Some gyms run in paper mode or offline mode, which means billing is simulated and no real payment provider is involved. If your gym is set up this way, the payment setup page looks different from the standard Stripe flow.
What you will see
When your gym uses paper or offline mode, the payment setup page displays a banner:
PAPER MODE — This is a simulated payment page
Below the banner, a short note explains: "In paper mode, payment setup is simulated. No real payment details are collected. Your membership has been activated automatically."
The standard card-entry fields are shown greyed out and are not interactive — they exist only to illustrate the usual payment form. You do not need to fill them in.
What to do
- Read the banner to confirm you are in paper mode.
- If you need to return to the previous page, select Back.
Your membership is activated automatically in paper mode. There is nothing more for you to do on this page — no payment method needs to be entered.
How to know if your gym is in paper mode
- The Account tab in the member portal shows a purple "Demo Account — billing is simulated" banner.
- Invoice rows in your billing history show a "Simulated" badge.
- No Update payment method or Add payment method button appears on the Membership & Billing page.
Notes
- Paper mode is a gym-level setting controlled by your gym owner. If you believe your gym should be using live billing but you are seeing the simulated page, contact your gym.
- No real charge or card data is ever collected in paper mode.
- If your gym uses live billing and you were sent a payment-setup link, see Complete your payment setup instead.