Mastercard Compliance: Best Practice Recommendations

In 2022, Mastercard updated its recurring subscription requirements in an effort to provide clarity and transparency to consumers and to discourage the use of billing practices perceived to be harmful or deceptive.

We created this resource to provide examples of how each requirement can be met using Altru functionality as it exists today. To read recommendations, expand each requirement below. For more information, visit Blackbaud's Mastercard Compliance resource site.

Note: In October 2022, Mastercard modified its requirements to become "best practice recommendations" for most nonprofits. These standards are now requirements ONLY for nonprofit and charity merchants that are identified for at least four months in the Acquirer Chargeback Monitoring Program (ACMP) or similar program. ACMP is a Mastercard program that identifies and mitigates high chargeback rates amongst merchants. Merchants (including nonprofits) enrolled in ACMP or a similar Mastercard program are still required to follow the new rules.

Mastercard requirement: Merchants must clearly disclose the basic terms of the subscription at the point of payment and capture the cardholder’s affirmative acceptance of such terms. The disclosure must include the price that will be billed and the frequency of the billing.

Altru recommendation

No action is needed by your organization. To fulfill these Disclosure Requirements, Blackbaud Checkout now includes the following verbiage with the appropriate transaction amount: “By completing this step, you authorize the storing of this card account for a payment of <amount> per chosen recurring schedule and future, agreed upon payments.”

Mastercard requirement: Merchants must send a confirmation by email message or by any other electronic method at the time of enrollment in a subscription/recurring billing plan that provides the terms of the subscription, including the terms of a trial period when applicable, and clear instructions about how to cancel the subscription.

Altru recommendation

For all web forms that accept recurring gifts or auto-renewing memberships, ensure acknowledgement emails include:

  • The ReceiptGrid merge field, which includes the gift amount and scheduled frequency

  • Clear instructions about how to cancel the recurring gift, membership, or pledges

Mastercard requirement: Merchants must send a receipt by email message or by any other electronic method after every billing that includes clear instructions for how to cancel the subscription.

Altru recommendation

Ensure your organization sends daily acknowledgement emails for all recurring back-office revenue, including membership auto-renewals, recurring gifts, and pledges.

  1. Under Marketing and Communications, Acknowledgements, create acknowledgement letters for each revenue type.

  2. In the email content of each letter, include information about the payment amount, schedule, and clear instructions about how to cancel the recurring gift, membership, or pledge.

  3. On the Acknowledgements page, under Processing options, update settings to ensure letters are scheduled to run daily.

Mastercard requirement: Merchants must provide an online or electronic cancellation method (similar to unsubscribing from email messages or any other electronic method).

Altru recommendation

Create a page on your website that includes clear instructions on how donors can cancel their recurring payments (e.g., call a phone number or fill out an electronic form) and ensure all electronic notifications include clear instructions on how to cancel.

Mastercard requirement: For any subscription/recurring payment plan that bills a cardholder less frequently than every six months (180 days), the merchant must send a notification no less than three days and no more than seven days before the billing date that includes the terms of the subscription and instructions about how a cardholder may cancel the subscription.

Altru recommendation

One-time recommended steps:

  1. Under Analysis, create two selections — one for upcoming recurring gift and pledge payments and another for upcoming membership dues.

  2. Under Marketing and Communications, create an appeal for Recurring Gift and Pledge Payment Reminders.

    • Add an appeal mailing such as Recurring Gift and Pledge Payment Reminder Email.

    • Under Mail date, enter the first date to send the email.

    • Under Step two — Create your letters, choose your selection for upcoming recurring gift and pledge payments. Select to send the mailing by email, and create email content that includes a statement that informs the donor of their upcoming payment and instructions on how to cancel the gift or pledge.

  3. Under Marketing and Communications, create an appeal for Membership Auto-Renewal Payment Reminders.

    • Add an appeal mailing such as Membership Auto-Renewal Payment Reminder Email.

    • Under Mail date, enter the first date to send the email.

    • Under Step two — Create your letters, choose your selection for upcoming membership dues. Select to send the mailing by email, and create email content that includes a statement that informs the member of their upcoming payment and instructions on how to cancel the membership.

Weekly recommended steps (repeat for each appeal):

  1. Under Marketing and Communications, open the appeal and select the Mailings tab.

  2. Find the appeal scheduled for that day and select Run mailing.

  3. Create a copy of the mailing.

  4. Edit the date of the new mailing to be the same day the following week.

Note: As always, it is best to work with your organization's legal advisor, who is familiar with your practices and constituents, to determine your obligations under the card rules and other requirements to which your organization may be subject. Nothing in this help topic should be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances.