• COD FEES & SHIPPING RATES • SETUP GUIDE

How to Require a Dedicated COD Shipping Rate at Checkout

By Rivio Support Team
3 min read

How to Require a Dedicated COD Shipping Rate at Checkout

A common headache for Shopify stores offering Cash on Delivery is that shoppers will select Cash on Delivery as their payment method, but then select a "Free Shipping" or cheaper standard rate during the shipping selection step, completely bypassing your cash handling fee.

Rivio COD & Partial Payments eliminates this loophole through automated shipping rate enforcement. When Cash on Delivery is selected, Rivio dynamically validates the customer's selected shipping rate and blocks the order from completing unless an authorized COD rate has been chosen.

In this guide, you will learn how to enable and enforce dedicated COD shipping rates across your Shopify store.

Before You Begin

Confirm the following before enforcing shipping rates:

  • You have created dedicated Cash on Delivery shipping rates in Shopify Settings → Shipping and delivery.
  • You have configured your matching keyword in Rivio COD → COD Fees.
  • Your store uses Shopify's modern checkout with active checkout extensibility.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. From your Shopify admin, open Apps → Rivio COD & Partial Payments.
  2. Click COD Fees in the left navigation sidebar.
  3. Locate the Enforcement & Checkout Validation section.
  4. Toggle the Require Dedicated COD Shipping Rate switch to Active (green).
📸 SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: SC-COD-033

Require Dedicated COD Shipping Rate enforcement toggle switch in Rivio COD

Require Dedicated COD Shipping Rate enforcement toggle switch in Rivio COD
  1. Configure Non-Compliant Shipping Behavior:
  • Auto-Select Correct Rate: Automatically switches the customer's shipping selection to the matching COD rate.
  • Display Warning & Block Payment: Hides the Cash on Delivery payment option at the payment step until the customer returns to shipping and selects a valid COD option.
  1. Customize the customer-facing alert message (e.g., *"Please select a Cash on Delivery shipping method to proceed with cash payment"*).
  2. In the top-right corner, click Save Changes.
📸 SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: SC-COD-034

Custom validation message settings and auto-select behavior panel in Rivio COD

Custom validation message settings and auto-select behavior panel in Rivio COD
  1. Test the checkout flow on your storefront to confirm that choosing Cash on Delivery locks the shipping method to the designated COD rate.

Configuration Settings & Options

Setting Recommended Value What It Does
Enforcement Mode Auto-Select Correct Rate Seamlessly picks the valid rate for the shopper, eliminating checkout abandonment.
Fallback Behavior Display Warning Prevents orders from being finalized without the required fee if auto-select cannot resolve.
Prepaid Protection Hide COD Rates Hides cash handling rates from buyers who pay with credit cards or PayPal.

Example Scenario

Protecting Delivery Margins for an Apparel Brand

An online boutique charges a $3.50 courier cash handling fee on all COD packages. Previously, 35% of COD customers chose the "Standard Free Shipping" option at checkout, leaving the store to absorb $1,500 in courier fees monthly. After enabling Require Dedicated COD Shipping Rate, the checkout automatically assigns the $3.50 Cash on Delivery Shipping rate as soon as COD is chosen, recovering 100% of the courier surcharge.

Important Notes & Limitations

When Auto-Select is enabled, customers see the updated total with the fee included immediately before placing their order.

Ensure that every geographical zone where you offer Cash on Delivery has at least one valid COD shipping rate configured; otherwise, customers in that zone will be unable to check out.

Troubleshooting

Customers see an error stating "Selected shipping method is not compatible with Cash on Delivery"

  • Possible Cause: The customer chose standard shipping and the app blocked the payment method.
  • How to Fix:
  1. Set the Enforcement Mode to Auto-Select Correct Rate so Rivio updates the shipping rate automatically.
  2. Ensure the customer-facing message clearly explains that COD orders require a cash handling rate.

Cash on Delivery is disabled at checkout for all customers

  • Possible Cause: The app cannot find any shipping rate containing the configured keyword in the customer's region.
  • How to Fix:
  1. Open Shopify Settings → Shipping and delivery.
  2. Verify that your delivery zone covers the customer's shipping address and includes the keyword rate.

Related Guides

Need Help?

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