Cancel button becomes mandatory: What does this mean?

Since July 1, 2022, contracts concluded online must be cancelable via a button on the company's website or platform. In the interests of consumer protection, contracts should be as easy to terminate as they are to conclude.
This is part of the consumer protection package launched last year, which has now come into force.

Companies must now offer an easy-to-find and easy-to-read "Cancel contracts here" button on their websites or in their apps, explains the Ministry of Consumer Protection. Clicking on this button should lead to a confirmation page, with a further button "cancel now" the cancellation is finally sent. The canceling party will then receive a confirmation of the process. It is important to note that it must also be possible to cancel without a login, for example via a form if you have lost your access data.

When clicking on the cancel button, it does not matter whether the contract was concluded online or not. As long as it is possible to conclude contracts online, customers must also be able to cancel online, regardless of whether the contract was concluded before July 1, 2022. Older contracts can now also be terminated using the cancel button. It is of course still possible to cancel by e-mail or post.

The cancel button applies to all "continuing obligations against payment", i.e. contracts that relate to recurring services and services in return that are repeated over a longer period of time. In other words, primarily subscription services and everything that is debited more or less regularly from your account, i.e. subscriptions to magazines, online services, gym memberships and streaming services. However, this only applies if the contract itself is also offered in an online or digital version.

However, there are a few exceptions when it comes to who does not have to allow contracts to be terminated in this way. This applies to employment and tenancy agreements on the one hand, but also to financial service providers and banks on the other.