To enable cash on delivery on Shopify in Saudi Arabia, go to Settings, then Payments, scroll to Manual payment methods, and add Cash on Delivery. Name it clearly in Arabic and English, add instructions stating the cash amount is due to the courier, and connect a KSA courier that offers COD collection.
That is the five-minute version. The difference between a store that merely has COD switched on and one that makes money with it in Saudi Arabia is everything that surrounds the setting: how you scope it, which courier collects the cash, and whether you confirm orders before they ship. COD is not optional in this market; it reaches up to 75 percent of transactions in some Saudi segments (Go-Globe), in an e-commerce market IMARC sized at about 15 billion dollars in 2024 and projects around 29 billion dollars by 2030.
How do you set up the manual payment method?
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From Shopify admin, open Settings, then Payments.
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Scroll to Manual payment methods and choose Create custom payment method (or the built-in Cash on Delivery (COD) option).
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Name it so customers instantly understand it: "Cash on Delivery" with the Arabic "الدفع عند الاستلام" alongside it if your checkout is bilingual.
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In Additional details, state what happens next: the order will be confirmed on WhatsApp before shipping, and the full amount is paid in cash to the courier.
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In Payment instructions (shown after checkout), repeat the amount-due logic and set the expectation of a confirmation message.
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Save, then place a test order to see exactly what customers see.
Orders paid this way land in Shopify as unpaid or pending until you mark them paid after the courier remits, so decide early who reconciles remittance reports and when.
How do you control where and when COD appears?
Offering COD to every order everywhere is how RTO bills grow. Scope it:
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By region. Keep COD for Saudi delivery zones your courier actually collects cash in. If you also ship to the Emirates, that market has its own setup, covered in How to Enable Cash on Delivery on Shopify in the UAE.
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By basket value. Very high-value orders on COD concentrate refusal risk; consider caps or partial prepayment above a threshold. Apps or checkout customizations can hide the method conditionally.
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By customer history. Serial refusers should lose the COD option; keep that list and enforce it.
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With or without a fee. If you charge a COD fee, build it in as a shipping-rate difference or through an app, and disclose it before checkout. The strategy is covered in Should You Charge a COD Fee? Surcharge Strategy for Shopify Stores.
Which courier considerations matter for COD in KSA?
Shopify creates the order; your courier collects the cash. For Saudi Arabia specifically, evaluate:
| Factor | What to ask |
|---|---|
| COD coverage | Which cities and remote regions they collect cash in |
| COD fee | Per-parcel charge, and whether it applies to refused parcels |
| Remittance cycle | Weekly beats monthly; this is your cash flow |
| Delivery attempts | Minimum two, with customer contact between attempts |
| Driver contact | Do drivers call or WhatsApp before arrival |
| Address handling | Support for coordinates and landmark data you pass along |
Aramex, SMSA, and iMile all operate COD in the Kingdom, and aggregators like OTO and Torod let you access multiple carriers through one integration. A full comparison is in Which Couriers Handle COD Best in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Why is confirmation the step most stores skip?
Because Shopify does not force it. The platform will happily pass every COD order straight to fulfillment, including the 2 am impulse orders and the mistyped phone numbers. In a market where industry reporting puts COD-heavy RTO at 25 to 35 percent, shipping unconfirmed orders is the expensive default.
The fix is a hold-and-confirm flow: tag COD orders unconfirmed on creation, send a WhatsApp confirmation with the order details and exact cash total, and release fulfillment only on an explicit yes. Vendor industry reporting credits this single step with cutting COD returns 30 to 40 percent, and WhatsApp is the right channel in the Kingdom, where DataReportal counts about 33 million users, roughly 87 percent of social media users. Setup details are in COD Order Confirmation via WhatsApp for Shopify: Setup Guide.
What should the launch checklist look like?
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Manual payment method created, named bilingually, tested with a real checkout
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COD scoped to covered regions, with any value caps configured
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Courier contract signed with COD fees, attempts, and remittance cycle in writing
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Confirmation flow live: hold, WhatsApp confirm, release or cancel
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Reconciliation owner assigned for courier remittance reports
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Weekly dashboard: COD share, confirmation rate, delivery success, RTO
What does this look like with ReplAi?
ReplAi covers the conversational layer that Shopify's setting leaves open. Once COD is enabled, it confirms each order on WhatsApp in Gulf Arabic (or Egyptian, Levantine, Franco-Arabic, and English), answers where-is-my-order questions with live tracking, reschedules deliveries in chat, and can even place COD orders inside Instagram or WhatsApp conversations for customers who never touch your checkout. Measured across our merchants, about 80 percent of messages are handled automatically with replies in under 14 seconds. Setup takes about 10 minutes with a one-click Shopify install.
Book a demo to see the full KSA COD flow, from checkout to confirmed delivery, on your own store.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify charge transaction fees on COD orders?
COD set up as a manual payment method does not run through a payment gateway, so there is no gateway processing fee on the order. Depending on your Shopify plan and setup, platform fees may still apply as with any order, and your courier will charge its own COD handling fee, which is the cost worth negotiating.
When should I mark a COD order as paid in Shopify?
When the cash actually reaches you, which means after courier remittance, not at delivery. Marking orders paid on delivery confirmation inflates your cash position by whatever the courier is still holding. Reconcile remittance reports against delivered orders on a fixed weekly rhythm.
Can I limit COD to certain products only?
Yes, with checkout customizations or apps that hide payment methods conditionally. This is worth doing for products with high refusal rates or fragile margins. Many Saudi stores keep COD broad and control risk through confirmation and customer history instead, which preserves conversion.
Is COD still worth offering in Saudi Arabia as digital payments grow?
Yes. Even with mada, Apple Pay, and wallets expanding, COD reaches up to 75 percent of transactions in some Saudi segments (Go-Globe), and the market itself is growing toward roughly 29 billion dollars by 2030 (IMARC). The winning posture is COD offered with tight controls, plus a deliberate path for converting repeat customers to prepaid.