Payment method not showing at WooCommerce checkout
Updated
WooCommerce only shows a payment method when it’s switched on, set up, and allowed for this shopper’s basket and address. So a missing method usually means one of its conditions isn’t met. Check these in order.
1. Check it’s switched on and set up
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments. The method must be enabled, and any setup it asks for must be finished: many payment plugins need you to connect an account or paste API keys before they appear. Many hide themselves when their keys are missing or wrong.
2. Check its rules
Open the payment method’s settings and look for limits that your test didn’t meet:
- Countries it’s available in, and the store currency it supports.
- A minimum or maximum order amount.
- Cash on delivery: the Enable for shipping methods list, and whether it’s allowed for virtual products.
Test again with an address and basket that meet every rule.
3. Check test mode and keys
Test keys belong with test mode, live keys with live mode. Mixing them, or a key that has expired or been revoked in the payment provider’s dashboard, stops the method working. The payment plugin’s log (WooCommerce → Status → Logs) usually says so.
4. Classic checkout or the Checkout block?
Newer stores use the Checkout block. Payment plugins that haven’t been updated for it don’t appear there, even though they work on the classic checkout. Edit your checkout page: if the block editor warns about incompatible extensions, that’s the cause. Update the payment plugin, or switch the page back to the classic checkout (the editor offers this, or use the [woocommerce_checkout] shortcode).
5. Rule out caching and script optimisation
Card forms and buttons from Stripe, PayPal and others load their own scripts. A cached checkout page, or settings that delay, combine or minify JavaScript, can stop them loading. Clear all caches and exclude the checkout page from script optimisation. A red error in the browser console (F12 → Console) on the checkout page confirms it.
6. Check HTTPS
Card payment forms only load on a secure page. Make sure the checkout opens over https:// with no browser warnings, and that your site address in Settings → General starts with https.
Know next time, before your customers do
A payment method can disappear without any error: after an update, a key change or a plugin switched off. Shoppers just see fewer options, or none, and leave.
Cart Lookout places a real test order on your store every 2 hours and after every update, then deletes it. Your customers don’t see it and no emails go out. If checkout fails twice in a row, you get an email with the step that broke, a screenshot and the change made just before it. From $15/month. See how it works.
Still stuck? Email hello@cartlookout.com. More guides