Accept free orders without payment details

Overview

By default, the checkout collects payment details from shoppers even when the order total is zero. With the free orders feature enabled, shoppers can complete zero-value new acquisition orders without entering any payment information.

This applies in two scenarios:

• Zero-value product — the product's listed price is $0.00

• Zero-value order — a coupon or discount reduces a paid product's total to $0.00

This feature is particularly useful for free trial offers. Instead of requiring shoppers to enter payment details upfront — which can discourage sign-ups — you can let them start a trial immediately with just their billing information. Payment details are only collected later, when the free subscription converts to a paid one.

Trial model	Payment at sign-up	Renewal
Paid trial	Reduced amount charged	Auto-renews to full price
Free trial with auto-renewal	Card details required, no charge	Auto-renews to full price
Free order without payment details	No payment details required	Manual — shopper opts in

Removing the upfront payment requirement lowers the barrier to entry and reduces shopper distrust around auto-renewal charges. The trade-off is that conversion from trial to paid becomes an active decision rather than a passive one, so this model works best for products where self-service sign-up volume matters more than passive renewal conversion.

Requirements

Available for merchants on any plan, at no extra cost.

Available for Default flows, ConvertPlus and Inline Cart shopping carts.

Contact either your customer success representative or merchant support to support activation of the feature.

How It Works

Checkout experience

When a shopper reaches a checkout with a $0.00 total, the page adapts automatically:

• The cart summary shows $0.00 as the total

• The payment method and card detail fields are hidden

• The shopper fills in their billing details (name, email, address) as usual

• The Place Order button is available without any payment input

• The order confirmation page does not display payment method information

Zero-value product vs. zero-value order

For a zero-value product, the payment section is hidden from the moment the shopper lands on the checkout page.

For a zero-value order (discount-driven), the payment section is hidden dynamically once the coupon or discount is applied and the total reaches $0.00.

Recurring Subscription Handling

For zero-value orders on subscription products, the renewal behavior depends on the subscription type configured for that product:

Subscription type	Renewal behavior
One-time / Lifetime	No renewal is triggered after the order is placed
Recurring	Shopper receives a manual renewal email when the subscription expires

If a recurring zero-value subscription renews at a non-zero price in the future, the shopper will be asked to provide payment details when they complete the manual renewal.

FAQs

Is the order activated immediately, even without payment?

Yes. A zero-value order is treated as a completed, paid order. The subscription or product access is activated immediately upon placement.

Does the payment section disappear automatically when a coupon is applied?

Yes. Once a discount brings the total to $0.00, the payment fields are hidden dynamically.

Is the shopper's billing information still saved?

Yes. Billing details are always collected and stored, even for zero-value orders. This is required to generate the order record and, where applicable, to manage future subscription renewals.

What happens when a free trial set up this way expires?

The shopper receives a manual renewal email. When they click through to renew, they are prompted to enter payment details at that point. If they do not act, the subscription expires without any charge having been made.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The zero-value checkout behavior is consistent across both desktop and mobile versions of the shopping cart.