Email marketing is governed country by country, and the differences are bigger than most guides admit. Some markets require explicit opt-in before you may send anything. Others let you email first and honour opt-outs afterwards. A few have no anti-spam statute at all. The deadline for actioning an unsubscribe ranges from immediate to ten business days — and in the UK and much of Europe there is no statutory deadline whatsoever.
This hub collects our country guides in one place, with the local law, the regulator that enforces it, and whether you can be billed in your own currency.
The rules at a glance
| Country | Billing currency | Governing law | Regulator | Consent basis | Unsubscribe window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | NZD | Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 | DIA Anti-Spam Compliance Unit | Express, inferred or deemed | 5 working days |
| Australia | AUD | Spam Act 2003 (Cth) | ACMA | Express or inferred | 5 business days |
| United Kingdom | GBP | PECR reg. 22 + UK GDPR | ICO | Consent, with soft opt-in for existing customers. Corporate B2B is opt-out | No statutory deadline — ICO requires you act promptly |
| Singapore | SGD | Spam Control Act 2007 + PDPA | PDPC | Opt-out for email. Publishing an address is not consent | 10 business days |
| India | INR | IT Act 2000 + SPDI Rules 2011 today; DPDP Act 2023 consent rules commence 14 May 2027 | MeitY / Data Protection Board | No email-specific regime in force yet | No statutory deadline in force |
| United Arab Emirates | AED | TDRA Regulatory Policy on Unsolicited Electronic Communications v1.1 | TDRA | Express prior opt-in | No day count — consent must be re-verified before every send |
| Philippines | PHP | No anti-spam statute. Data Privacy Act 2012 governs | National Privacy Commission | Express opt-in | Immediate — no grace period |
| South Africa | ZAR | POPIA s.69 + Consumer Protection Act | Information Regulator / NCC | Express opt-in via prescribed Form 4 for non-customers; soft opt-in for customers | No day count. Opt-Out Registry must be cleansed monthly |
| Nigeria | NGN | Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 + NDPC GAID 2025 | Nigeria Data Protection Commission | Express prior opt-in only — no soft opt-in exists | Immediate |
Asia Pacific
- Email marketing services in New Zealand — NZD billing and the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007
- Best email marketing software in Australia — AUD billing and the Spam Act 2003
- Newsletter platforms for Australia — for creators and publishers specifically
- Best email marketing software in Singapore — SGD billing, the Spam Control Act and the DNC Registry
- Best email marketing software in the Philippines — PHP billing and the Data Privacy Act
- Best email marketing software in India — INR billing and where DPDP actually stands
- Bulk email services in India — for high-volume senders
Europe and the Middle East
- Best email marketing software in the UK — GBP billing, PECR and the soft opt-in
- Email marketing tools in the UAE — AED billing and the TDRA rules
Africa
- Best email marketing software in South Africa — ZAR billing, POPIA and the new Opt-Out Registry
- Bulk email services in Nigeria — NGN billing and the NDPA
What actually differs between markets
Consent is not one rule. Nigeria requires express prior opt-in with no soft opt-in of any kind. The UK allows a soft opt-in for existing customers who bought a similar product, provided you offered an opt-out when you collected their details and in every message since. Australia recognises inferred consent from an existing relationship. Singapore treats email as opt-out entirely — but publishing an address in a directory does not count as consent.
Some markets have no anti-spam law. The Philippines has had none since 2014, when the Supreme Court struck down the unsolicited-commercial-communications provision of the Cybercrime Prevention Act in Disini v. Secretary of Justice. Data protection law still applies, so consent is still required — just under a different statute.
The unsubscribe clock varies wildly. Five working days in New Zealand, five business days in Australia, ten in Singapore, immediate in Nigeria and the Philippines, and no statutory figure at all in the UK. Building for the strictest market you send to is simpler than tracking nine clocks.
Currency is a real cost, not a detail. Platforms that bill only in USD add a conversion spread plus, frequently, a cross-border card fee from your own bank — on every invoice, forever. Bluey Email bills in 128 currencies, including every one in the table above.
Compliance explainers
- CAN-SPAM Act explained — the United States
- New Zealand spam law — the UEM Act 2007
- Australia’s Spam Act 2003
- Singapore’s Spam Control Act and the PDPA
- POPIA — South Africa
- NDPA — Nigeria
- CASL explained — Canada
- GDPR and email marketing — the EU and UK
- Email deliverability guide — the rules mailbox providers enforce, which are often stricter than the law
Which platform works everywhere?
Most global platforms will send to any of these markets. The differences that matter are whether you are billed in your own currency, whether consent capture and one-click unsubscribe are included on the plan you are actually paying for, and whether the bill grows with contacts you never email.
Bluey Email bills in 128 currencies, includes SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup, RFC 8058 one-click unsubscribe and suppression handling on every plan including the free tier, and charges on emails sent rather than contacts stored. Start free — 500 emails a month, no card required.