MasterCard, Visa and American Express are committed to preventing hidden online subscriptions to comply with EU consumer protection rules, the European Commission announced on Thursday 19 January.
Specifically, they have changed their rules to ensure that merchants provide consumers with clear information about recurring payments before they commit to a subscription.
This is the result of a dialogue between the credit card companies initiated by the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network authorities, the Danish Consumer Ombudsman and the Commission.
American Express now requires merchants to send a reminder notification for the first subscription fee. MasterCard and Visa have gone a step further by requiring merchants to display the applicable subscription fee in the payment window where consumers enter their credit card information for their first purchase or first trial leading to a subscription.
A survey on consumer scams and fraud published in 2020 showed that almost 10% of consumers in the EU had been lured into an unwanted subscription.
The CPC Network will monitor the implementation of these commitments, and national authorities will take further action if additional problems are identified. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)