Guide
How subscription payments work
A one-off order is paid once, with the customer present. A renewal is paid again and again, with the customer absent. Nearly every payment problem in a subscription business comes from that difference.
- CustomerChecks outChooses a plan and pays the first order
- ShopifyVaults the methodThe card never reaches the app
- Your storeContract createdA Shopify object you own
- ShopifyBills on scheduleA billing attempt each cycle
- Your storeOrder createdFulfilled like any other
Start here
How subscription payments work explains vaulting, merchant-initiated charges and why the first payment matters more than any other.
What changes when you sell internationally
- Strong Customer Authentication — why a European renewal can come back asking the customer to confirm it
- Currencies — renewing in the currency the customer bought in
- Sales tax and VAT — which address decides the rate, every cycle
- Payment methods — which ones can be charged again later
When a renewal fails
Declines are not all the same, and the fix depends on the reason. Recovering failed payments, designing a retry schedule and handling chargebacks cover the ground.
Every guide in this series
- How Subscription Payments Work: Vaulting, Renewals and Consent Start here What happens when a subscription renews: vaulted payment methods, merchant-initiated charges, why the first payment matters most, and where renewals go wrong.
- Pre-Renewal Reminder Emails: The Message That Prevents Chargebacks Telling subscribers before you charge them reduces disputes and turns cancellations into skips. When to send renewal reminders, what to put in them, and where.
- Sales Tax and VAT on Subscriptions: What Changes on Renewal Tax on a subscription isn't set once. It generally follows the delivery address on each renewal — and subscribers move. What to check across US sales tax, VAT.
- Selling Subscriptions in Multiple Currencies on Shopify How subscriptions work across currencies on Shopify: renewing in the currency the customer bought in, pricing per market, and what exchange rates do to your margin.
- Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and Subscription Renewals How Europe's Strong Customer Authentication affects subscription renewals — why the first payment is authenticated, why renewals usually aren't, and why some.
- Subscription Chargebacks: Why They Happen and How to Prevent Them Most subscription chargebacks are customers who didn't expect a charge or couldn't find how to cancel. How to prevent them, and why they cost far more than a.
- Which Payment Methods Work for Subscriptions? Not every payment method can be charged again later. Which ones support subscription renewals, why some disappear at a subscription checkout, and which reduce.