A gym is not a recurring payment, it's a facility access contract defined for a period of time. You agreed upon price for the year, broken down into monthly payments. You are obligated to pay that full amount b/c you agreed to it when you signed the contract at the beginning of the membership.

You don't have such contracts with recurring payment products.

No, quite a few gyms advertise “no contract” month-to-month payment schemes that still require a specific cancellation process.

For example, Planet Fitness has “no commitment” memberships, but you still have to explicitly cancel.

> You may cancel according to our policy: Per the agreement, in order to cancel a membership, one must either go to your home club in person to fill out a cancellation form, or send a letter (preferably via certified mail) to the club, requesting cancellation. Please note: Memberships cannot be cancelled via fax, phone, or email.

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/51m0e0/com...

And your bank will probably get upset at you too.