In October 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a new click-to-cancel rule to make it easier for consumers to cancel automatically-renewing subscriptions or recurring services.
What this means for ROLLER venues is that any automatically renewing subscriptions, like memberships, must be as easy to cancel as they are to sign up for, key terms and conditions are communicated to guests before they make a purchase and venues are responsible for canceling promptly and providing proper communication to guests.
It’s important that all venues located in the US are in compliance with the FTC’s click-to-cancel rule to avoid any penalties. This must be done by 14 July 2025.
This guide walks through ROLLER’s features that will help you navigate this change.
Membership terms consent in the online checkout
A membership consent checkbox is available in the online checkout for guests if your venue is in the US. This is to ensure you’re compliant with the FTC ruling.
The membership consent checkbox outlines key membership terms, including subscription amount and frequency, cancellation instructions and the ability to provide a link to your venue's membership terms and conditions.
This checkbox is a mandatory field, which means all guests paying for memberships must acknowledge the terms and conditions of the membership before paying. This applies to guests who are paying for, upgrading or renewing their membership in the online checkout.
To include your membership cancellation terms and broader terms and conditions in the membership consent checkbox, follow the steps below.
- From Venue Manager, go to Products > All products.
- Select the membership product you'd like to update with your cancellation terms and terms and conditions.
- Scroll down to Additional options and find Cancellation terms. Check the box and provide instructions on how guests can cancel their memberships (max. 150 characters). Your cancellation policy should be simple and easy for guests to follow.
- Then find Terms and conditions. Check the box (if you haven’t already configured this option).
- Copy and paste your membership terms and conditions into the space provided.
- Select Save.
- Repeat this process for each membership product you want to update.
Now, guests will be able to select and view your membership cancellation terms and terms and conditions when they make a membership purchase using the online checkout.
Update your membership products
You can also access additional features to help you manage and automate your membership program to create a seamless guest experience.
We recommend that you review all your membership products and check that they’ve been configured in a way that makes your cancellation policies easy-to-find, with clear instructions on how guests can action a cancellation if they choose to do so.
For example:
- Update your membership instructions to include your cancellation policy (available on all plans). These instructions will display in the order confirmation email guests receive.
- Update your membership emails to include your cancellation policy (available on all plans).
- Update your booking agreement to include your cancellation policy (available for premium plans and above).
- Allow guests to cancel their memberships from their online account (if you use this feature, available for pro plans and above).
See below for more information on membership emails, booking agreements and online accounts.
Membership emails (available on all plans)
We recommend you review your membership management emails to ensure your membership terms, cancellation policies and cancellation methods are easy to find and have clear instructions for guests wanting to cancel their membership.
There are a number of membership management email templates you can customize in ROLLER. These email templates can be updated to include your cancellation policies and procedures.
Booking agreements (available on a premium plan and above)
A booking agreement requires your guests to read and accept terms and conditions digitally before purchasing recurring payment memberships. Your booking agreement can be used to outline your cancellation policy.
Online accounts (available on a pro plan and above)
Our online accounts feature enables guests to self-serve their memberships, including canceling via their online account. Online accounts give your guests an easy way to cancel their memberships at any time, without having to call or visit your venue.
FAQs
What is the FTC's click-to-cancel rule?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has introduced a "click-to-cancel" rule to simplify the process of canceling subscriptions and recurring services (like memberships) that automatically renew. This rule ensures that cancellations are as easy as signing up, eliminating unnecessary hurdles for consumers.
When does the rule come into effect?
The rule officially came into effect on 14 January 2025. Businesses have until 14 July 2025 to comply.
What are the key requirements of this rule?
The rule includes the following key provisions:
- Clear disclosures prior to sign-up: Companies must obtain clear, express consent for these subscriptions, including by providing disclosure of the following:
- The charge value in dollars.
- The deadlines or frequency for charges.
- The details of the subscription length, including any trial periods.
- A description of the cancellation methods and how the consumer can find the simple cancellation method.
- Express, informed consent.
- Express, informed consent includes:
- Simplified cancellation process: If a subscription can be started online, it must also be cancelable online.
- No unnecessary steps: Businesses cannot require extra steps like calling customer service or filling out forms to cancel.
- Clear consent for retention offers: Companies must obtain explicit consent before presenting special retention offers (eg discounts) to customers attempting to cancel.
- Confirmation requirements: Businesses must promptly confirm cancellations and notify consumers that their subscription has been successfully terminated.
Who is impacted by this rule and who is responsible for compliance?
Venues in the United States that offer automatically renewing memberships must update their cancellation processes to comply with the new requirements. Failure to do so could result in penalties from the FTC. The businesses are responsible for adhering to the ruling and ensuring they are compliant.
There may be other state laws (including but not limited to California’s Automatic Renewal Law, CARL) that apply to your business and impose additional requirements. We will keep you across any further changes related to subscription or recurring services laws.
Why is this rule being implemented?
The FTC aims to reduce friction in the cancellation process, prevent deceptive retention tactics, and ensure businesses uphold fair and transparent practices regarding subscriptions.
How can ROLLER help businesses comply with this rule?
ROLLER provides tools to help businesses communicate with members and automate membership management, including:
- Membership terms consent in online checkout (available on all plans, using the progressive checkout).
- Membership management email (available on all plans).
- Booking agreement (available on Premium plans, using the progressive checkout).
- Self-serve online account (available for Pro plans and above, using the progressive checkout).
Read the guide above to learn more.
How does this ruling affect ROLLER legacy checkout users?
Our legacy checkout does not support the membership consent check-box, booking agreement or online account features. To comply with this ruling we recommend enabling our progressive checkout. To upgrade, contact support or email success@rollerdigital.com.
Who do I contact if I need help?
If you need further assistance updating ROLLER features for the FTC “click-to-cancel” ruling, contact your customer success manager or the ROLLER support team. If you have additional questions, we recommend seeking independent legal advice.