Industry Insights

Preventing Friendly Fraud in Holiday Sales

The big push. All hands on deck. Make or break the year. Yes, the holiday shopping season is soon upon us, and merchants are preparing to claim their fair share of sales. Deloitte's annual forecast for the holiday season predicts holiday retail sales could top $1.10 trillion this year, an increase over the $1.05 trillion in sales between November 2017 and January 2018, as reported by the U.S. Commerce Department. Often lost amid this hyper-focus … [Read more...]

Maximize Sales, Not Chargebacks

Advances in e-commerce and payments have made completing purchases easier than ever for busy consumers. Whether signing up for subscription services for food, cosmetics, entertainment, or making an impulse buy on their mobile phone, consumers expect a frictionless experience. While card-not-present (CNP) merchants offer new ways for their customers to shop, their ongoing challenge is to maximize sales without increasing fraud and chargebacks. … [Read more...]

Engaging E-Commerce Customers

For today’s customers, e-commerce provides an easy way to make a purchase. With the click of a mouse, tap or swipe, transactions are completed with minimal effort. For a merchant, a duck paddling furiously to stay afloat might be an apt metaphor. Their challenge is making the entire process easy and transparent, while also engaging e-commerce customers during and after the purchase cycle to build customer loyalty and grow their business. An … [Read more...]

Extending Brand with M-Commerce and Frictionless Payments

M-Commerce and frictionless purchasing, once industry innovations, have evolved into a necessity for today’s merchants. Once embraced only by innovators and early adopters, these and other advanced payment methods have “crossed the chasm” into acceptance by the majority of consumers. Beyond the convenience new payment methods provide consumers, can they be used for extending brand recognition? Merchants have invested to keep up with consumer … [Read more...]

A More Comprehensive Approach to Managing Chargebacks

Transaction disputes and managing chargebacks are facts that will always be part of the world of business. Ever since the introduction of the Fair Credit Billing Act in 1974, regulations are set to prioritize protecting consumers from prejudicial or unfair billing practices. At the time, the Fair Credit Billing Act was a logical response to the explosion of consumer credit in dire need of regulation. However, with the emergence of e-commerce, … [Read more...]

The Power of Transaction Data

You’ve invested in tools to gather data on customers, including transaction data for purchase history, buying patterns that help generate highly targeted offers and personalized messages. The data you accumulate helps you discern what offers are effective, which marketing tactics generate the best results, and your customers’ preferred digital buying channels. There’s no question that capturing and analyzing consumer purchase behavior is … [Read more...]

Data-Sharing Helps Merchants and Issuers Stop Chargebacks

In more than 8 in 10 cases, when consumers contact the merchant first to dispute a charge, it is resolved before it becomes a chargeback. This finding from the recent Javelin Strategy & Research report, "The Chargeback Triangle," should be encouraging to any merchant that deals with chargebacks. But compare with another finding from that same report: customers bypassed merchants and went directly to their issuer in 76% of cases. Invariably, … [Read more...]

Winning the Race Against Transaction Disputes

The pace at which merchants must react and respond to transaction disputes is staggering. Due to the outdated dispute and chargeback process, it’s a race against a ticking clock to launch a successful representment case. The existing transaction dispute process lacks cohesion and collaboration, creating a never-ending cycle of unnecessary chargebacks, lost revenue, and increasing liability costs. It’s tempting to give in and accept the … [Read more...]

Information Exchange: Revising the Chargeback Process

In 1974, the Fair Credit Billing Act was enacted to protect consumers from prejudicial or unfair billing practices. Over 40 years later, this act still has a profound impact on how merchants and issuers manage chargeback process. History reminds us that the Fair Credit Billing Act was created to provide credit card users with protection from credit card fraud and theft. Fears over credit card fraud were so high that the federal government … [Read more...]

How to Unlock the Chargeback Solution

The merchant-customer relationship appears simple in theory. Provide your best service and products, and invite them to come back for more. However, even the simplest of relationships can become complex and fraught with confusion, often materializing as friendly fraud, disputes, and chargebacks, resulting in loss of customers and future business. Add the issuer into the mix and the merchant and customer relationship can devolve into a … [Read more...]