Cash on delivery in Saudi Arabia: setting up COD on Shopify

What does cash on delivery mean?

Cash on delivery means the buyer pays the courier or seller in cash when the goods are handed over. In Arabic it is called الدفع عند الاستلام, and stores usually shorten the English term to COD. The order is placed first and paid later, so the store carries the risk that the customer refuses the parcel or cannot be reached. The table compares COD with the other ways a Saudi store can be paid.

How do you enable cash on delivery on Shopify?

Shopify's help center says COD orders are marked Pending, so after you collect the money you open the order and mark it as paid, then fulfil it as usual. It also states that you are not charged third-party transaction fees for manual payments. The name Cash on Delivery (COD) is reserved by Shopify, so a custom payment method cannot use it.

After activating, place a test order. It should appear in Orders as Pending, and your payment instructions should show on the order confirmation page.

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings, then Payments.
2. In the payment providers area, select Cash on Delivery (COD) from the suggested manual payment methods.
3. Add any text to show next to the method at checkout, in Additional details.
4. Write the Payment instructions the customer sees after ordering.
5. Activate the payment method.

• Shopify Help Center: manual payment methods

What does Saudi Arabia expect when you offer cash on delivery?

The Ministry of Commerce's e-commerce compliance checklist (January 2022) asks stores to show on the invoice the total price, the base price, the VAT amount or rate, any extra fees, with cash on delivery given as an example, the shipping charge, the delivery date, and the carrier name with its tracking number. It also asks stores to disclose the maximum delivery time before the customer completes the order and to publish a lawful return and exchange policy.

The Ministry's summary of the E-Commerce Law adds two consumer rights: withdrawing within 7 days of receiving an unused product, with exceptions such as made-to-order goods, and cancelling when delivery is more than 15 days late. If you charge a COD fee, state it clearly before the order is completed and check your courier contract.

• Ministry of Commerce: e-commerce compliance checklist
• Ministry of Commerce: E-Commerce Law summary

How do you reduce refused cash-on-delivery orders?

Refusals often come from wrong details, a changed mind or an unreachable customer, so confirm before you dispatch. WhatsApp Pilot, a Shopify app by E-SAFQA, sends an Order Confirmation from your own WhatsApp number when a Shopify order is created, with an order status link, and on Pro you can send it immediately or after 6 hours, 1 day, 2 days or a custom delay. The app does not read replies or change order status: customers answer in your WhatsApp, and your team ships, calls or cancels.

• Ask the customer to confirm the address and phone number in one reply.
• Ship only after confirmation, and call customers who do not answer.
• Name the amount to be paid at the door so there is no surprise.
• Check Message History to see whether each confirmation was sent, skipped or failed, and why, then fix the most common cause of failed orders first.

• WhatsApp Pilot on the Shopify App Store

What should a cash-on-delivery confirmation message say?

A good COD confirmation is short and specific. Include the store name, the order number, the amount to pay at the door, the details to confirm and how to change or cancel. For example: Hi {{customer_first_name}}, we received your cash-on-delivery order {{order_name}} from {{store_name}}. The amount to pay on delivery is {{order_total}}. Please reply YES to confirm your address and phone number, or tell us what to change before we ship.

WhatsApp Pilot message templates are available in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and Italian, and you can edit the wording. Open Message History afterwards to see that the message was sent, and for any message that was skipped or failed, the reason.

Which courier or delivery app should handle COD?

Shopify records the order and the payment status; it does not deliver parcels or collect cash. The courier you contract does. Before you offer COD, ask each courier whether it collects cash, how quickly it passes the money to you, what it charges and what happens on a refused delivery. If you need extra rules such as a COD fee or a per-city limit, look in the Shopify App Store and read what the listing says the app does.

Once the courier has the parcel, the customer will want the tracking link. WhatsApp Pilot's Order Fulfillment notice, a Pro feature, sends the carrier, tracking number and tracking link when Shopify has them, one notice for each new fulfillment.

What should you check before shipping a cash-on-delivery order?

• The phone number is complete and the customer answered the confirmation.
• The delivery address is detailed enough for the courier to find.
• The invoice shows the total, the VAT, any COD fee and the shipping charge.
• The courier knows the exact amount to collect at the door.
• The expected delivery date matches what the store promised before checkout.

Should you offer only cash on delivery?

Offering online payment alongside COD reduces the amount of cash your couriers handle and gives customers a choice. Shopify Payments is not available in Saudi Arabia, so card, mada and instalment options come from third-party providers. Our guide to Shopify payment gateways in Saudi Arabia covers which providers document a Shopify integration. Whatever mix you choose, show the same total, VAT and fees at checkout and on the invoice, and keep your return policy visible.