How to validate a payment method, during signup for a Trial?

Problem Statement

You want to know how to validate a payment method, during signup for a trial.

Scope

How to collect cards for subscriptions that do not have any immediate charges?

How to verify card information for trial subscriptions?

Summary

Chargebee enables you to allow your customers to complete their checkout without adding a payment method to the subscriptions such as trial subscription, 100% discounted products/services & zero dollar subscriptions. However, if your business requires to validate the payment details, you can disable this option from Settings > Configure Chargebee > Checkout> Allow customers to checkout without payment details. This option allows you to collect the payment details on checkout, and validate the payment details without charging the customer.

Solution

To disable this feature, navigate to Settings > Configure Chargebee > Checkout> Allow customers to checkout without payment details.

Note: This feature is protected using Google Invisible reCAPTCHA to stop spam checkouts by bots.

Alternatively, if you have enabled this feature, you will have options to apply this functionality to skip payment method collection during checkout.

Available options are:

• Full credit/ discount coupons
• Plans with free trials
• Zero-dollar plans

So you can collect payment methods specific to trial subscriptions by choosing Skip payment details collection during checkout and ensure Plans with free trials as unchecked.

Note: If you are using this option Skip payment details collection during checkout, then you must have to choose atleast one option from the list.

Once updated, click on 'Publish', and then every payment detail on checkout for trial subscriptions will be collected and validated.

Sample screenshot of card validation on checkout for a trial subscription (For the below case, the card authentication failed due to incorrect card details)