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Some merchants put off adding a flexible payment option to checkout because they assume it means a big technical project:
With PayPal Pay Later, you can avoid all this.
If you've integrated PayPal Checkout and you're an eligible merchant (see more below), your eligible customers can check out with PayPal Pay Later through their PayPal wallet as standard. No extra setup - it's the same payment flow, just a different payment option.
This guide will cover eligibility, how to add that messaging depending on how your site is built, where to place it for the best results, and what happens after you go live.
Before you get started, it's worth knowing these are two different things, even though they work together.
PayPal Pay Later is PayPal's flexible payment layer within PayPal Checkout. In the UK it includes Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 Days. Approved shoppers can choose one of these options when they check out through their PayPal Wallet, as part of the familiar PayPal Checkout flow they already trust. This payment functionality comes built into the standard PayPal integration on Shopify. Availability is subject to merchant status, sector and integration, and consumer eligibility is subject to status and approval. See relevant product terms for more details.
PayPal Pay Later Messaging is the on-site banner and messaging you can add to your landing pages, product pages, cart and checkout that lets shoppers know they can spread the cost of their purchase.
Your eligible customers can still check out with a Pay Later option if you don’t add Pay Later messaging, but many of them won't know it's an option until they reach their PayPal payment screen.
Adding messaging earlier in the journey means more shoppers see the option before they decide whether to buy, and merchants who do this see a measurable increase in PayPal sales as a result2.
In short: PayPal Pay Later, whether Pay in 3 or Pay in 30 Days, is the payment method. Pay Later Messaging is how you tell people about it. You'll set both up separately, and we'll cover each one below.
Most UK merchants who already use PayPal on their site will meet the criteria, though availability remains subject to merchant status, sector and integration. To qualify, you need to:
Note that vaulted payment and billing agreement integrations are not eligible. If you already have PayPal Checkout set up, Pay Later is already available to your eligible customers. There's nothing further to activate for the product itself.
Adding Pay Later messaging is a separate, optional step, covered below.
You get paid in full upfront, and PayPal handles the collections. Pay Later is included with PayPal Checkout at the standard transaction fee, so there's no additional cost to you. You also carry no bad debt risk if a customer misses payments, and Seller Protection is included on eligible transactions. PayPal doesn't charge UK customers late fees on Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 Days, meaning one less thing for shoppers to worry about at checkout, and one less support query for you to handle.
Your customers get flexible ways to pay:
While Pay Later – Pay in 3, Pay in 30 Days – needs no integration, what follows here is how to add Pay Later messaging and the Pay Later button.
The same settings also let you turn on the Pay Later button, a dedicated button that presents Pay Later as its own choice at checkout, alongside the standard PayPal button.
The setup depends on your store build – whether you're on an ecommerce platform or custom. Both routes are straightforward.
For platform merchants, adding Pay Later messaging is a settings change, not a build.
Check the PayPal commerce platform directory for platform-specific steps.
What you can add is Pay Later messaging through the PayPal JavaScript SDK, a light developer task (a script tag plus a message element), not a full build. You can complete this in three steps.
The steps are:
Step 1: Add the PayPal JavaScript SDK to the site header
Step 2: Add Pay Later messaging to the right pages
Step 3: Test and go live
Where you show Pay Later messaging can affect conversions. Different placements serve different purposes in the buying journey:
Adding PayPal Pay Later banners to your custom-site shouldn’t disrupt anything you already have working, and it takes a few minutes to confirm. Run through this checklist before you switch over from sandbox to production:
Once you're set up, the ongoing admin is minimal. PayPal absorbs most of the risk:
If you're eligible, Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 Days will be part of your PayPal Checkout offering - there's nothing extra to set up.
Whether you use a commerce platform or a custom-built site, adding the messaging that makes those options visible is straightforward.
You get paid in full upfront, and PayPal handles the collections and regulatory compliance, so offering flexible payments doesn't mean taking on bad debt risk or extra admin.
Giving your customers the ability to spread the cost over time with options like Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 Days helps them manage their spending. It also helps you capture sales that might otherwise be lost at checkout.2
By placing Pay Later messaging strategically across your product, cart, and checkout pages, you give shoppers the confidence to complete their purchases before they drop off.
Sign up for a PayPal Business account.
Add & optimise Pay Later messaging via your ecommerce platform instructions or via the PayPal Messaging Centre.