Can you sell on Shopify from Algeria?
Yes, Shopify works for stores selling in Algeria. Three things differ from markets like Europe:
- No Shopify Payments. Algeria isn’t among the countries where it’s available; Shopify points merchants to third-party providers instead (Shopify Help Center).
- Cash on delivery is the main route, for lack of a ready-made local online payment integration.
- A specific legal framework, set by Law 18‑05 on e-commerce.
Which payment methods actually work?
| Payment method | On Shopify in Algeria |
|---|---|
| Shopify Payments | Not available |
| CIB and Edahabia cards | No ready-made Shopify integration found |
| Cash on delivery (Shopify manual method) | Yes, in the Shopify checkout |
| Cash on delivery (COD form) | Yes, on the product page |
CIB and Edahabia. The Algerian gateway Chargily Pay accepts Edahabia (Algérie Poste) and CIB (SATIM) cards. Its Shopify plugin repository exists but is marked as empty as of 29 October 2026 (GitHub). If you find a working option, test a real payment end to end before showing it to buyers.
Cash on delivery. Two ways to offer it:
- Shopify’s manual payment method, under Settings > Payments. The buyer goes through the normal checkout and picks cash on delivery (Shopify Help Center).
- A COD form on the product page, which takes the order without the checkout: name, phone, wilaya, address, and the order is created in your admin.
How to enable cash on delivery on Shopify compares the two.
What does Law 18‑05 say?
Law 18‑05 of 10 May 2018 on e-commerce (Official Journal no. 28, 16 May 2018) sets two conditions in its articles 8 and 9:
- Registration in the trade register or the crafts register, as applicable.
- A website or web page hosted in Algeria with a “.com.dz” extension, and depositing the domain name with the National Trade Register Centre (CNRC), which keeps a national file of e-suppliers.
A Shopify store is hosted by Shopify, outside Algeria. Before you launch, check with the CNRC, an accountant or a lawyer how these rules apply to your business (text in the Official Journal).
How should you run cash on delivery?
COD puts the risk on you: you pay for the product and the delivery before you’re paid. Four settings make the difference:
- Fair delivery prices by wilaya, shown before confirmation. See Delivery prices by wilaya: home vs stop desk.
- A confirmation call before shipping, to check the number, address and intent.
- Fake-order filters: blocking repeat numbers and IPs, a limit per buyer, a maximum quantity. See How to reduce fake COD orders.
- Follow-up on abandoned orders, buyers who typed their number but didn’t order.
The free EverCore COD Form covers 1, 3 and 4. The confirmation call stays with your team. To compare COD apps used in Algeria, see the best COD form for Shopify in Algeria.
What about delivery?
You’ll work with a delivery company that collects the cash at the door and pays it back to you. Before signing, ask each one the same questions: which wilayas they cover, at home and at stop desk; at what price; how soon collected cash is paid out; what a return costs; and how orders get from Shopify to their platform.
Remember that Algeria went from 58 to 69 wilayas in November 2025, and the new wilayas take over their own services on 1 January 2027 (Algérie360). Check that your price list and your courier’s list match.
Which numbers should you track each week?
- Confirmation rate: orders confirmed by phone ÷ orders received.
- Delivery rate: parcels delivered and paid ÷ parcels shipped.
- Cost per delivered order: ad spend ÷ delivered orders, not ÷ orders received.
- Average order value, which quantity offers help raise.
Delivered orders pay your bills. A campaign that brings many orders and few deliveries costs more than it earns.