Pay on Delivery (also called Cash on Delivery or COD) lets customers place an order without paying online. They pay you in person — usually in cash or via M-Pesa — when you deliver the order to them.
How to enable it
- Go to Dashboard → Shop and scroll to the Accept Payments section
- Find the Pay on Delivery row
- Toggle the switch on
That's it — no credentials or setup needed.
What customers see
At checkout, customers see Pay on Delivery as an option alongside any online payment methods you've set up. They pick it, complete the order form, and the order lands in your dashboard with a status of Pending.
What you need to do
For pay-on-delivery orders:
- Confirm the order with the customer (call or message)
- Arrange delivery
- Collect payment when you deliver
- Mark the order as Completed in your dashboard
When pay on delivery makes sense
- You deliver products yourself or use a courier you trust
- Your customers are nervous about paying online (very common in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, etc.)
- You want to grow trust before customers are willing to pay upfront
The risks
Pay on delivery has higher cancellation rates than prepaid orders. Customers sometimes:
- Don't answer the phone when you call
- Aren't home when you deliver
- Refuse to take the order at the door
To protect yourself:
- Always call to confirm before you start delivery
- For high-value orders, consider asking for a partial deposit (e.g. via M-Pesa STK push for a small amount, then COD for the balance)
- Block customers who repeatedly fail to take delivery — see your customer list to identify them
- Consider only offering COD to repeat customers