Electronic Merchant Services

The number one way to prevent chargebacks is to make sure your customer knows your business name.

Sounds simple, but one of the most common chargebacks is a customer seeing a charge on their statement and not recognizing it.

If your legal business name, DBA, website, and billing descriptor don’t match, you’re creating confusion before the transaction is even disputed.

Customers don’t charge back businesses they remember.

They charge back businesses they don’t recognize.

A clear billing descriptor, good communication, and setting expectations upfront can prevent a surprising number of chargebacks before they ever happen.

The easiest chargeback to win is the one that never gets filed.

Really, it’s just stealing if you file a dispute because you decided you didn’t want it and the terms and conditions clearly said there are no refunds.

A chargeback is for fraud, billing errors, or services that were never delivered.

It is not a way to get out of a contract you agreed to.

When customers dispute legitimate charges, it’s called friendly fraud. And despite the name, there’s nothing friendly about it.

Chargebacks cost businesses money, increase processing costs, and can put merchant accounts at risk.

If you changed your mind, have the conversation.

Don’t use your bank as a refund department.

You are not a good person if you dispute a charge instead of just canceling your contract.

A chargeback is not a cancellation request.

A chargeback is not an “I changed my mind” button.

If you agreed to the service, received the service, and then dispute the charge to avoid paying for it, that’s not fraud.

That’s friendly fraud.

And while it might feel harmless, chargebacks cost businesses time, money, and can even put their merchant accounts at risk.

If you want out of an contract, have the conversation.

Don’t make your bank do your dirty work.

The difference between low risk and high risk businesses comes down to transaction type and chargeback risk.

Low risk: coffee shops, gyms, medical offices
High risk: credit repair, subscription businesses, online courses, travel agencies

More online payments, higher ticket sizes, and recurring billing all increase risk in the eyes of payment processors.

That’s why high risk businesses need a different merchant account setup.