• COD VERIFICATION & AVAILABILITY • SETUP GUIDE

How to Require Email OTP Verification for COD Orders

By Rivio Support Team
4 min read

How to Require Email OTP Verification for COD Orders

Cash on Delivery orders often carry the highest return-to-origin (RTO) rates because shoppers can submit orders with fake contact details without paying upfront. With Rivio COD & Partial Payments, you can require customers to verify their identity using a one-time verification passcode (OTP) delivered directly to their email address before their Cash on Delivery order is placed.

Email OTP verification gives you robust fraud protection without consuming paid SMS credits, making it an ideal security baseline for every Shopify merchant.

Before You Begin

Confirm the following before turning on Email OTP:

  • You have enabled the Rivio COD & OTP theme app embed in your Shopify theme editor.
  • Your store has at least one active Cash on Delivery payment option configured in Shopify Settings.
  • You have verified your store email address in Rivio COD → Settings to ensure high email deliverability.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. From your Shopify admin, open Apps → Rivio COD & Partial Payments.
  2. In the app navigation menu, click COD Verification.
  3. Under the Verification Methods section, locate the Email Verification card.
  4. Toggle the switch to Active (green).
📸 SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: SC-COD-021

COD Verification settings card showing the Email OTP verification toggle turned on

COD Verification settings card showing the Email OTP verification toggle turned on
  1. Configure your verification parameters:
  • Passcode Length: Choose between a 4-digit code (faster customer checkout) or a 6-digit code (maximum security).
  • Passcode Expiration: Set how long the verification code remains valid before expiring (recommended: 5 minutes).
  • Max Resend Attempts: Set the maximum number of times a customer can request a new code per checkout session (default: 3 attempts).
  1. In the top-right corner of the page, click Save Changes.
📸 SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: SC-COD-022

Configuration panel showing passcode length, expiration timer, and resend limit controls

Configuration panel showing passcode length, expiration timer, and resend limit controls
  1. Open your Shopify storefront in a private or incognito window, add an item to your cart, proceed to checkout with Cash on Delivery, and verify that the email OTP prompt appears.

Configuration Settings & Options

Setting Recommended Value Why This Matters
Code Length 4 digits Shorter codes speed up mobile checkouts while stopping 100% of automated spam bots.
Code Expiration 5 minutes Prevents abandoned sessions from remaining open while giving shoppers ample time to check their inbox.
Resend Cooldown 30 seconds Prevents shoppers from spamming the resend button and hitting email service rate limits.
Max Resend Attempts 3 attempts Blocks abusive users from flooding inboxes while accommodating legitimate typos.

Example Scenario

Stopping Fake COD Orders for a Consumer Electronics Store

A gadget store experiences a 25% return rate due to fictitious customer emails submitted during Cash on Delivery checkout. By activating Email OTP Verification, every buyer must enter the 4-digit code sent to their email before Shopify records the order. Unverified orders are never created, eliminating wasted shipping costs and packing labor overnight.

Important Notes & Limitations

Rivio sends transactional OTP emails through high-reputation dedicated servers, ensuring fast delivery within 5 to 15 seconds under normal conditions.

If a customer mistypes their email address during initial checkout, they can click Change email address directly inside the Rivio popup window to update it without restarting their cart.

Troubleshooting

Customer reports they did not receive the verification code

  • Possible Cause: The email was caught in the customer's spam or promotions folder, or the customer entered a typo in their email address.
  • How to Fix:
  1. Ask the customer to inspect their Spam, Junk, or Promotions folders for an email from your store name.
  2. Have the customer check the popup screen to confirm their email address was spelled correctly.
  3. If misspelled, advise them to click Edit Email on the popup and request a new code.

The OTP verification popup does not trigger when Cash on Delivery is selected

  • Possible Cause: The Theme App Embed is disabled or the selected payment method name does not match the configured Cash on Delivery payment rule.
  • How to Fix:
  1. Check Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds and confirm Rivio COD & OTP is toggled ON.
  2. Verify that your Shopify manual payment method name in Settings → Payments exactly matches the name configured in Rivio.

Related Guides

Need Help?

Need assistance fine-tuning your email OTP rules? Our team is standing by to help!