Managed Markets & Merchant of Record
What's Flow Commerce, and is it a real alternative to Shopify Managed Markets/Global-e?
Short answer
Flow Commerce, a cross-border ecommerce software company, is not an alternative to Shopify's Managed Markets, because Global-e owns it. Global-e closed the purchase, valued at up to approximately $500 million, in January 2022 (Global-e investor relations, October 2026). Global-e is also the merchant of record behind Managed Markets (Shopify Help Center, October 2026), so both routes lead to one company.
- Flow Commerce owner
- Global-e, since January 2022Global-e valued the deal at up to approximately $500 million, in equal portions of cash and Global-e shares, and put Flow's former chief executive at the head of a new division for small and medium-sized businesses.Source: Global-e investor relations (Global-e Announces Closing of Acquisition of Flow Commerce and Expansion of its Leadership Team)
- Merchant of record on Managed Markets
- Global-eShopify says Managed Markets "adds Global-e as the merchant of record". The signing Global-e company depends on the store's country: Global-e US Inc. for US stores (October 2026).Sources: Shopify Help Center (Overview of Managed Markets); Global-e (Service Terms for Shopify Managed Markets, Canadian Service Terms for Shopify Managed Markets, UK Service Terms for Shopify Managed Markets)
- Shopify and Global-e agreement
- Three years, announced 14 May 2025Global-e stays the exclusive merchant-of-record provider for Shopify's own branded service, and the preferred one for merchant-of-record services on Shopify.Source: Global-e investor relations (Global-e and Shopify sign new multi-year strategic partnership agreement)
- Global-e's app beside Managed Markets
- Not allowedShopify: "You can't use Managed Markets and the Global-e app at the same time." Global-e supports users of its own app directly (October 2026).Source: Shopify Help Center (Overview of Managed Markets)
Deploi’s call
Flow Commerce is a historical brand name inside Global-e, not a live alternative to Managed Markets, the Shopify service Global-e runs as merchant of record. Any shortlist that contains both Managed Markets and Flow has one vendor on it.
WaitStay on Managed Markets, Shopify's merchant-of-record service, when
- Your Shopify storefront is your only cross-border channel. Deploi's Global-e vs. Managed Markets record scores that WAIT at mid-market, which means stay on the native service (Deploi decision record, October 2026).
- Your business is based in the continental United States, or is an eligible store in Canada or the United Kingdom (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).
- You want one support line, because "All Managed Markets questions go to Shopify Support" (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).
BuyContract with Global-e directly when
- You also sell cross-border through marketplaces, retail or another platform. The record scores a direct Global-e contract BUY there, because it covers channels Managed Markets never sees (Deploi decision record, October 2026).
- International volume is large enough that negotiated rates outweigh months of enterprise onboarding, and your team can own the vendor relationship. Those are the record's other two BUY tests (Deploi decision record, October 2026).
Basis: Global-e vs. Managed Markets: Which Merchant of Record Fits?, our Build vs. Buy decision record, scored WAIT.
What is Flow Commerce today?
Flow Commerce is a cross-border ecommerce software company owned by Global-e, the merchant of record behind Shopify's Managed Markets. Global-e announced on 4 January 2022 that it had closed its purchase of Flow (Global-e investor relations, October 2026). The release described Flow as cross-border software "for emerging brands". It valued the deal at "up to approximately $500 million (in equal portions of cash and Global-e shares)". Flow's former chief executive joined Global-e to "head Global-e’s newly formed SMB division", its unit for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB).
Flow's own site still shows its 2022 page. It says "We are delighted to now officially be a part of the Global-e Group!", carries a 2022 copyright and tells visitors "You will be redirected to the Global-e website" (Flow Commerce, October 2026). So Flow is not a third option to weigh when you ask whether Managed Markets pays its way under $5M of international sales. Flow Commerce is also not Shopify Flow, Shopify's free automation app (Shopify App Store, October 2026).
How does Flow tie Global-e to Shopify's own cross-border service?
Flow tied Global-e, a cross-border ecommerce company, more closely to Shopify, because Global-e bought Flow partly to widen its Shopify deal. Global-e said the purchase was "expected to allow Global-e to expand the scope of its exclusive relationship with Shopify" (Global-e investor relations, October 2026). Global-e also "issued to Shopify a warrant for approximately $70 million in Global-e shares". Flow's site still headlines "Flow Selected to Power Shopify’s Native Cross-Border Solution!" (Flow Commerce, October 2026). Shopify renamed that service from Markets Pro to Managed Markets starting 24 June 2024 (Shopify Changelog, October 2026).
The tie holds today. On 14 May 2025 Global-e and Shopify announced a new three-year agreement under which "Global-e will remain the exclusive provider of MoR services for the Shopify branded solution", where MoR means merchant of record (Global-e investor relations, October 2026). For third-party solutions, Global-e "will remain the preferred partner for MoR services on Shopify". So Shopify's branded merchant-of-record route is Global-e's by contract, and Flow is part of Global-e.
Is Global-e's own app a real alternative to Managed Markets?
