A COD policy page template for GCC stores, in English and Arabic

A COD policy is a short page that answers four questions before the shopper orders: where can I pay cash on delivery, when is it not offered, how do I pay the courier, and what happens if I refuse the order. Below is a fill-in template in English and Arabic. Replace everything in [square brackets], delete the lines that don't apply to your store, and publish it where shoppers will see it.

Why have a COD policy at all?

• A shopper who knew the total, the delivery time and the confirmation step is less likely to be caught off guard when the courier calls.
• Your team can send one link on WhatsApp instead of retyping the rules.
• If you hide COD for big carts or first orders, the policy explains why, so a shopper who doesn't see it at checkout doesn't think something is broken.

What should a COD policy cover?

• Where COD is available: countries, emirates, regions or cities.
• When it isn't: order amount limits, first orders, products you only sell prepaid.
• How to pay the courier: cash only or card too, exact amount, any extra charge.
• How you confirm the order, and what happens if you can't reach the shopper.
• How long delivery takes.
• How to change or cancel before the order ships.
• What happens if an order is refused at the door.
• Returns after payment, and how to contact you.

The template in English

Cash on delivery (COD) policy

Where we offer cash on delivery

You can pay cash on delivery for orders delivered to [countries, emirates or cities]. For other addresses, please pay online by [card / Apple Pay / other methods you accept].

When cash on delivery is not available

Cash on delivery is not shown at checkout when:

• your order total is above [amount and currency];
• it is your first order with us and the total is above [amount and currency];
• your order includes [custom-made / personalised / perishable] items;
• a previous cash on delivery order on your account was refused at delivery.

You can still place these orders and pay online.

How to pay the courier

Please have the exact amount ready in [currency]. [Our courier can also take card payments at the door.] The amount to pay is the order total in your confirmation message, including delivery. [There is no extra charge for paying cash on delivery.]

Order confirmation

We will [call you / send you a WhatsApp message / send you an SMS] on the phone number in your order to confirm it before we ship. If we can't reach you within [number] days, we may cancel the order.

Delivery time

We deliver within [number] working days to [area]. The courier will contact you before arriving.

Changing or cancelling your order

You can change or cancel a cash on delivery order free of charge before it ships. Contact us on [WhatsApp / phone / email].

If you refuse the order at delivery

A refused cash on delivery order costs us delivery in both directions. If an order is refused without telling us first, we may offer only online payment on your future orders. If something is wrong with your order, please contact us before refusing it so we can help.

Returns after you pay

Once you have paid for and received your order, our [return policy] applies.

Contact us

[Phone / WhatsApp number] · [email] · [days and hours, with time zone]

The template in Arabic

سياسة الدفع عند الاستلام

أين نوفّر الدفع عند الاستلام

يمكنك الدفع عند الاستلام للطلبات التي تُوصَّل إلى [الدول أو الإمارات أو المدن]. للعناوين الأخرى، يُرجى الدفع إلكترونيًا عبر [البطاقة / Apple Pay / طرق الدفع الأخرى المتاحة].

متى لا يتوفر الدفع عند الاستلام

لا يظهر خيار الدفع عند الاستلام في صفحة إتمام الطلب في الحالات التالية:

• إذا تجاوز إجمالي طلبك [المبلغ والعملة]؛
• إذا كان هذا طلبك الأول لدينا وتجاوز إجماليه [المبلغ والعملة]؛
• إذا احتوى طلبك على منتجات [مصنوعة حسب الطلب / مخصّصة / سريعة التلف]؛
• إذا كان في حسابك طلب سابق بالدفع عند الاستلام رُفض استلامه.

يمكنك في هذه الحالات إتمام الطلب والدفع إلكترونيًا.

كيف تدفع لمندوب التوصيل

يُرجى تجهيز المبلغ المطلوب بالضبط بـ[العملة]. [يمكن لمندوب التوصيل أيضًا قبول الدفع بالبطاقة عند الباب.] المبلغ المطلوب هو إجمالي الطلب المذكور في رسالة تأكيد الطلب، شاملًا رسوم التوصيل. [لا توجد رسوم إضافية على الدفع عند الاستلام.]

