Can you give our readers some background about Chargeback Gurus and its role within the payments industry?
Chargeback Gurus has been in business helping emerchants for more than 13 years, fighting fraud, reducing chargebacks, and recovering lost revenue for our clients. With more than $10 million recovered in chargeback revenues, we offer more than just representation; we are a consumer advocate that not only fights for our clients, but helps them take the important step of defining the root cause of the chargebacks. We provide all the analytics and give them tools to identify areas to improve their back office and prevent chargebacks and fraud.
What are some simple steps that merchants could be taking that can help prevent chargebacks from happening?
It’s all about a process that can be repeated, and properly recorded. Much of the work we do with clients is analytical, helping them determine where chargebacks are coming from, and why. But we also work with them to make sure they have adequate and accurate records for each transaction, improved identification validation, and intuitive customer service that can anticipate potential chargebacks and fraud.
We have put together a 25 point checklist of simple steps our clients can implement to fight fraud and limit chargebacks. Things like pay closer attention to billing and shipping address to see that they match, and being aware of rushed delivery requests closer to delivery, as most fraudsters tend to use overnight shipping as a way to get away with fraud. Merchants should also make sure the CVV and AVS (Address Verification) match options are enabled in their gateway to prevent fraud.
We recommend merchants to visit our website www.chargebackgurus.com to download our 25-point checklist to prevent and fight chargeback fraud.
What value is Chargeback Gurus able to provide its clients that others are not?
We don’t just offer representation to fight chargebacks and fraud. We are both advocates, and counselors; defenders, and preventers. Our clients often come to us when they’re facing chargebacks far above an acceptable level – we strive for one to two percent as a maximum – but many of them exceed the four to five percent threshold. We tell them what they need to fight the chargebacks, and we represent them. We usually win about 80 percent of them – far, far above the level they’ve been winning on their own. But in addition to representation, we offer business analytics that leads to preventive measures leading to a reduction in chargebacks and fraud. We are able to individually analyze the business operations of our clients, and develop unique and specific tools and procedures that will significantly reduce – if not eliminate – their occurrence of chargebacks and fraud. And we also offer an exclusive database to our clients to protect themselves from known scams and fraudsters who are repeat offenders.
What changes are you most concerned and excited about within the payments industry?
You would think that things would get easier for emerchants, but we’re not there yet – we’re still climbing the hill, and learning on the way. The EMV technology will eventually help reduce chargebacks by greater identity verification for retail or brick and mortar stores, but the threat has shifted to e-tail merchants. With increases in CNP (Card Not Present) purchases and a demand for near-immediate delivery of merchandise, emerchants are under pressure to take shortcuts in their processing and validation times in order to please the client – often without knowing if they’re actually dealing with the person whose name is on the card. It is vitally important that they are able to identify the client, and keep detailed and accurate records. It is the only way they will be able to hold onto the revenue they have rightfully earned.
The exciting part about the payment industry is that lots of innovations are being made that make the online purchase process as simple as possible for consumers, like Apple Pay etc. Any new technology can be welcoming and increase sales for e-tail merchants but also has its own vulnerabilities and threats which needs to be addressed before it affects the merchants bottom line.
How do you see the payments industry evolving over the next five years?
Unless emerchants are content to stay small and not grow, I expect that more and more of them will see that as their volume increases, as well as the ongoing rise in friendly fraud, they will need to take precautionary measures to prevent friendly fraud and true fraud.
Most merchants simply don’t have the time to do the research and analysis necessary to prevent chargebacks, the experience and knowledge to fight fraud, nor can they afford to just write off chargebacks as a cost of doing business. There are plenty of generic tools and approaches aimed at slightly reducing chargebacks by simple steps. But as the emerchants become more diversified and specialized, they will also need a company protecting them that treats each client as a unique enterprise. Chargebacks and fraud can be reduced to a great scale if you have the right tools, resources and expertise. If e-merchants do not have the time or resources, ensure you hire prevention partners like Chargeback Gurus to shield your profits.
For more insights on real-world chargeback client stories, visit Scam of the Month articles by author, Suresh Dakshina