Why underwriters look closely at continuity & subscription offers
Trials that turn into charges
Customers who forget they signed up dispute the first full charge as unauthorized. It’s the biggest source of chargebacks in the category.
Card-brand trial rules
Visa and Mastercard both have rules for free and discounted trials: clear terms, the customer’s express agreement, a reminder before the first full charge and easy online cancellation.
Affiliate traffic
Offers promoted by affiliates can reach customers through claims and pages you never approved.
A payment setup that fits
How we usually set up continuity and trial offers. Your consultant tailors it to how you actually sell.
- 1
A compliant checkout
Trial length, price and billing schedule shown next to the order button, with an unchecked box the customer ticks.
- 2
Reminder and cancellation flow
An email before every first full charge, and a one-page online cancellation.
- 3
Dispute alerts on every account
Ethoca, CDRN and Visa RDR turn would-be chargebacks into refunds.
What you’ll need to apply
Have these ready and your application moves faster. Your consultant confirms the exact list for the processor you’re matched with.
- Government ID for every owner with 25% or more
- Voided business check or bank letter
- Recent business bank statements
- Recent processing statements, if you have taken cards before
- Articles of incorporation and EIN letter
- A website with clear pricing, refund, cancellation and contact details
- Screenshots of every step of your checkout
- Your trial terms and cancellation page
- A list of affiliates or traffic sources
- Fulfillment partner and tracking process
Why applications get declined, and how to avoid it
- Pre-checked boxes, or terms below the order button
- No way to cancel online
- Affiliate pages making claims you can’t control
- High refund and chargeback history with no fix in place
We review your website, policies and statements against these before anything is submitted.
Keeping the account healthy after approval
Getting approved is half the job. These habits keep your account in good standing, and our platform tracks the numbers behind them for you.
- Send the pre-billing reminder every time, without exception
- Refund anyone who says they didn’t mean to sign up
- Audit affiliate landing pages monthly
- Never spread sales across accounts to dilute chargebacks. Card brands treat it as a violation.
Continuity & subscription offers: common questions
Can we still offer free trials?
Yes, if they follow card-brand trial rules and federal law on negative-option offers (ROSCA). We review your checkout against both before you apply.
Can we use several merchant accounts?
Yes, for real business reasons like separate brands. Splitting one offer across accounts to keep each chargeback ratio low is prohibited and gets merchants terminated.
What chargeback rate is too high?
Card brands set monitoring thresholds by brand and program, and they change. We track yours daily against the current ones and warn you early.
What happens after I’m approved?
We keep working with you. Our platform gives you one view of every account, and we review your chargebacks, approval rate, fraud tools and fees with you so the account stays healthy and gets cheaper over time.