Membership billing that doesn't leak revenue every month

Keeping recurring memberships billing

Monthly memberships depend on stored cards that expire or get reissued. Visa Account Updater lets participating merchants, through their acquirer, receive new card numbers and expiry dates that participating issuers submit when they reissue cards. Only merchants with credential-on-file models such as recurring billing can participate. Ask your processor whether updater is switched on, how often stored cards are checked and whether there is a per-update fee. For dunning, retries and member communication, see the gym membership billing article on this site.

U.S. federal rules on automatic renewal

The FTC finalised an amended Negative Option Rule, often called Click-to-Cancel, in October 2024. On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated that amended rule before its main compliance date. In February 2026 the FTC published a Federal Register notice revising the rule to conform to the court decision, and in March 2026 it issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking asking for comment on whether new amendments are needed. As of September 14, 2026, no new final rule has been published on the FTC rule page. The Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act still applies to memberships sold online, and the FTC continues to enforce it. In plain terms: disclose terms clearly, get express consent before charging, and offer a simple way to cancel.

State rules: California as an example

California's Automatic Renewal Law, Business and Professions Code sections 17600 to 17606, requires clear and conspicuous disclosure of renewal terms, affirmative consent before charging and an acknowledgment that explains how to cancel, with online cancellation for consumers who signed up online. The law was amended with changes effective July 1, 2025. Other states have their own automatic renewal and health club statutes, so check the states where your members live.

Canada: provincial consumer protection

Ontario's Consumer Protection Act treats gym, fitness and similar memberships as personal development services. According to the Ontario government, contracts requiring $50 or more in advance are covered, members can cancel within 10 days of receiving a written copy of the contract, and contracts must end after one year with renewal subject to notice rules. Not-for-profit and charitable organisations are excluded. Other provinces have their own rules.

Before you change billing terms

If you move members from one billing model to another, for example from prepaid annual to monthly card billing, treat it as a new agreement. Show the new price, billing date, renewal terms and cancellation method, and collect fresh consent. Keep a record of what each member agreed to and when. Keep stored cards in your gateway's tokenised vault rather than in a spreadsheet or front desk notes, since PCI DSS applies to any merchant that stores, processes or transmits card data. For members paying by bank debit, keep their authorisation on file. Freeze and pause options should state whether billing stops and when it restarts.

Billing models at a glance

Each billing model carries a different compliance and collection risk.