while the online store doesn't.

How to issue store credit to a customer

These are Shopify's steps for issuing credit manually:

From your Shopify admin, go to Customers and click the customer.
In the Store credit section, click Edit.
In the Adjustment section, select Credit.
Optional: if you sell in more than one currency, choose one from the Currency drop-down.
Enter the value in the Amount field.
Under Expiration date, choose No expiry date, or Set expiry date and pick a date.
Click Review changes.
Optional: select Notify customer to email the customer.
Click the Credit button, which shows the amount.

The new balance shows in the profile's Store credit section and as an event on the customer's timeline. The email sent with Notify customer, added in September 2025, shows the amount credited and the customer's total balance. Shopify's help page says you customize it in the customer notifications settings (Settings > Notifications). Our guide to Shopify notifications covers which customer emails to edit first.

How to correct or remove a balance

To take credit back, open the same Edit dialog, select Debit in the Adjustment section, enter the amount, click Review changes, then Debit. Use it to fix a mistake, or after you refund money to a customer who already received the same value as credit (see below).

Can you issue store credit in bulk?

Shopify's help page describes issuing credit one customer at a time. For many customers, apps use the Admin API mutation storeCreditAccountCredit, which takes an amount, a currency and an optional expiry date. Shopify's built-in features page notes that loyalty and rewards apps can issue credit automatically, and since May 2025 apps can also refund orders to store credit.

How to refund an order or return to store credit

You can refund to store credit whether the customer paid by card, with store credit or with another payment method. Shopify lists four cases: a full order, part of an order, a returned item and a canceled order. You must be the store owner or have the Refund to store credit permission.

Refund an order to store credit

Based on Shopify's refunding guide and returns guide:

Go to Orders and click the order.
Click Refund.
Enter the quantities to refund. Optionally restock the items, refund shipping and add a reason.
In the Summary section, choose Store credit from the Refund method drop-down. Choose Original payment & store credit to split the refund, then edit both amounts.
Optional: set an expiry date. Shopify's returns guide says to click the icon in the Refund amount section to choose whether the credit expires and, if it does, when.
Leave Send a notification to the customer selected unless you have a reason to skip it.
Click Refund.

The Refund method choice appears only for staff who have both the Refund to original payment and Refund to store credit permissions. With just one of them, the screen shows only that method.

Refund a return to store credit

Store credit is also a refund method for returned items, as Shopify announced in a July 2025 changelog post. If the customer is sending items back, create the return first: Shopify notes that a refund without a return records no return reason, and you can't create a return for items you've already refunded.

To process it, open the order and click Process return in the Return in progress section. Select the items you received and, optionally, where to restock them. In the Issue refund section, select Now and click Process and refund, then pick Store credit (or a mix with the original payment) as the refund method. If you select Later, refund afterwards from the order's Refund button, where the Refund method menu offers Original payment, Store credit and Original payment & store credit.

For returns customers request through self-serve returns, Shopify says you issue the refund after you receive and inspect the items. Its docs don't describe a way for customers to choose store credit themselves.

If the customer wants their money back after all

Once an order has been refunded to store credit, Shopify locks the original payment method on the refund screen, which can limit what you can refund, for example to shipping costs only. To refund the card as well, you need the Over-refund orders previously refunded to store credit permission:

Open the order and click Refund.
Click the lock icon to unlock the original payment. Shopify's store credit guide puts it next to Total available to refund in the Summary section. Its refunding guide puts it next to Shopify Payments in the Refund amount section, then has you select Allow for over-refunding and click Apply in the Override refund amount dialog.
Enter the amount and click Refund.
Debit the customer's store credit by the same amount. The over-refund leaves the earlier credit in place, so otherwise they keep both.

Shopify's refunding guide describes over-refunding for orders processed through Shopify Payments. Refunds can't be canceled once started, so agree the method with the customer before you click Refund.

Does Shopify store credit expire?

Only if you set an expiry date, and it works differently from gift cards:

Set on each credit, not store-wide. You choose No expiry date or Set expiry date every time you issue credit or refund to credit. Unlike gift cards, Shopify's store credit guide describes no store-wide default expiry setting.
End of day, store time. Credit expires at the end of the day in your store's timezone, wherever the customer is.
First to expire, first used. When a customer has several credits, the one that expires first is spent first.
Visible in the profile. Click the customer's store credit balance and choose Expirable amounts to see only credit that has an expiry date.
Easy to remind. Shopify lets you build customer segments on store credit balance, upcoming expiry dates and last credit date. Its store credit blog post suggests using them to remind customers before their balance expires.

