When you sell products or services online, card scheme networks (like Visa and Mastercard) require you to be transparent about which laws govern your sales. The governing law disclosure is a simple but essential statement that ensures you and your customers are aligned on legal rules and consumer rights.
Keeping your website & governing law disclosures consistent with your business location is key to staying compliant. Not doing so can result in increased costs, compliance fines from the card schemes or poor authorisation rates.
Q: What are the requirements for my website’s terms and conditions?
The governing laws you list must reflect and match where your company is actually established and operating. You cannot pick a different location just because the laws seem "better" there if you don't actually have an office and pay taxes in that spot.
It needs to be easy for a customer to find the governing law, here’s what’s needed:
- You must include a full legal sentence. For example, if the entity processing the transactions is in Singapore, your terms should contain a sentence like “Your order will be processed in accordance with Singapore law” or “These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of Singapore”.
- Governing law can be communicated in:
- Terms & Conditions for the complete legal clauses
- Website footer for easy visibility
- Checkout page to ensure that customers see it prior to payment
Q: If I use different business entities in different locations (like one in the US and one in Singapore), can I use one "Global" Terms of Service?
No. The governing laws shown on your website must match the specific business entity that is processing the customer's payment. For example, if you process a UK customer's payment through a UK located business UK, your website must advise that customer that UK law applies.
There are three easy ways to do this, you can use dynamic content or localized storefronts to ensure the shopper sees the law that applies to the entity processing their payment. See below 3 best practices:
- Separate Domains: Use country-specific domains (e.g., .co.uk, .com.au). Each domain has its own footer and T&Cs explicitly stating the local governing law and your company’s address
- Geo-IP Routing: Use Geo-IP detection to automatically update the footer and "Terms" page. If a shopper's IP is in the EU, the site should dynamically display your EU entity's address and the governing law of that EU country
- Checkout Disclosure: At the final point of sale, clearly state which entity is processing the payment (e.g., "Your order will be processed by [Entity Name], governed by the laws of [Jurisdiction]") or have a dynamic link to the relevant set of terms and conditions.
Q: I’m based in the US. Can I just say "United States Law"?
No. If your business is in the US, you must name the specific state where you are located (for example: "This transaction is subject to the laws of the State of New York"). Only businesses outside of the US should list just their country.