Why you’d want to hide Klarna or Afterpay
Klarna’s 28-day authorization limit
Klarna authorizes payments for a maximum of 28 days. If you can’t fulfill and capture the order within that window — common for made-to-order, pre-order, or backorder items — the authorization expires. The order fails, the customer is confused, and you lose the sale.
Klarna’s own documentation acknowledges this limitation and recommends using third-party apps to hide Klarna for specific products or markets.
Afterpay’s product restrictions
Afterpay prohibits certain product categories under their merchant terms. If a customer uses Afterpay to buy a restricted item, the transaction may be reversed. Common restricted categories include:
- CBD and cannabis-related products
- Alcohol
- Gift cards (in some regions)
- Firearms and weapons accessories
- Certain supplements
Afterpay previously provided a Shopify Scripts solution for hiding their payment method by product tag, but Shopify Scripts were deprecated in August 2025.
Chargeback and dispute risk
Merchants report significantly higher chargeback rates with BNPL providers compared to direct credit card payments. Klarna app reviews on Shopify include merchants who lost both the product and the payment after Klarna disputes. For high-value or custom items where chargebacks are particularly costly, hiding BNPL options is a risk management strategy.
Method 1: Using an app (recommended — no code, any Shopify plan)
The simplest way to hide Klarna, Afterpay, or any payment method for specific products is using a payment customization app.
Step-by-step with Nex Reorder Payment Method:
- Install the app from the Shopify App Store
- Create a new hide rule
- Select the payment method — choose “Klarna” or “Afterpay” (match the exact name as it appears in your checkout)
- Set the condition — choose “Product tag” and enter the tag you use for restricted products (e.g.,
no-klarna,no-afterpay,preorder) - Activate the rule
That’s it. Any time a customer has a product with that tag in their cart, Klarna or Afterpay won’t appear at checkout.
Other conditions you can use:
- Collection — hide BNPL for an entire collection (e.g., “Pre-Orders” collection)
- Specific product or variant — hide for individual products or variants you pick
- Cart total — hide Klarna for orders above $2,000 (where dispute risk is highest)
- Customer tag — hide BNPL for flagged or high-risk customer accounts
- Combine conditions — hide Klarna when product is tagged “preorder” AND cart total is above $500
Method 2: Shopify Checkout Blocks (Shopify Plus only)
If you’re on Shopify Plus, you can use Shopify’s native Checkout Blocks app to create payment customizations.
- Go to Apps → Checkout Blocks → Functions
- Create a new function → Payment methods → Hide
- Select the payment method to hide
- Set conditional rules based on product, cart, or customer attributes
- Activate
Limitations:
- Only available on Shopify Plus plans
- Maximum 25 active payment customization functions per store
- Conditional rules only work for hiding (not for renaming or reordering)
- More complex to set up than a third-party app
Method 3: Custom Shopify Functions (requires developer)
For stores with development resources, you can build a custom app using the Payment Customization Function API. This involves writing a function in Rust or JavaScript that takes cart data as input and returns operations to hide specific payment methods.
This approach gives maximum flexibility but requires:
- A developer familiar with Shopify Functions
- App deployment and hosting
- Ongoing maintenance
For most merchants, an app is the practical choice.
What about Shopify Scripts?
Shopify Scripts were deprecated in August 2025. If you’re still using a Script to hide payment methods, it’s time to migrate. Both Klarna’s and Afterpay’s documentation now point merchants toward Shopify Functions or third-party apps.
Product tags to set up
For a clean setup, we recommend these product tags:
no-klarna— products where Klarna should be hiddenno-afterpay— products where Afterpay should be hiddenno-bnpl— products where ALL BNPL should be hiddenpreorder— pre-order items (hide Klarna automatically)
Add these tags to the relevant products in your Shopify admin, then create a hide rule in your payment customization app that targets each tag.
Summary
| Method | Shopify Plan | Code Required | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| App (Nex Reorder) | Basic and up | No | Easy |
| Checkout Blocks | Plus only | No | Medium |
| Custom Shopify Function | Any (custom app) | Yes | Hard |
For most Shopify stores, using an app is the fastest and most maintainable solution. You can have Klarna or Afterpay hidden for specific products in under 5 minutes.