Member Area 100% Discount Still Requires Credit Card Payment Entry

I am trying to give free access to my paid membership area to a few family/friends.  I have the discount code set up and it is showing as $0.00 total when signing up, but it's still requiring a credit card to finish the process.  I also have the discount code set to never expire, so theoretically, a credit card shouldn't be necessary to sign up.  Any ideas on how to make this work without adding a payment method, since there is no total to be paid?  Thanks!

On 10/29/2022 at 2:44 AM, AYYoga said:

I have the discount code set up and it is showing as $0.00 total when signing up, but it's still requiring a credit card to finish the process.

Squarespace requires the card details for all recurring subscriptions or memberships, including renewals, even though the amount due is 0.00 after the discount has been applied. This allows the customer to be charged if the cost of the subscription increases in future, although the subscription increase functionality isn't available today (September 2024).

UPDATE: @paul2009, yes, I did have it set to "all payments" and it was still requiring a credit card number to proceed.  Thanks!

I believe I marked it for "all payments," but I will double check and let you know.

I believe I marked it for "all payments," but I will double check and let you know.

UPDATE...reply from Squarespace support:

At the moment, card details are required for all recurring subscriptions or memberships, even though technically the total will be zero, even for renewals.
 
We don't currently offer another option, but I'd be happy to suggest it to our development team on your behalf. While we can't guarantee implementation of every suggestion, customer feedback is an important part of how we continue to improve our platform, so we appreciate your input.
 

On 10/31/2022 at 7:59 PM, AYYoga said:

At the moment, card details are required for all recurring subscriptions or memberships, even though…the total will be zero, even for renewals.

This is not an ideal situation, but it isn't something you can change. 

I agreed - Not an ideal situation. 😞  I hope the dev team takes a look into this. In Germany many customers still do not use CCs, and prefer external transactions such as direct bank transfers.

I have the same problem and received the same answer from Squarespace support. They should change this, is preventing us from giving out small courses for free to achieve a subscription into larger items. If you add a 1 time price full price, you can apply the 100% without Card being asked. Be aware that is the price they have to chose, if they go for the monthly payments they will be asked for CC.

@AYYoga how did you create the discount code? I don't see the member site as an option when attempting to create the discount code...

52 minutes ago, HeidiN said:

how did you create the discount code? I don't see the member site as an option when attempting to create the discount code

@HeidiN If you have a Member Site that requires customers to pay, you should see Digital Products in the APPLIES TO dropdown. After selecting Digital Products, the next box should show the available Member Sites and their pricing plans. In this example, the Member Site is called 'Yoga':

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Thank you so much, this is VERY helpful!

Is there any plan to look at this? I offer paid memberships to small businesses but my bigger organisations pay on invoice. As we grow it's getting a bit embarrassing to still have to enter card details and people are really put off. I may have to move to another platform! That would be such a shame though as I love everything else about it. 

I'm just commenting to add my voice, letting Squarespace know this is important!

I have a large number of followers who don't trust the internet but who would gladly pay for my membership in cash a year at a time. 

I also have a large number of followers who I would like to give free memberships to - and many of them won't take them because they don't want to put a credit/debit card in my site. 

Eventually this could become something that would force me to move my subscription service... it's small now, but I did a deep dive on some stats and strategies and it's one of the things that was brought up. 

Ideally, a toggle switch that allows the page owner to decide if cards are required or not would be awesome. I know some people WANT to require credit cards. 

Commenting here to also let my voice be known - in sync with what is stated above. Having to enter CC details is a big hurdle (showstopper in many cases) when providing free memberships. We are having the same issue, would be ideal to have the requirement for free memberships removed. 

I wish they would update this to what someone suggested above "Ideally, a toggle switch that allows the page owner to decide if cards are required or not would be awesome." I have a subscription based site but when it is sold in bulk with only one invoice covering many members it would be great to give all members access without having them have to enter their credit card information. Even with the 100% off discount code it is still off putting to people and I am finding people not signing up for the subscription because of it. 

2024, and still no (so much) improvement!
Like many people here, I see so many potential members every week who DO NOT subscribe because of their credit card details. Having a free trial (without a credit card) is a basic option that even the SQSP website offers! Please, SQSP, if you want us to succeed, give us the tools! The toggle switch (with or without card) is a nice idea!

In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you've come up with as a solution?