As recorded at collection: Bypassing payment for Shopify’s paid-plan free trial with SEPA

This post discusses a method for starting a free trial of a Shopify paid plan by routing the connection as if accessing from Germany and selecting SEPA (European bank transfer) as the payment method. The poster says the same method was first shared for Claude Max 20x and Figma, and that it could also be tried with Shopify just for fun.

The process involves creating a new account, choosing a trial plan, and selecting SEPA at the payment stage. It includes entering an EU country account number generated with an external tool, along with a matching false name and billing address. The specific steps for submitting an account number without the real owner’s consent and a false identity for payment review are not reproduced. The setting for changing the display language to German is under the profile icon, not the store settings.

The free trial is usually shown only for new accounts, and the German proxy connection (VPN) must remain active while creating the account. If the proxy connection is disconnected midway, the trial option may disappear. Entering an account number belonging to someone else or generated at random, along with false billing information, violates Shopify’s terms of service and constitutes payment fraud, and may lead to account suspension, payment refusal, and legal liability. For legitimate options, check the official free trial and promotions offering a discount on the first payment.