In 2019, as a business if you don't have an internet presence, you're almost putting yourself behind the 8-ball a little bit. But with an online presence comes the risks associated with being online, including people taking advantage of your business, or issues with online payments that turn into disputes.
As a business owner, you have to be prepared to deal with fraud & chargebacks, while supporting your customers to the best of your ability, to ensure the right outcome is achieved.
What is a Chargeback?
When a customer has an issue with a charge on their credit card, they can contact their bank and dispute the charge. The bank will then make a chargeback.
A customer might dispute a charge for one of the following reasons (read further details):
- Fraudulent
- Unrecognised
- Duplicate
- Product not received
- Product unacceptable
- Credit not processed
For more information on types of Chargebacks, please refer to this this article.
Note
The Mobi2Go Payments chargeback process is similar.
Dealing with a chargeback
The typical process to deal with a chargeback is as follows:
- The customer disputes a charge with their bank
- The customer's bank makes a chargeback, and contacts you (the owner) through your payment provider
- Your payment provider takes the disputed amount from your account
- You gather evidence to figure out whether the charge was valid and send this to your payments provider
- Your payments provider sends a response to the customer's bank
- The bank reviews the evidence submitted
- Within 60 days, the bank resolves the chargeback. If you win, your payment should be returned. If you lose you are likely to be charged a bank chargeback fee.
Pro Tip
Mobi2Go Payments has additional fraud mitigations.
How to mitigate the risk of getting chargebacks
If you are going to accept credit cards as a form of online payment, there are a few ways you can reduce your risk.
- Ask your customers to sign card receipts on delivery or pick up. Make sure the signature on the card matches the signature on your receipt.
- Use security camera footage in your store to provide evidence.
- Brush up on customer service. Ensure your staff are educated on the processes and procedures to avoid point of sale (POS) fraud
- Use easy to recognise billing descriptors. If your customers can easily identify your store at a glance, they are less likely to contact the bank
- Spend time writing accurate and detailed product descriptions. Ensure your customers know exactly what they are purchasing and when they can expect to receive orders
- Ensure your store contact details are up to date on your site. Customers are more likely to contact you first if you are available
- Be open to offering your customers refunds. If someone is not happy with your products or service, they are going to get their money back one way or another.
Remember
No matter what the issue is, always look for a positive outcome for your customers. Putting your customers first can help turn turn even the worst experience, into a positive one that may result in the customer being loyal & continuing to buy from your brand.