add_payment_info

The add_payment_info event fires when a user completes the payment step of checkout. The key parameter here is payment_type — which payment method did they select? Credit card, PayPal, Klarna, Apple Pay? This data helps you understand payment method preferences and whether certain payment options correlate with higher checkout completion rates.

When to fire

Fire add_payment_info when:

• The user selects a payment method and clicks “Continue” or “Place Order”
• The payment step is completed in a single-page checkout
• The user confirms their payment method selection

Do not fire it when the payment step loads — fire when the user completes the step and advances.

Complete dataLayer push

// Always clear previous ecommerce data first
dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });

dataLayer.push({
  event: 'add_payment_info',
  ecommerce: {
    currency: 'USD',
    value: 174.47,
    coupon: 'SUMMER15',
    payment_type: 'credit_card',
    items: [
      {
        item_id: 'SKU-001-BLK-L',
        item_name: 'Classic Leather Jacket',
        item_brand: 'Heritage Co.',
        item_category: 'Apparel',
        item_category2: 'Outerwear',
        item_variant: 'Black / Large',
        price: 89.99,
        quantity: 1,
        coupon: 'SUMMER15',
        discount: 13.50,
        affiliation: 'Online Store'
      },
      {
        item_id: 'SKU-047-WHT-M',
        item_name: 'Cotton Crew T-Shirt',
        item_brand: 'Heritage Co.',
        item_category: 'Apparel',
        item_category2: 'Tops',
        item_variant: 'White / Medium',
        price: 24.99,
        quantity: 2,
        coupon: '',
        discount: 0,
        affiliation: 'Online Store'
      },
      {
        item_id: 'SKU-112-TAN-34',
        item_name: 'Woven Leather Belt',
        item_brand: 'Heritage Co.',
        item_category: 'Accessories',
        item_category2: 'Belts',
        item_variant: 'Tan / 34',
        price: 34.50,
        quantity: 1,
        coupon: '',
        discount: 0,
        affiliation: 'Online Store'
      }
    ]
  }
});

Event schema

Event Schema add_payment_info

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
event	string	Required	Must be "add_payment_info"
ecommerce.currency	string	Required	ISO 4217 currency code.
ecommerce.value	number	Required	Cart subtotal (before tax and shipping).
ecommerce.coupon	string	Optional	Order-level coupon code if applied.
ecommerce.payment_type	string	Optional	The selected payment method. Standardize values across your implementation.
ecommerce.items[]	Array<Item>	Required	All items in the cart at payment step.
items[].item_id	string	Required	SKU or variant-level product identifier.
items[].item_name	string	Required	Product name.
items[].price	number	Optional	Unit price.
items[].quantity	number	Optional	Quantity.
items[].coupon	string	Optional	Item-level coupon.
items[].discount	number	Optional	Item-level discount.

Payment type values

Use consistent, lowercase values for payment_type. These are the recommended values:

payment_type: 'credit_card'     // Visa, Mastercard, Amex
payment_type: 'debit_card'
payment_type: 'paypal'
payment_type: 'apple_pay'
payment_type: 'google_pay'
payment_type: 'klarna'
payment_type: 'afterpay'
payment_type: 'bank_transfer'
payment_type: 'gift_card'
payment_type: 'store_credit'

If you need to distinguish credit card brands (Visa vs. Amex), you can include the brand: payment_type: 'visa', payment_type: 'amex'.

GTM configuration

1. Create a Custom Event trigger. Event name: add_payment_info. Name it CE - add_payment_info.

2. Create Data Layer Variables for ecommerce.currency, ecommerce.value, ecommerce.coupon, ecommerce.payment_type, and ecommerce.items.

3. Create the GA4 Event tag. Event name: add_payment_info. Enable Send Ecommerce data. Add currency, value, coupon, and payment_type as explicit event parameters.

4. Test in Preview mode. Select different payment methods and advance through the checkout. Confirm payment_type changes correctly for each selection.

Common mistakes

Not capturing the actual payment method. If your payment step has multiple options (credit card, PayPal, Klarna) but you always push payment_type: 'credit_card', you’re losing the distribution data. Dynamically read the selected payment option from the checkout form state.

Firing before the user selects a method. If the payment step auto-selects a default payment method and you fire on step load, you’re capturing the default — not the user’s actual choice if they change it before advancing.

add_shipping_info The preceding checkout step.

purchase The final checkout event — order confirmation.

begin_checkout The checkout funnel starting point.