Changes to Mastercard subscription billing rules
When do you need to comply with the Mastercard changes?
New implementation deadline: 21st March 2023 for charities
Initially this was set for September 22nd, 2022.
However, the PFRA have been working with Mastercard and this date has been moved out a further six months for charities - giving you more time to implement these changes.
Regular Giving - How the Mastercard changes affect your organisation
Mastercard has confirmed that recurring donations are classified as subscriptions and fall within the new rules.
If you are currently using Funraisin for regular giving by having this option available on your donation and or appeal pages you will need to make some additions to the copy you provide with your emailed donation receipts.
How to comply with the Mastercard changes
What must the initial email and receipt contain for regular givers?
Upon receipt of a first payment you must send the donor an electronic confirmation of receipt of payment that includes:
- Date received
- Amount donated
- Terms and Conditions
- Frequency of payment
- Charity contact details
This information is covered in the receipt itself however you may want to add a link to Terms and Conditions in your emails to supporters.
Donors need to be informed when you charge their recurring donations.
Following every transaction, users of Mastercard must receive notification of the transaction date and amount received (this does not need to be a formal receipt). You may offer donors the option of ceasing to receive these notifications after every transaction. You do not have to follow this step if you do not have an email address for your donor.
This can be achieved by enabling the automated email in the Funraisin platform called: Receipt to Scheduled Donor
To navigate to this email go to:
Platform Set Up > Automated Emails > emails are listed alphabetically so simply scroll down to the correct email > open it and switch the toggle to enabled - and SAVE.
Please check the content is correct, and now each time a recurring donation is processed an email with the receipt attached will be sent to the supporter.
Donors need to be informed how they can cancel their recurring gift.
Every transaction acknowledgement must include reference to how a donor can cancel, whether it be a link or a simple ‘to change/cancel your donation please call’ message, etc.
This can be as simple as adding the email address and/or phone number within the copy of your receipts.
We recommend adding this to the email that is sent to your recurring givers: Receipt to Scheduled Donor
To navigate to this email go to:
Platform Set Up > Automated Emails > emails are listed alphabetically so simply scroll down to the correct email > and then edit the copy
Example copy to add: If you would like to cancel your regular gift at any time please call us on [your phone number] or email us at [email address] to inform us.
Donors need access to the receipts for their recurring gifts.
You can choose to send formal donation receipts after every transaction or simply allow donors to use the standard Funraisin donor login to access their receipts.
Regular givers donating on a 'once-yearly' basis need to be made aware that they are about to be charged.
Recurring giving can be set up to be an annual payment of one donation per year, as well as the more common monthly, weekly, fortnightly options.
If you have regular givers with an annual schedule you'll need to send them an email between 7 and 30 days before you process their payment each year.
As this is very uncommon we suggest that you manage this through a data export showing the frequency of your regular givers, and the next payment date - and send the emails through a 3-party such as Campaign Monitor, MailChimp or Autopilot.
If you are unsure of the impact of these changes on your charity, contact us by lodging a support ticket.