Shopify tells merchants to verify the laws on store credit expiry in their country before setting dates. If you use expiry, pick one period per type of credit, such as return credit and promotional credit, apply it the same way every time, and state it in your policy.

Store credit vs gift cards vs discount codes

All three let a customer pay less on a later order, but Shopify handles them differently. This comparison draws on Shopify's store credit, gift card (overview, creating, redeeming) and discount code documentation.

Question	Store credit	Gift card	Discount code
What it is	A balance on one customer's account	A code that holds a balance	A price reduction, not a payment
Where you create it	Customers > customer > Store credit	Products > Gift cards > Create gift card	Discounts > Create discount
How it's used	Apply store credit at checkout, signed in or with Shop Pay	Code entered at checkout	Code entered at checkout
Limited to one customer	Yes	No; you can link it to a customer, but it's redeemed by entering its code	Optional, with Specific customers eligibility
Partial use	Customers can't choose a partial amount; any shortfall is paid another way	Leftover balance stays for later orders; several cards per order	Applies to the order it's used on
Expiry	Optional, set on each credit	Store-wide default (never, unless you change it); you can also set a date on a card you create	Optional end date
Value limit	Under $15,000 USD per customer account	$2,000 USD per admin-created card by default	Set by you
Refund method option	Yes, in Refund method	No; partial refunds go to a gift card used on the order first	No
Third-party fee for stores created from 12 May 2025	Yes, on the amount paid with credit	Yes, on the amount paid with the card	Not listed; a discount isn't a payment

The store-wide gift card expiry setting lives in Settings > Payments: in the Payment configuration section, click Gift card expiration (gift card settings). Shopify notes that in some countries it's illegal for gift cards to expire.

Which one should you use?

Store credit suits refunds and goodwill for a known customer: there's no code to lose, and every change is logged on the customer's profile.
A gift card suits guests who don't use Shop Pay, stores still on legacy customer accounts, and value the customer may want to pass on. Gift cards work on every sales channel that uses Shopify checkout, including the Buy Button.
A discount code suits promotions where you want a price cut rather than a balance, such as a one-time code limited with Limit to one per customer and an end date.

How should you word store credit in your refund and return policy?

Before you write "refunds are given as store credit", check what the law says where your customers live. A summary of the main rules:

EU. When a consumer withdraws from an online purchase, Article 13(1) of the Consumer Rights Directive requires reimbursement by the same means of payment used for the purchase, unless the consumer has expressly agreed otherwise and pays no fees as a result.
UK. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 34 set the same rule for cancelled orders. When a consumer rejects faulty goods, section 20 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires the same means of payment unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise, within 14 days of agreeing the refund and without a fee. GOV.UK tells sellers they must offer a full refund if an item is faulty, not as described or doesn't do what it's supposed to.
US. The FTC's returns and refunds advice tells shoppers to look for the seller's return policy and notes that sellers often prefer offering store credit to giving a refund. States add their own rules: California's Attorney General explains that under Civil Code section 1723, a retailer that won't give a full refund or credit, or allow an equal exchange, within seven days of purchase for items returned with a receipt must clearly display its policy.

In practice, that points to offering store credit as a choice or a bonus, not as the only remedy, for EU and UK cancellations and for faulty items in the UK. Have a qualified professional check your wording if you sell into several countries.

Store credit clause you can adapt

A good clause says when you offer credit, what stays a money refund, how customers spend it, whether it expires and in which currency. Replace every [bracketed placeholder] and delete options that don't apply.

Refunds and store credit
Approved refunds go back to your original payment method. For returns
that aren't faulty and aren't covered by a legal cancellation right,
you can choose store credit instead[ and receive [x]% extra].

Store credit is added to your customer account at [store URL] in
[currency]. To use it, sign in to your account or check out with Shop
Pay, then select Apply store credit at checkout. You can use it on our
online store[, in our retail stores][ and in the Shop app]. If your
order costs more than your store credit, you pay the difference with
another payment method.

[Store credit doesn't expire.]
[Store credit expires [x] months after it's issued, at the end of the
day in [time zone].]

If you're in the EU or UK and cancel within the 14-day cancellation
period, or if an item is faulty, we refund your original payment
method unless you ask us for store credit.

Put the clause in the refunds section of your Shopify refund policy template, repeat the short version on your FAQ page, and if you offer credit for late or lost parcels, say so in your shipping policy.

