September 11th, 2020 by Admin
The chargeback process was introduced more than four decades ago as a consumer-protection mechanism. It was meant to inspire consumer confidence in payment cards, which were still a novel concept at the time. Fast-forward to today, though, and these forced payment reversals have evolved into a significant problem for online merchants.
Chargeback abuse—commonly known as friendly fraud—is a major source of loss. In fact, chargeback issuances resulting from friendly fraud were expected to reach $50 billion annually in 2020, according to Mercator Advisory Group.
Even then, this figure is a low estimate. It doesn’t account for current trends in a post-Covid environment, where we’ve seen a dramatic increase in friendly fraud. These attacks were already up by the end of March, and there’s no sign that they’re going to slow down.
Covid-19 might look like the source of the problem on a superficial level. If we dig deeper, though, we see four underlying factors behind the preexisting upward trend in chargeback filings:
- More fraudsters view the CNP environment as the “channel of least resistance;”
- Inconsistency in technologies and regulations across different markets;
- The rise of mobile banking;
- The response by card networks like Visa and Mastercard.
These four factors carry diverse ramifications for the market. For instance, roughly $118 billion in e-commerce transactions are declined each year, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Most of these rejected purchases are false positives, meaning the merchant unnecessarily rejected the purchase in hopes of avoiding a chargeback.
Clearly, there’s a growing disconnect between merchants, financial institutions, and card networks regarding how best to address this situation. We can see this reflected in the fact that the rate of chargeback issuances in North America is expected to significantly outpace those in the European market. This is attributed to factors like strong customer authentication protocols required by the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), and more widespread use of 3-D Secure technology.
The pressure is on for industry players to find more comprehensive solutions for chargebacks. These solutions must be data-driven and adaptable, though. Otherwise, the growing disconnect between cardholders, merchants, financial institutions, and card networks will exacerbate existing problems in the market, leading to further losses.
The good news is that, in the meantime, there are strategies merchants can employ to address these concerns. For instance, even though friendly fraud operates by concealing itself behind false chargeback reason codes, it’s still helpful to have a clear understanding of what each reason code means in context.
Merchants can’t avoid friendly fraud in the same way they can detect criminal attacks or eliminate merchant errors. However, they can minimize friendly fraud risk by adopting key best practices, including:
- Notifying customers to remind them about recurring payments;
- Keeping organized and well-documented transaction records;
- Using delivery confirmation when shipping physical goods;
- Providing easy access to round-the-clock, live customer service;
- Providing a quick response to any refund or cancellation requests.
Also, if a merchant identifies a chargeback as friendly fraud, it’s important to engage that dispute through the representment process. This is a complex, time-consuming process, which is why many merchants opt to outsource their chargeback management. It’s still possible to conduct the process with in-house management. However, it will require strong evidence to support the merchant’s case, such as:
- A legible sales receipt
- A tracking number
- Any emails or transcripts of communications you’ve had with the customer
- Delivery confirmation information
- A record of in-store pickup
- Photographic evidence (when available)
This evidence needs to be contextualized with a chargeback rebuttal letter, explaining why the original transaction was valid. Also, merchants are on a tight schedule. In most cases, they have only a few days to provide a response to their acquirer.
Chargeback management can be a difficult and confusing process. But, with the problem of chargeback abuse only set to grow over time, it’s something merchants can’t afford to take for granted.
—Monica Eaton Cardone is the chief operating office and cofounder of Chargebacks911, Clearwater, Fla.
COMMENTARY: What Will the Future Hold for Chargebacks in Digital Payments?
Monica Eaton-Cardone September 11, 2020 Competitive Strategies, E-Commerce, Fraud & Security, Issuing/Originating, Mobile Commerce, Point-of-sale, Transaction Processing
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Credit Card Security, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Payments, Internet Payment Gateway, Uncategorized, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: chargeback, chargebacks, ecommerce, ecommerce merchant, ecommerce merchants, ecommerce sites, electronic payment, electronic transactions, fraud protection, mobile payment security, strategies, transaction security
Cash When You Need it by Not Holding Funds
In our second installment, we talked about NTC’s newest solution, NTC ePay. This third and final reason in this series will go over how NTC keeps your cash flow going.
