Subscription merchants that take payment by Visa cards will have
new acceptance, disclosure, and cancellation requirements imposed
on their transactions beginning April 18, 2020. As Visa recently announced, the card brand is updating its
rules for merchants that offer free trials or introductory offers
as part of an ongoing subscription program.
The Visa rules follow on the heels of similar Mastercard rules that became effective earlier
this year. However, while MasterCard’s rules focus on
merchants selling subscriptions for physical goods, Visa’s
rules apply to merchants selling either physical or digital
products if the merchant offers a free trial or introductory offer
that rolls into an ongoing subscription arrangement.
