Shopify recurring payments let you charge a customer on a schedule without asking them to go through checkout each time. They are what make a subscription possible, and they work a little differently from a normal order.
This guide explains how they work, which payment gateways you can use, and what to do when a payment fails.
How recurring payments work on Shopify
There are three main parts:
- A purchase option. It defines the delivery schedule, price, and billing terms that the customer picks on the product page. Developers call this a selling plan.
- A subscription contract. This is the agreement between the customer and the merchant for the recurring purchases.
- A stored payment method. It can pay for future orders without the customer going through checkout again.
Your subscription app connects these parts and manages the schedule. You never see the customer’s full card details, because Shopify doesn’t give merchants access to them.
Pay per delivery or prepaid?
Shopify describes two main models:
- Pay per delivery: the customer pays for each order as it comes. This is the common subscribe and save model.
- Prepaid: the customer pays once up front and receives deliveries on a schedule. This suits gifts well.
Which payment gateways support subscriptions?
Not every gateway can handle recurring charges. Shopify lists these as supported gateways:
- Shopify Payments
- PayPal Express, with third-party transaction fees if Shopify Payments isn’t activated
- Authorize.net, where PayPal is the only wallet option
- Adyen, limited to organizations with existing approval
- Stripe, available only to select merchants
Availability depends on your region and the gateway’s terms, so check your own store before you plan a launch. This list can change too, so confirm it on Shopify’s page.
What customers see at checkout
Shopify shows the delivery frequency, a shipping choice for the first delivery, and a purchase option agreement at checkout. Being clear here protects you as well, since a customer who understands the charge is less likely to dispute it.
What happens when a payment fails?
A payment can fail because of an expired card, a lost card, or a lack of funds. It doesn’t always mean that the customer wants to leave. Without a recovery process, though, you can lose them anyway.
A good recovery process does three things:
- Tries the payment again after a sensible delay.
- Tells the customer clearly and gives them an easy way to update their card.
- Stops retrying if the subscription has been paused or cancelled.
On Shopify Payments, automatic card updates can help too. On other gateways, ask whether customers must update their details by hand.
Things that trip up merchants
- Gift cards: Shopify says that gift cards used to pay for subscriptions apply only to the first payment.
- Shipping: the customer’s chosen method applies to the first delivery, and recurring shipments default to the least expensive method.
- Payment methods: local, manual, or non-credit-card methods might not be available.
- Deleted cards: deleting a card in Shop Pay doesn’t stop an active subscription. The customer must cancel it separately.
How Subsy helps
Subsy manages your plans, renewals, and failed-payment recovery from one dashboard, and customers can manage their own subscriptions through a self-service portal. The free plan covers up to 40 subscribers.