Shopware Payment Module

One of our clients needed a more efficient way to process online payments. Their existing setup was costly, clunky, and not user-friendly. We stepped in to develop a custom payment module that integrates a third-party provider directly into Shopware.

The module enables store owners to accept payments seamlessly with competitive transaction rates, ensuring funds are transferred directly to their bank accounts.

The client’s old payment options were eating into profits. Fees were too high. The setup lacked flexibility. And managing transactions was frustrating.

They came to us with a clear goal: build a payment solution that would give them more control—and cost less.

But as we dug deeper, more challenges surfaced:

• Develop a custom Shopware payment module for secure payment processing.
• Multilingual support (English and German).
• Compliance with Shopware Marketplace guidelines.
• Full compatibility with Shopware 6.
• Handling errors without crashing the checkout.
• Enhancing the payment experience with smooth transaction processing and direct bank transfers.

What did they really want?

• A clean, secure payment solution
• Simple checkout for customers
• Fewer errors, fewer abandoned carts
• Multilingual functionality 
• Competitive transaction rates

We built everything from the ground up, crafting a custom payment module tailored to Shopware 6.

Here’s how we solved it:

1. Custom Payment Module Development from Scratch:

• Created a new Shopware 6 custom payment module.
• Built the module structure in custom/plugins/module_name, including a composer.json file specifying type: “shopware-platform-plugin” and dependencies like shopware/core: ^6.4.
• Developed a src/module_name.php base class to handle plugin installation, activation, and payment method registration in Shopware’s checkout system.
• Added a new payment method (“module_name”) to the Shopware checkout, allowing customers to select it during purchase and process payments securely.

2. Integration with Custom Payment Module Services:

• Integrated a new module service via their API to enable secure payment processing.
• Configured the module to handle payment transactions, ensuring funds are transferred directly to the store owner’s bank account with competitive rates.
• Implemented an API test button in the module’s admin settings (Settings > Payment Methods > Custom Payment Module) to validate API credentials, displaying a success/error message and logging errors in Shopware’s var/log/ directory.
• Fixed an issue where module API responses occasionally failed due to Shopware’s session handling by adding custom middleware to manage session data during payment callbacks.

3. Multilingual Support and Error Handling:

• Added snippet files (en-GB.json, de-DE.json) to the module for multilingual support, ensuring all user-facing text (e.g., “Pay with Module_name”) was translatable in English and German.
• Implemented comprehensive error handling for payment failures, notifying store owners via email and logging errors in Shopware’s event log for troubleshooting.
• Fixed a bug where German translations in the checkout payment selection were not displaying correctly, by adjusting the snippet loading logic in the module.

4. Publishing to Shopware Marketplace:

• Prepared the module for publication by creating a marketplace.json file with metadata, including the module name, description (“Secure and efficient payment processing with competitive rates”), and price in English and German.
• Included a changelog (changelog_en.md, changelog_de.md) and user guide (user_guide_en.md, user_guide_de.md) in the meta/documents folder, detailing installation steps, API setup, and usage instructions.
• Added screenshots showing the payment method in the checkout (e.g., selecting “module_name” and completing a transaction) in the meta folder for the Marketplace listing.
• Submitted the module to the Shopware Marketplace via the Producer Portal, addressing reviewer feedback (e.g., adding detailed error logging for failed payments and ensuring compliance with Marketplace guidelines, such as no main menu entries in the admin panel).

5. Problems Solved:

• Addressed high transaction fees by integrating custom module services, which offered competitive rates, saving store owners money on every transaction.
• Solved payment processing inefficiencies by ensuring seamless transaction handling and direct bank transfers.
• Ensured compliance with Shopware Marketplace guidelines by adding proper documentation, error handling, and logging, leading to successful publication.

From this project, we gained valuable insights for similar Shopware module development projects:

1. Plan for Seamless API Integration: Integrating custom module services required careful handling of API calls and error scenarios. For payment modules, always include robust error logging and validation (e.g., API test buttons) to ensure smooth operation.
2. Prioritize Multilingual Support: Implementing snippets for English and German from the start ensured accessibility for a broader audience. Always consider multilingual needs early in payment module projects.
3. Focus on Marketplace Compliance: Adhering to Shopware Marketplace guidelines (e.g., no main menu entries, detailed documentation) was crucial for publication. Review these requirements thoroughly before submission to avoid delays.
4. Optimize for User Trust: Providing a secure and efficient payment experience with clear error messages increased customer trust. For payment modules, prioritize security (e.g., secure API handling) and transparency in transaction processing.