How to Offer an Instant Discount for Full Prepaid Orders

Collecting payments online upfront eliminates courier return-to-origin (RTO) risks, accelerates your cash flow, and eliminates physical cash handling costs. The most effective way to convince Cash on Delivery shoppers to pay online is to offer a compelling upfront financial incentive—such as a 5% or $5 discount when they pay in full now.

With Rivio COD & Partial Payments, you can create a dedicated Full Payment option that applies an automatic discount directly at checkout without requiring the buyer to enter a manual promo code.

In this guide, you will learn how to configure an automatic prepaid order discount in three simple steps.

Before You Begin

Before setting up a prepaid discount, confirm that:

• Rivio COD & Partial Payments is installed and the theme app embed is active.
• You have an active online credit card gateway (such as Shopify Payments or PayPal) enabled in your store.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. From your Shopify admin, open Apps → Rivio COD & Partial Payments.
2. Go to Features → Payment options (or navigate to Features → COD verification and select the Payment options tab).
3. Click Add payment option.

Step 1: Set Up the Full Payment Option

1. In Option name, enter an attractive title (for example: Pay Online & Save 5%).
2. Ensure the Status checkbox is set to On.
3. Under Upfront payment amount, set Amount type to Full payment.

Step 2: Configure the Automatic Discount

1. Scroll down to the Discount section.
2. Open the Discount type dropdown:

• Percentage off: Deducts a percentage from the order total (e.g., 5% or 10%).
• Fixed amount off: Deducts a flat currency amount (e.g., $5.00).

1. Enter your desired discount value.

Step 3: Craft Conversion Microcopy

1. In the Supporting label field, add a concise tagline such as Instant 5% discount applied at checkout.
2. In the Payment description field, explain the benefit clearly:

• *Example:* Pay online now with credit card, debit card, or UPI to receive an instant {{discount}} saving.

1. Review the live calculation in the Preview card on the right side of the screen.
2. Click Save in the top-right corner.

Configuration Settings & Options

Example Scenario

Converting 35% of COD Buyers to Instant Card Payments

A cosmetics store with a high COD volume noticed that 20% of COD packages were returned because buyers were not home when the delivery driver arrived. The merchant added a payment option named Prepaid Special: Pay Now & Save $3.00, setting Discount Type to Fixed amount off: $3.00. Within the first month, 35% of shoppers switched from COD to credit card payments, cutting return rates in half.

Important Notes & Limitations

Troubleshooting

The prepaid discount does not apply on the Shopify checkout page

• Possible Cause: The customer's cart total is below your minimum cart eligibility limit, or another non-stackable coupon code was entered.
• How to Fix:

1. Open Features → Payment options and check the rule's minimum cart requirements.
2. Check whether Let this discount stack with other order discounts is toggled on in the Payment Options global tab.

Related Guides

• How Discount Stacking Works with Shopify Coupon Codes
• How to Set Up Partial Payments and Upfront Deposits for COD
• How to Customize Popup Step Wording and Trust Badges

Need Help?

Need advice on setting up prepaid discounts to reduce returns? Contact our team!

• Email: Contact our store growth specialists at support@rivioapps.com
• Help Center: Explore all setup guides in the Rivio COD Knowledge Base