If you'd rather have the whole policy written around your process, ShopOpsy's Refund & Return Policy Setup is a one-time $49 drafting service. It covers how and when refunds are issued and whether you offer exchanges or store credit, and arrives by email as plain text ready to paste into Settings > Policies. It's a drafting service, not legal advice.

How do you report and account for store credit?

Store credit is a balance you still owe, so track it like one:

Store-wide reports. Go to Analytics > Reports, click Categories and select Finances. Shopify's finances report guide lists Store credit transactions, with credits, debits and expirations by customer and source, and Outstanding store credit balance, which Shopify describes as an overview of your store credit liability over time. Filter it by Store credit currency if you issue several currencies. The store credit help page adds that Net payments by gateway lists store credit as a payment provider.
Customer history. Click the store credit balance in a customer's profile to see All transactions, with the trigger, staff member or app, and any linked order.
Your books. Ask your accountant how to record outstanding credit, when to recognize revenue as credit is spent or expires, how sales tax applies to refunds given as credit, and how often to reconcile the Outstanding store credit balance report with your ledger.

If you're shutting down, refund rather than issue credit, since customers can't spend it once the store is gone. Our guide on how to close a Shopify store covers the other loose ends.

Why isn't store credit working?

What you see	Likely cause	What to do
Customer doesn't see Apply store credit	Not signed in and not using Shop Pay	Ask them to sign in or check out with Shop Pay
No store credit section or option at all	Legacy customer accounts, or the toggle is off	Upgrade in Settings > Customer accounts and check the Store credit toggle
Balance missing at checkout for one market	Credit is in a different currency	Issue credit in the checkout currency
Can't apply credit to a phone order	Draft and edited orders don't support store credit	Use Send invoice so the customer pays at checkout
No Refund method choice when refunding	Missing one of the two refund permissions	Grant Refund to original payment and Refund to store credit
Can't refund the card after giving credit	Original payment is locked	Over-refund with the right permission (documented for Shopify Payments orders), then debit the credit
Can't add more credit	The account is near the $15,000 USD ceiling	Refund the original payment instead
Credit not used on a renewal	Recurring subscription bills don't accept it	Credit applies to the first subscription order only
POS won't accept credit	Inactive online, or staff lack the Customers POS permission	Activate online first and update the POS role

Frequently asked questions

Can customers see their store credit balance on my storefront?

Yes. Signed-in customers see the balance in their account details. Since May 2025 you can also show it in Shopify Messaging (formerly Shopify Email) templates or theme code with the Liquid variable customer.store_credit_account.balance. Shopify's Liquid reference says the balance is output in the customer's local currency, in that currency's subunit, so format it with a money filter.

Can I sell store credit or let customers send it to someone else?

Shopify's documentation describes store credit as a balance you issue to a customer account and doesn't describe a way for customers to buy it or pass it on. If the value needs to be sold or gifted, use a gift card, which customers can buy as a product and redeem with a code.

Sources

Store credit — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Refunding orders — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Processing and managing returns — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Managing self-serve returns and cancellations — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Upgrading to customer accounts — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Third-party transaction fees — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Gift cards considerations and overview — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Creating gift cards — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Redeeming and using gift cards — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Gift card settings — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Amount off discounts — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Finances reports — Shopify Help Center, accessed 26 October 2026.
Store credit — Shopify App Store built-in features, accessed 26 October 2026.
storeCreditAccountCredit — Shopify developer documentation, accessed 26 October 2026.
store_credit_account — Shopify Liquid reference, accessed 26 October 2026.
Apps now permitted to issue refunds to store credit — Shopify developer changelog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Issue store credit to customers directly in admin — Shopify Changelog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Store credit now works with Shop App and Shop Pay — Shopify Changelog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Send customers an email notification when they receive store credit — Shopify Changelog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Display store credit balances using Liquid — Shopify Changelog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Issue refunds to store credit when processing a return or exchange — Shopify Changelog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Shopify Store Credit: How to Use It (2026) — Shopify Blog, accessed 26 October 2026.
Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, Article 13 — legislation.gov.uk (EU directive as adopted), accessed 26 October 2026.
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 34 — legislation.gov.uk, accessed 26 October 2026.
Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 20 — legislation.gov.uk, accessed 26 October 2026.
Accepting returns and giving refunds — GOV.UK, accessed 26 October 2026.
Solving Problems With a Business: Returns, Refunds, and Other Resolutions — Federal Trade Commission, accessed 26 October 2026.
Refund Policies — California Department of Justice, accessed 26 October 2026.