In the world of retail sales, “all sales are final” isn’t always up to the merchant. In certain situations, customers have the right to call their bank, dispute a credit card transaction, and receive a chargeback. The intended purpose of chargebacks is to protect consumers from fraud and billing errors, but that doesn’t mean every chargeback is a valid one. Some consumers abuse the chargeback process on purpose, engaging in “cyber-shoplifting” by making up phony reasons to dispute a purchase and get their money back. What do retail merchants need to know about dealing with chargebacks?  ..read more

In many ways, the growth of e-commerce owes a lot to the promise of easy returns. It can be a leap of faith to purchase goods sight unseen over the internet, but when consumers know they can send them back for a refund if they aren’t fully satisfied, there’s less to worry about. Unfortunately, easy returns can be easy to exploit, and scammers who call themselves “professional refunders” are taking advantage of consumers and merchants alike by obtaining fraudulent refunds for pay. What do merchants need to know about so-called professional refunding services? Consumers love to order products on ..read more

It’s already hard to remember a time when your favorite restaurant meals weren’t just a few swipes and taps away. Food delivery apps have changed the way we eat, making fast delivery a viable option for any restaurant. Consumers love the convenience, and for restaurants, these services are a valuable way to reach new customers and served as an important lifeline during the pandemic. The downside is that many restaurants are experiencing digital dine-and-dash theft facilitated by abuse of the chargeback process. What do restaurants need to know about handling food delivery chargebacks?  Ap ..read more

To grow your business, you need to know what your customers want, and not just in terms of your products and their features. You also have to know what kind of customer experience they’re hoping for, and that includes payment options. Different audiences have different payment preferences, especially when you start selling in international markets. Outside of the US, merchants may find that credit card payments are far from the standard, especially in burgeoning markets like Latin America. What payment methods should merchants be considering in order to win over Latin American consumers? E-c ..read more

Shopping for goods online is fun and convenient. Tracking packages until they get delivered is not. Shipping delays and porch pirates make waiting the hardest part of e-commerce, but now there’s a way to split the difference between shopping online and grabbing stuff at your local store: click and collect, also known as “Buy Online Pickup In Store,” has become massively popular in the last few years. The downside is that as convenient as it is, click and collect is vulnerable to various forms of fraud that can be difficult to prevent. What types of click and collect fraud do merchants need to ..read more

For many people, housing costs are their largest and most important monthly expense. To make it easier for renters to make their payments on time, many landlords and property managers allow various payment options, including credit cards. This can be a convenient solution for cash-strapped tenants, but it comes with a big risk. Credit card payments can always be disputed and reversed through the chargeback process, and even when dispute claims are based on false or flimsy pretexts, it can be challenging to fight back and reclaim your revenue. What are property management chargebacks, and how c ..read more

Chargebacks are a big problem for e-commerce retailers and other merchants. Wherever you find problems in the business world, you’ll find service providers offering solutions—some more effective than others. There are lots of third-party vendors out there with tools and services designed to help merchant manage their chargebacks, but every merchant’s chargeback problem is unique. Some solutions will save you money and bring your chargeback rate down, others might do next to nothing to prevent the fraud and disputes that are having the greatest impact on your business. What’s the best way for m ..read more

In the increasingly complex world of global commerce, one of the keys to success is realizing that you don’t have to take on every responsibility yourself. Teaming up with the right vendors and service providers can lighten your workload and free you up to focus on the things you do best, while your partners use their expertise to handle the many challenges modern businesses face. When the problem has to do with payment processing, one potential solution is to use an external merchant of record. However, this option is not without complications, as the merchant of record is the one who receive ..read more

Digital app and game publishers have learned that to earn a customer’s loyalty, you sometimes have to be willing to give some things away for free. In a crowded and fast-moving marketplace, consumers can be reticent to spend money up front to try out a new digital product. The freemium pricing model grants consumers immediate free access and earns money for the publisher through in-app purchases for additional features. The downside is that a few small in-app transactions can quickly spiral into a huge chargeback problem. What do digital merchants need to know about dealing with in-app purchas ..read more

The world of e-commerce keeps getting bigger and bigger, but many consumers still prefer to stick to the brands they know and trust. More often than not, the brand that’s synonymous with e-commerce in these consumers’ minds is Amazon. Many retailers have chosen to join Amazon rather than fight it by selling through Amazon Marketplace, but with the expansion of Amazon’s “Buy with Prime” program, merchants have a new way to align themselves with the e-commerce giant. What is Amazon’s Buy with Prime, and what benefits does it offer to merchants?  When consumers are deciding where to shop o ..read more