Verifi May Payment Tips | Quick Fix: How to Stop Chargeback Fraud Before It Stops You

#PaymentsTips
Each month, we’ll help you navigate the emerging trends and forecasts for card-not-present (CNP) merchants with (what we think) are the best pieces of advice from Verifi and across the web. We promise to keep this newsletter short and sweet so let’s get started!
Q> Omni-channel brings lots of opportunity…and lots of risk. How do I protect payments across channels, stop chargebacks from taking a bite out of revenue and stop losing customers to unnecessary card declines?
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We’ve been harping on the omni-channel topic for months now, but it’s not going to stop anytime soon. Omni-channel will continue to grow as consumers get comfortable with different ways of shopping and paying. Consumers will communicate those preferences with their wallets, so merchants have two choices: adapt and thrive or remain stagnant and suffer significant losses. There are two main tenets to implementing a strong omni-channel strategy: preventing fraud – namely chargebacks – and finding innovative ways to boost retention and profits through personalization and loyalty. This month’s newsletter provides helpful tips on identifying fraud and stopping chargebacks BEFORE they happen. We’ll also look at ways to use payments protection to beef up your bottom line through innovative loyalty programs that utilize omni-channel advances and mobile wallets.

MOBILE POISED TO SLINGSHOT LOYALTY…AND VICE VERSA
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Consumers have signaled that they’re interested in receiving deals and discounts on their phones, a preference that is tied to the forecast that mobile phones will continue to gain popularity as a means of payment. Finding a way to integrate mobile wallets into loyalty programs is a significant hurdle many businesses face, but doing so will be essential if merchants want to break away from the pack and stand out against the competition. As loyalty continues to evolve, merchants with omni-channel and mobile strategies that utilize deep insights to engage consumers in a highly personalized way stand to boost rentention and profits significantly.
For more background on the intersection of mobile and loyalty, consider these additional resources:


QUICK FIX: HOW TO STOP CHARGEBACK FRAUD BEFORE IT STOPS YOU
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Keeping up with emerging technologies while lowering operating costs in the fight against chargeback fraud is difficult. By working directly with Issuers, merchants can tackle this $40 billion chargeback problem in a big way – reclaiming revenue that would have otherwise been lost while ensuring that good sales continue to flow through.
In addition to utilizing a merchant-Issuer collaboration solution, there are several telltale signs that merchants should look out for when it comes to fraudulent orders.
Putting an immediate stop to chargebacks can significantly impact your bottom line. There are a number of proactive things merchants can do to protect their payments and boost profits:


LOYALTY MATTERS TO ISSUERS, TOO
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The need for a personalized loyalty experience is not confined to merchants only. Issuers should strive for this same type of one-on-one engagement with customers. A cohesive omni-channel strategy that utilizes big data can help merchants acquire new customers but also gain loyalty with existing customers and boost retention.

GROWING IMPORTANCE OF SMARTPHONES IN COMMERCE
Female Scanning Price Tag Through Smart Phone
According to experts who see room to grow in the physical store with things like how-to videos, product comparison tools and bar code scanner mobile apps, mobile in-store is the next big thing in mobile commerce. Smartphone technology is certainly pushing the envelope in emerging commerce trends, which is why it’s important for merchants to be aware of the risks in the mobile channel and to know what tools to use to prevent mobile fraud.
Chargeback prevention is the most reliable way to safeguard your transactions, profits and customers from fraud while allowing legitimate sales to continue to pass through. Since chargebacks drain so much time, resources and focus from your business, your #1 charge as a merchant should be to stop them dead in their tracks.
Get real about the serious chargeback problem – it’s costing you $40 billion.
PARTING WORDS
It’s no secret that omni-channel and loyalty go hand-in-hand. A solid omni-channel strategy is key to implementing a successful loyalty program. The best place to start with this is in the mobile channel. The success of both mobile payments and loyalty programs will likely prove to be tightly coupled. Mobile technology is continuing to change how consumers make payments and merchants can piggyback on the popularity of mobile to execute loyalty programs that consumers are willing to engage with. Mobile payments will continue to influence the payments landscape, including how consumers interact with brands. Ensuring a safe, secure and streamlined payment experience will be the top task for merchants who want to boost payments and retain loyal customers.
Successful loyalty and omni-channel execution requires a comprehensive payment processing operation. Consumers have spoken and security is the name of the game. Merchants need to focus on a fraud and risk mitigation strategy that protects payments, boosts profits and improves billings and customer retention. Verifi’s Global Payment Gateway, Decline Salvage, Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network™ (CDRN) and Chargeback Representment (CBR) seamlessly combine (without IT hassles) to form a processor agnostic “Super Gateway” that protects your payments from start to finish while ensuring good sales flow through.
What are your thoughts? Ping us on twitter (@verifi) with #paymentstips and let us know what you think.