Reducing Chargebacks

While it’s impossible to prevent chargebacks entirely, there are steps you can take to significantly reduce their frequency.

Collect customer information

Collect as much customer information as possible with each transaction. The billing street address, billing postal code, and the CVV are particularly important.

Be upfront with your customers

Make sure that your site's terms and conditions are easy to find and understand. Learn more about ecommerce website requirements.

Be accessible

Make it easy for your customers to contact you if they have questions or issues. We recommend that you clearly display your contact information on each page of your website.

Provide your service or product as soon as possible

The sooner your product or service is delivered to your customers, the less likely they are to be dissatisfied with their purchase. Make sure you make shipping timelines visible for customers so their expectations are set appropriately.

Make sure your subscriptions are opt-in

If you offer your customers a free trial period before they start a subscription or recurring billing service, always make sure to give them the option to opt-out of the paid service. We do not recommend collecting customer payment information for the free trial. No matter what, you should always be transparent about when and how much customers will be charged if they decide to continue after the free trial. Learn more about the risks and requirements associated with offering trial periods.

Provide refunds

The most effective way to prevent chargebacks from customers who are dissatisfied with a product or service is to establish an easy and efficient refund process. When you provide hassle-free refund assistance to your customers, you can prevent them from turning to their credit card company for a resolution. Make sure to follow up with your customers throughout the refund process to prevent them from issuing a chargeback while you are resolving their claim.

Use a recognizable descriptor

Your descriptor controls the way your company name appears on your customer’s bank statements. Make sure that this clearly identifies your company and includes your contact information in case customers need to get in touch with you. If you are unsure how your descriptor appears, contact us for more information.

Be proactive internally

There are some internal processes you can implement to reduce the frequency and probability of chargebacks. We recommend doing the following:

• Regularly review customer data: dormant and inactive accounts for subscription services can sometimes result in chargebacks, especially if the customer has forgotten they’re subscribed
• Review customer service inquiries: customers that contact often with complaints may be a chargeback risk
• Listen to customer reviews: look for ways to improve your product or services by reading customer reviews on third-party review sites
• Monitor chargeback activity: look for repeat offenders and discontinue services with them

Use a CAPTCHA on your site

A CAPTCHA is a program or system designed to tell the difference between human and machine input. Having a CAPTCHA on your site can help prevent carding attacks – and the subsequent chargebacks due to fraudulent charges.

Use our fraud tools

Less fraudulent charges for your customers mean fewer chargebacks for you. We offer varying levels of fraud protection to meet your business’s needs; see our fraud tools guide for more information.

You can find more information on these tips and suggestions in our blog post about reducing chargebacks.