Coinbase Commerce is the dedicated enterprise solution from the well-known crypto exchange, Coinbase. It allows merchants to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major crypto assets (estimated at over a hundred) at checkout, with the option to automatically convert funds to stablecoins (like USDC) to protect against crypto market volatility.
This step-by-step guide covers generating of the API key, setting up webhooks for secure payment confirmation, and activating crypto payments on your customizable checkout page.
For more information on the crypto payments solutions visit coinbase.com.
In this article:
1. Pre-connection checklist
To enable Coinbase as a payment processor on your store, you must have an active account on the platform and pass onboarding to Coinbase Commerce solution. If you want to use Coinbase for business purposes, you may start from here.
Coinbase has a strong presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, most of the European Economic Area (EEA), Canada, and is actively expanding in countries like Singapore and other established digital hubs.
Since Coinbase is a US-based financial service, it is bound by U.S. sanctions and regulations. Therefore, merchants must review the terms of service and prohibited regions before applying for their Commerce solution.
2. Setting up Coinbase on Checkify's checkout
Once your verification for Commerce service is complete, you will have access to their admin and to the Base account that contains your wallet ID, balance, etc.
The secure, no-code connection between Coinbase and Checkify.pro requires a few setup steps. Visit admin.checkify > Payment methods > Coinbase to get started. Press "Connect +" button and keep this page open in a tab.
2.1 Get your API keys, set up your webhook
Log in to your Coinbase Commerce account.
Visit Settings section, Security tab.
Create a new API key (recommended) by pressing the appropriate button or copy the existing one.
Paste it into the appropriate field of admin > Payment methods > Coinbase.
Return to the Coinbase Commerce admin and proceed to Settings > Notifications tab
Press Add an endpoint button to create a new webhook subscription.
Paste the value obtained from admin.checkify > Payment methods > Coinbase drawer: https://admin.checkify.pro/api/coinbase/webhook
Confirm your action by pressing Save.
Press "Show shared secret" button and get your Webhook shared secret key.
Copy it to clipboard.
Return to admin.checkify > Payment methods > Coinbase and paste the value in the appropriate field.
Press "Connect +" button. You will get a success message and will be taken to Payment methods page of admin.checkify.
2.2 Additional options
When adding Coinbase as a payment method on Checkify.pro, you will also able to configure additional options:
i. Target countries.
You can select specific countries or regions for which this payment method will be displayed.
3. Testing and payouts
It is possible to have your first cryptocurrency payment tested and processed through Coinbase Commerce almost instantly.
Here are the quick steps:
Paste your Ethereum address from your wallet into your Coinbase Commerce settings. Don't have one? Simply get a wallet is by adding Coinbase Wallet browser extension for Chrome.
Create a live transaction on Checkify's checkout to test it out. It can be as low as 0.01 USDC (~1 US cent). You may create a test product for that purpose on your Shopify account. This is one of several ways to receive crypto payments from customers across Base, Polygon, and Ethereum.
Pay the initiated Checkify checkout yourself – and watch as the funds are instantly deposited into your wallet!
Coinbase Commerce lists the following advantages for merchants:
Instant settlements directly into their wallets.
No crypto volatility thanks to automatic USDC conversions.
Payments acceptance in over 100 digital currencies.
Over 100M Coinbase users worldwide.
4. Resolving common issues
🙀 Is it compliant to buy with Bitcoin on Shopify?
Shopify's terms and conditions have no restrictions regarding purchases in crypto currencies. On the opposite, the platform offers some recommended blockchain solutions (like Coinbase Commerce, BitPay, etc.) for checkouts, acknowledging a weaker buyer protection, at the same time. So, their terms focus on ensuring the merchant uses a compliant third-party processor and follows all local regulations, rather than outright banning crypto.
🙀 How do I link an imported order with a Coinbase payment received?
When the order is placed successfully, there is always a set of data associated with it. It is provided in the Orders section of the Checkify admin.
Alternatively, you may find this info on Shopify. Open the order timeline. Here, Authorization key = Coinbase payment ID. Example (EZX3ZR6P, as seen on Shopify):
It matches the payment description in the Payments section of your Coinbase Commerce account. Example (EZX3ZR6P, as seen on Coinbase):
Additionally, you may open the desired payment in the Coinbase Commerce admin.
The metadata section contains the unique Checkify checkout ID as well.
🙀 How do I refund the payment for an order received via Coinbase?
Cryptocurrency payments are irreversible on the blockchain, meaning they are not subject to traditional credit card chargebacks. While a refund can be issued by the merchant, customers cannot force a reversal via a bank or card network. This makes the transaction final, eliminating chargeback fraud risk for your business. In the event of any disagreement, resolution is handled directly between the merchant (seller) and the customer (buyer).
You will still see the "Refund" button in your Shopify interface. Nothing will happen if it's being clicked on. The customer will not receive the funds unless you decide to make the refund manually, from your crypto wallet, back to the payer.
🙀 How can I adjust texts for my section on the checkout to give more context to buyers?
It is possible to modify nearly every word on checkout pages by Checkify, so you can adjust the texts depending on your business needs and target geo. Visit admin > Localization section, Coinbase. Buyers will see new texts on checkout once applied and saved.
🙀 Which crypto payment processors, apart from Coinbase Commerce, are available?
Checkify.pro customers can collect crypto payments via Coinbase only. More options can be added in future, if we see a growing demand. At the same time, it is possible to adjust checkouts for accepting crypto and collect payments even without any specific integration. This case study explains more.
Additionally, you may benefit from the growing number of traditional payment processors integrated with Checkify Pro. Find out more here.