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If you use Shopify Checkout together with SEPA-based subscription plans, Shop Pay can create a specific failure case that merchants should be aware of. As of April 7, 2026, Firmhouse automatically hides Shop Pay on the checkout when a customer uses the two-button checkout setup (non-Plus stores) and proceeds via the “Check out with iDeal/Bancontact” button. This prevents customers from mistakenly completing a SEPA subscription signup with Shop Pay. This article explains the original problem, what Firmhouse now does to prevent it, and how to recover subscriptions that were affected before this fix.

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Problem summary

The issue happens when all of the following are true:
  • A customer adds a product with a SEPA-based subscription plan to their cart
  • The customer proceeds to Shopify Checkout
  • The customer is already logged into Shop Pay
  • Shopify presents Shop Pay as the active or default payment method
In that situation, the checkout can still complete successfully. However, Shopify does not store Shop Pay as the recurring payment method for the subscription in this SEPA flow. As a result, the subscription is created without a usable recurring payment method attached. The first sign of this usually appears later, when the next recurring payment is attempted and fails.

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Why this happens in Shopify Checkout

When a customer is already authenticated with Shop Pay, Shopify may preselect Shop Pay immediately during checkout. That behavior happens on the Shopify side. For SEPA-based subscriptions, this can result in the initial checkout finishing with Shop Pay active, while no usable recurring payment method is saved onto the subscription itself. If you want more background on how SEPA recurring payments work after the first checkout payment, see Recurring Charges (SEPA) and Local Payment Method Subscriptions on Shopify Checkout.

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How Firmhouse prevents this for two-button checkout setups

As of April 7, 2026, Firmhouse automatically hides Shop Pay on the Shopify Checkout page when the customer arrives through the “Check out with iDeal/Bancontact” button in a two-button checkout setup. This applies to non-Plus Shopify stores that use a separate checkout button for local payment methods like iDeal or Bancontact alongside the standard “Buy now” or cart checkout button. When a customer clicks the iDeal/Bancontact checkout button, Firmhouse ensures that Shop Pay is not presented as a payment option on the checkout page. This means the customer can only select a supported SEPA-compatible payment method, preventing the broken-mandate scenario described above.

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Shopify Plus stores

For Shopify Plus stores that use a single checkout button, this automatic prevention is not yet available. Shopify Plus merchants still have two options:

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Option 1: Disable Shop Pay on your store

If you disable Shop Pay in Shopify, customers will no longer see it as a payment option during checkout. That removes this specific failure mode for SEPA subscription signups and forces customers to choose another available payment method that can be used with the subscription.

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Option 2: Keep Shop Pay enabled

If Shop Pay is important for conversion on your store, you may decide to keep it enabled. In that case, some customers can still start a SEPA subscription through Shopify Checkout with Shop Pay selected. Those subscriptions may then be created in a broken state and require recovery later.

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What happens if a subscription was started with Shop Pay

If a subscription was started with Shop Pay before this fix, or on a Shopify Plus store where the automatic prevention is not yet available, the subscription may have no usable recurring payment method stored. In that case, the next recurring charge will fail. This does not mean the subscription is permanently lost, but it does mean the customer needs to complete a recovery step so a supported recurring payment method can be attached.

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How Firmhouse helps recover affected subscriptions

Firmhouse already includes recovery flows that help merchants and customers resolve this situation.

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1. Customer-facing recovery via the invoice payment page

When the recurring payment fails, you can notify the customer and direct them to the invoice payment page using pay_now_url. This URL is already available in Firmhouse email templates and Klaviyo events. In practice, this usually means:
  • Your default Firmhouse payment-failure emails already include the link
  • Your Klaviyo flow can include the same link if you use Firmhouse events there
When the customer opens that link, they land on the invoice payment page and can complete the payment manually with one of the supported payment methods available through your linked payment provider setup. Invoice Payment Page When the customer completes that manual payment with a supported payment method, Firmhouse will also store that payment method for future recurring charges on the subscription. This means the payment is not only used to resolve the current failed invoice, but also to restore the subscription so later recurring orders can be charged successfully again. For more context on invoice payment pages, see Invoice Payment Links and View and pay for invoices. Firmhouse also includes an admin-side recovery option for supported provider setups. To find this link in the Firmhouse Portal:
  1. From the sidebar in the Firmhouse Portal, go to Subscriptions or Customers
  2. Find and open the subscription you want to recover
  3. In the Payment method section, click Send update email
  4. In the modal, expand Share an authorization payment link
  5. Copy the Update payment method link and send it to the customer by email or chat
Where to click Send update email in the Firmhouse Portal Authorization payment link in the Firmhouse Portal From the Shopify subscription recovery flow in the Firmhouse Portal, merchants or support staff can copy an Update your payment method link and send it to the customer directly by email or chat. When the customer opens that link, they are taken through a payment-method update flow where they complete a small authorization payment to verify the new payment method. That authorization amount is refunded immediately after the verification succeeds. Once that verification payment is completed, Firmhouse can store the supported recurring payment method on the subscription again. This restores the broken payment setup so subsequent recurring orders can be charged successfully. This option is specifically intended as a recovery tool and is available for payment-provider setups that support mandate creation through this flow.

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What merchants should configure now

Even with the automatic Shop Pay prevention in place for two-button setups, it is good practice to have your recovery communication ready in case any subscriptions were affected before the fix, or if you are on Shopify Plus where the prevention is not yet available. We recommend that you:
  1. Review your failed-payment and outstanding-invoice emails in Firmhouse
  2. Confirm that your templates or Klaviyo flows include invoice.pay_now_url
  3. Test the payment-failure path so your team knows what the customer will receive
  4. Make sure the payment methods you want customers to use for recovery are enabled on your linked payment provider
If you need help updating your email templates, see Dynamic Email Liquid Tags and Outstanding invoice reminders.

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What Firmhouse is working on next

The automatic Shop Pay prevention for two-button checkout setups was released on April 7, 2026. Firmhouse is continuing to work on:
  • Extending Shop Pay prevention to Shopify Plus stores with single-button checkout setups
  • Proactively notifying customers that their payment method has become unavailable before the next recurring order is attempted, so they can correct it earlier