How to Use Claude API Without a Credit Card (2026)

Anthropic now requires government ID + face scan. Here's the alternative.

The Problem

Starting July 2026, Anthropic requires all Claude API users to submit a government-issued ID + facial recognition scan. If you don't have a passport from a supported country, you're locked out. Even if you do, you might not want to upload your identity documents to an AI company.

This leaves three groups stranded:

Developers in countries Anthropic doesn't support
Privacy-conscious engineers who don't want their passport in an AI database
Anyone who just wants to try Claude without the paperwork

The Solution: OpenAI-Compatible Proxy

An OpenAI-compatible proxy sits between you and Claude. You send OpenAI-format requests. The proxy translates them to Anthropic format and returns the response. You never deal with Anthropic directly.

curl https://amzmate.top/api/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" \
-d '{"model":"claude-sonnet-4-6","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}]}'

Same Claude models, same output quality, 70% cheaper than direct Anthropic pricing, and no passport required.

Pricing Comparison

Model	Anthropic Direct	Via Proxy	Savings
Claude Opus 4.8	$5.00 / $25.00 per 1M	$1.50 / $8.00	70%
Claude Sonnet 4.6	$3.00 / $15.00 per 1M	$1.50 / $8.00	50%
Qwen-Plus	$2.00 / $6.00	$0.80 / $2.40	60%
DeepSeek-Chat	$2.00 / $4.00	$1.50 / $3.00	25%