تأكيد الطلب

سنتواصل معك [باتصال هاتفي / برسالة واتساب / برسالة نصية] على رقم الهاتف المسجّل في طلبك لتأكيده قبل الشحن. إذا لم نتمكن من التواصل معك خلال [عدد الأيام]، فقد نُلغي الطلب.

مدة التوصيل

نوصّل الطلبات خلال [عدد أيام العمل] إلى [المنطقة]. سيتواصل معك مندوب التوصيل قبل وصوله.

تعديل الطلب أو إلغاؤه

يمكنك تعديل طلب الدفع عند الاستلام أو إلغاؤه مجانًا قبل شحنه. تواصل معنا عبر [واتساب / الهاتف / البريد الإلكتروني].

إذا رفضت استلام الطلب

رفض استلام طلب الدفع عند الاستلام يكلّفنا رسوم التوصيل ذهابًا وإيابًا. إذا رُفض طلب عند التسليم دون إبلاغنا مسبقًا، فقد نقصر طلباتك القادمة على الدفع الإلكتروني فقط. إذا كانت هناك مشكلة في طلبك، فيُرجى التواصل معنا قبل رفضه حتى نتمكن من مساعدتك.

الإرجاع بعد الدفع

بعد دفع قيمة طلبك واستلامه، تنطبق [سياسة الإرجاع] الخاصة بنا.

تواصل معنا

[رقم الهاتف / واتساب] · [البريد الإلكتروني] · [أيام وساعات العمل مع المنطقة الزمنية]

Where should you publish the policy?

Shopify gives you two places for it. You can use one or both.

Option 1: Add it to your shipping policy. Go to Settings > Policies and paste the COD section into your shipping policy. Shopify automatically links your store policies in the footer of the checkout pages, so the text is one tap away at the moment the shopper chooses how to pay. In Shopify's free themes, product pages can also link to the shipping policy.

Option 2: Give it its own page. Go to Online Store > Pages, click Add page, and paste the template. Then add the page to your footer menu (Shopify's help lists menus under Content > Menus) and link it from your FAQ.

Then point to it from the places shoppers already look:

• The COD payment method itself. In Settings > Payments, the manual payment method has an Additional details field, shown next to the method at checkout, and a Payment instructions field, shown on the order confirmation page. One line in each is enough, for example "Please have the exact amount ready. Our team will confirm your order by WhatsApp."
• Your order confirmation message, whether that is an email, SMS or WhatsApp.
• The saved replies your team uses on WhatsApp or Instagram.

If your store is in Arabic and English, translate the policy or page with Shopify's Translate & Adapt app, which handles policies and pages. Put the Arabic text from this template into the Arabic translation, not on the same page as the English.

Keep the policy in step with your checkout rules

The policy only helps if it matches what the checkout does. For example, if your rules hide COD above AED 1,500, write AED 1,500 in the policy, and update both on the same day when you change one. If you sell in more than one currency, give the limit in each currency or write "or the same value in your currency". If your COD rules run in an app such as Khaleeji COD, copy the amounts straight from the app's rules.

For how those limits work at checkout, see how to hide COD above a cart total and how to block COD for specific customers with tags.

What to leave out

• Promises your courier can't keep, such as a delivery hour or "open before you pay" if the courier won't allow it.
• Legal statements you haven't checked, such as quoting a law or saying the policy "complies with" a regulation.
• Penalties you can't collect. A refusal fee you have no way to collect only puts honest shoppers off.
• Long paragraphs. Many shoppers will read this page on a phone. Short headings and one idea per line work better.

Make the confirmation step match the method you use. Confirming COD orders by phone, SMS or WhatsApp compares the options. For the Arabic name of the payment method itself, see what to call Cash on Delivery in Arabic.