When individuals or corporations build ecommerce sites and launch online stores, they need a site-building tool such as Wix. Wix offers a wide range of features required for creating online stores, including blogs, subscriptions, and online courses. This makes it easy for beginners to start managing their websites.

To allow customers to purchase products or services from an online store built on Wix, you need to integrate payment functionality. Providing online payment methods that meet customers’ needs can help enhance customer satisfaction with your ecommerce site.

In this article, we explain Wix, including how to set up payments for online stores and which payment methods are best for those starting ecommerce businesses in Japan.

What’s in this article?

• What is Wix?
  
• What is Wix Payments?
  
• How to set up payments for your Wix online store
  
• Payment methods for your Wix online store
  
• FAQs about payment functionality on Wix
  
• How Stripe Checkout can help
  

What is Wix?

Wix is a cloud-based content management system (CMS) service that allows users to easily create websites using a no-code approach. This means users do not need to have programming knowledge. Over 4 million users in Japan currently use Wix. The number of users worldwide, including Japan, exceeds 278 million.

Wix is equipped with a wide range of features, allowing users to efficiently build high-quality sites by using the features as needed. Because Wix is easy to use, it enables users to create sites intuitively through drag-and-drop functionality.

For example, Wix has several convenient assistance functions—listed below—for creating and managing websites. This means Wix is also well-suited for driving digital transformation (DX) in ecommerce businesses, and it can help online stores succeed, regardless of scale or industry. Wix can help users with the following:

• Obtaining domains
  
• Creating homepages
  
• Managing sites
  
• Acquiring customers
  

In recent years, many businesses in Japan have faced challenges—such as labor shortages—due to population decline and rising costs. DX in the retail sector is now considered a key to business survival going forward. Because Wix supports and promotes DX efforts, it is considered a useful tool for businesses aiming to resolve the challenges for retailers in Japan.

What is Wix Payments?

Wix Payments is Wix’s proprietary online payment solution. This payment processing service enables Wix users to accept orders and payments directly on their websites. In addition to managing orders and payments, it also centralizes the management of refunds and chargebacks as part of the payment processing service.

Wix Payments accepts the following payment methods, which can vary depending on country of residence:

• Credit cards
  
• Apple Pay
  
• Google Pay
  
• PayPal
  
• Affirm
  
• Afterpay
  
• Klarna
  
• Online bank transfers
  
• iDEAL
  
• Tap to Pay
  

Wix Payments is Payment Card Industry (PCI)-compliant and uses an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered fraud prevention system to enhance security. It also offers 24/7 customer support, making it widely used by international ecommerce businesses.

However, Wix Payments is not currently available in Japan. To use it as an online payment method, follow the setup steps described below.

How to set up payments for your Wix online store

As mentioned above, Wix Payments is not available in Japan. However, by using other payment processing services, Japanese businesses can offer comparable features to Wix Payments in their online stores.

Only an email address is required to use Wix. The setup process involves creating an account with an email address, then building an ecommerce site. After building the site, select Payment Methods under Settings in the Wix dashboard and connect to the payment service.

For example, to set up Stripe as a payment method, connect the Wix ecommerce site to Stripe. This enables necessary payment methods—such as credit card payments—allowing the site to accept payments from customers. Note: Connecting to Stripe requires creating a separate Stripe account that is distinct from the Wix account.

Payment methods for your Wix online store

Here are the recommended payment methods for Wix-based ecommerce sites, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

According to Ministry’s article, “Payment Methods Used When Purchasing Goods Online (2023),” the most commonly used ecommerce payment methods in Japan are as follows (survey respondents could provide multiple answers):

• Credit card payments: 76.7%
  
• Electronic money payments: 38.5%
  
• Konbini (convenience store) payments: 34.7%
  
• Payment at bank or post office counters and ATMs: 23%
  
• Internet banking: 21.9%
  
• Cash on delivery (COD): 17.8%
  

Among these, credit card payments are the clear leader. Electronic money payments (including quick-response (QR) code payments) are second, followed by Konbini (i.e., convenience store) payments, both of which exceed 30%. This data indicates that these are particularly prevalent payment methods within the ecommerce market in Japan. Therefore, it is important to prioritize these payment methods.

However, it could also be important to add bank transfers, depending on the site’s products and target customers. In other words, it is important to have a clear understanding of the payment needs of the target audience before selecting or eliminating payment method options. For example, bank payments could help the business reach older customers and those without credit cards.

FAQs about payment functionality on Wix

Because of its ease of use and convenience, Wix is popular for businesses launching their first online stores. Below, we answer questions about one important element of any online store: payments.

Does Wix integrate with other payment processing services?

Wix integrates with many payment processing services, including Stripe. Wix’s proprietary payment processing service—Wix Payments—is not available in Japan. As a result, when choosing payment methods for the site, businesses must use an external payment processing service, such as Stripe. Because each of these payment processing services handles different payment methods, it is important to select a payment processor that supports the payment methods the ecommerce business needs.

Can customers use credit cards on Wix?

Yes. Credit card payments are the most popular payment method in Japan, so it is important to prioritize offering this payment method. To implement credit card payments on Wix, use an external payment processing service. This will allow the site to accept various credit cards, such as Visa, Mastercard, JCB, and American Express.

What are the fees for Wix payments?

Generally, Wix does not charge payment processing fees for ecommerce sites created on Wix. While Wix offers no-fee plans, it is important to note that some plans have monthly fees based on specific features.

However, a transaction fee will be charged to the connected payment processing service provider for each transaction that occurs. For example, if you implement credit card payments using Stripe, a small fee is applied per transaction. Payment processing fees vary depending on the payment processor and the payment method the customer uses. It is important to confirm these details in advance.

How Stripe Checkout can help

Stripe Checkout is a fully customizable prebuilt payment form that makes it easy for you to accept payments on your website or application.

Checkout can help you:

• Increase conversion: Checkout’s mobile-optimized design and one-click checkout flow make it simple for customers to input and reuse their payment information.
  
• Reduce development time: Embed Checkout directly into your site, or direct customers to a Stripe-hosted page, with just a few lines of code.
  
• Improve security: Checkout handles sensitive card data, simplifying PCI compliance.
  
• Expand globally: Localize pricing in 100+ currencies with Adaptive Pricing, which supports 30+ languages and dynamically displays the payment methods most likely to improve conversion.
  
• Use advanced features: Integrate Checkout with other Stripe products, such as Billing for subscriptions, Radar for fraud prevention, and more.
  
• Maintain control: Fully customize the checkout experience, including saving payment methods and setting up post-purchase actions.
  

Learn more about how Checkout can optimize your payment flow, or get started today.