Global-e's own app is the one real alternative from that company. Shopify forbids running it beside Managed Markets, Shopify's merchant-of-record service: "You can't use Managed Markets and the Global-e app at the same time" (Shopify Help Center, October 2026). The two routes differ in contract, fees and support, not in who sells to your customer.
| Line | Managed Markets | Global-e CrossBorder app |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant of record | Global-e; its US terms name Global-e US Inc. | Global-e |
| Published fee | 3.5% per transaction, or 3.25% on Shopify Plus, plus currency conversion | Not published; negotiated with Global-e |
| Who supports you | Shopify Support, for every question | Global-e directly |
| Where it lives | The Markets page of the Shopify admin | An App Store listing since 21 October 2021, 4.6 stars from under 10 reviews |
| Running both on one store | Not allowed | Not allowed |
Deploi's Global-e vs. Managed Markets record scores Managed Markets WAIT at mid-market (Deploi decision record, October 2026). It scores a direct Global-e contract BUY at enterprise cross-border scale, because negotiated terms and channels beyond Shopify then pay for months of onboarding.
Where should you look for a merchant of record outside Global-e?
Look at ESW (a cross-border ecommerce company) and Reach, or register for tax yourself, because neither Flow nor Global-e's own app changes the company behind the sale. ESW and Reach both act as merchant of record for Shopify stores outside the Global-e group (ESW, Reach, October 2026), and the providers answer compares how each connects and who owns it. Check ownership before you shortlist, because Global-e has bought more than Flow: it completed its purchase of Passport, a cross-border shipping and logistics company, on 1 July 2026 (Global-e investor relations, October 2026).
Registering for tax yourself leaves every merchant of record out. Deploi's cross-border stack record scores your own stack CUSTOMIZE once international sales pass roughly $2M a year in two to four markets, the record's illustrative estimate (Deploi decision record, October 2026). Below that, the record scores Managed Markets WAIT, so the native service stays the default.
When does Flow's history change your decision?
Flow's history changes your decision in three cases: a vendor deck that lists Flow as independent, a risk register that tracks concentration, and a negotiation with Global-e.
Deploi’s point of view
Our own position, from building on Shopify. Kept apart from the sourced facts above.
- What we’ve seen
- Flow still appears on cross-border vendor shortlists nearly four years after the acquisition closed, usually because the shortlist was assembled from search results rather than from corporate filings. The five minutes it takes to read an investor release is the cheapest diligence on the whole project.
- Where we disagree
- The standard comparison article treats "Flow vs Managed Markets vs Global-e" as three options. It is one underwriter and two commercial routes. We would rather say that plainly than publish a three-column table that implies a choice which does not exist.
- What this page adds
- Who owns Flow and since when, what the deal was worth, the Shopify warrant and the three-year agreement that keep Shopify's branded merchant-of-record route with Global-e, that Flow's site is a 2022 page pointing to Global-e, and that Shopify forbids running Global-e's own app beside Managed Markets.
Decision records behind this answer
When this answer changes
- Shopify and Global-e renew, extend or end the three-year agreement they announced on 14 May 2025.
- Global-e retires the Flow Commerce site, or relaunches Flow as a separate product.
- Shopify allows Managed Markets and Global-e's own app on one store, or changes who supports Managed Markets.
- Shopify settles its currency conversion fee: 1.5% on its pricing pages, 2% outside the US in its Help Center (October 2026).
- Global-e buys another cross-border provider, as it bought Passport in July 2026.
Related questions
This follows from Is Managed Markets worth it for a brand doing under $5M in international sales, or is that too small to justify the fee?
- Are there merchant-of-record providers besides Global-e and Flow Commerce that integrate with Shopify?
ESW (a cross-border ecommerce company) and Reach act as merchant of record for Shopify stores outside Global-e, as of October 2026.
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Official and vendor pages are checked on the date shown; Deploi records are our own published decisions.
- Global-e investor relations, Global-e Announces Closing of Acquisition of Flow Commerce and Expansion of its Leadership Team
- Global-e investor relations, Global-e and Shopify sign new multi-year strategic partnership agreement
- Flow Commerce, Cross Border Ecommerce Solutions
- Shopify Help Center, Overview of Managed Markets
- Shopify Help Center, Requirements and considerations for using Managed Markets
- Shopify, Pricing for Shopify's international sales tools and Shopify Managed Markets
- Shopify Help Center, Fees and costs
- Global-e, Service Terms for Shopify Managed Markets
- Global-e Online Ltd., Global-e CrossBorder on the Shopify App Store
- Shopify App Store, Shopify Flow
- Shopify Changelog, Markets Pro is now Managed Markets
- Global-e investor relations, Global-e Closes on Acquisition of Passport
- ESW, The ESW x Shopify Solution
- Reach developer docs, Getting started with Shopify
- Global-e, Canadian Service Terms for Shopify Managed Markets
- Global-e, UK Service Terms for Shopify Managed Markets
- Deploi Build vs. Buy, Global-e vs. Managed Markets: Which Merchant of Record Fits?
- Deploi Build vs. Buy, Build Your Cross-Border Stack or Use Managed Markets on Shopify?