The idea of playing now is the Beta test the site before it's opened fully. If you don't want to do that, you could just come back when it's open. Personally I'm enjoying playing now and will enjoy starting over again after the reset.
With the payment issue, if you subscribe now there's a message on the subscription page saying
"Your subscription will be 'reset' when beta ends, giving you a further 12 months. Your future stipend dates will be recalculated when this happens."