Due to the history of travel businesses, many travel agencies are given a travel merchant account with monthly credit card processing volume caps. This means merchants are only permitted to handle a specific number of credit card transactions per month. Once that limit amount is reached, the merchant can no longer take credit cards for purchases that month. This keeps a business, especially an e-commerce merchant that relies on credit card payments, from operating effectively.
Imagine the impact on your travel agency when you no longer have to worry about having your cash flow stopped. We work very hard to eliminate holds and reserves on all our travel accounts.
Now imagine you getting approved for large volume.
You will agree that those two factors will have a huge positive impact on your business growth.
Most merchant providers usually hold funds from travel agents, because historical data shows that consumers are much more likely to dispute and chargeback travel agency transactions because of a change in their travel plans.
You may be wondering, why do we not hold your funds?
Well simply said, because we understand your business. NTC has been doing business with travel professionals like you for over 20 years and we understand that holding funds creates a huge hassle for your operation. We understand that cash flow is essential to your continued success.
With NTC travel agents can feel confident that they will maintain cash flow to help their business operate smoothly and efficiently without interruptions.
Why do travel merchants flag large transactions?
Many travel merchants many times run thousands of dollars worth of transactions and their processor tells them they’re going to simply hold the transaction and not pay the merchant.
We understand how critical it is to have funds available because many agents have shared how with other merchant providers, their cash flow has come to a complete halt at times.
Remember that when you choose a travel payment processor, you must be sure to choose one with experience in working with travel agencies like NTC.
At NTC, we assist you in developing and implementing your fraud prevention procedures, so that you can be proactive in identifying and correcting potential weak spots in your processing cycle.
Over these past three blog articles, we have shared the three main reasons why travel agents like you prefer National Transaction Corporation. Now we want to hear from you as to which of these three reasons is most important for your travel agency business. We’d love to read your comments below.
Posted in Credit card Processing, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Payments, Merchant Services Account, nationaltransaction.com, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: credit cards, e-commerce, electronic payment, merchant account, travel
Travel Agents prefer NTC ePay because they get paid faster with their very own “Buy Now” button or simply by requesting payments by email!
Last installment, we shared how the security of NTC Payment Processing works for you. In this second part of our three-part series, we discuss the ways that the technology behind NTC ePay helps your travel agency.
NTC ePay offers travel agents the most innovative technology because it is fast, mobile friendly and easy to use.
Whether you use Quickbooks, Peachtree or any other accounting application, you can enter the invoice number into the ePay application for reconciliation, and you can customize your pricing to any amount you choose. Your agency can create invoice and payment links that can be posted to your website or any social media website for payment.
Don’t you like it when everything seems to work together, making your day a lot easier? Technology is something that can get your daily workflow to go smoothly, and NTC ePay works for you. If you need a customized solution to go with your workflow, NTC can make most anything a reality for your business workflow.
National Transaction Corporation is one of the few travel payment processing companies that can directly integrate with both TRAMS and SABRE. You can perform your bookings like you always have but have the payment flow the way you need it to. We also integrate with many booking engines and shopping carts allowing you many options that are not available by host agencies.
NTC ePay is simple, secure and sets up in just minutes. It’s a web application, so you can use it on any device you already own: your desktop, laptop, tablet or phone. It lets you add inventory items or use the quick send feature for simplified invoicing.
Our ePay product was designed from the ground up with your security in mind. Even though we encrypt data back and forth to the payment gateway, we also use the gateway to handle the cardholder’s input. NTC’s cutting-edge technology doesn’t store credit card data, nor does it transmit that data. What that means to you is that the liability is 100% on the bank and not you – the merchant – as is typically the case. The application is written and hosted on our own servers, so you can set up and be in the ecommerce business within minutes.
By the way, there are also many customizations available to you with NTC ePay which can be set up very easily by your users. Inquire with your specific process and we will meet your specific needs in the travel payment scope.
Now when you run a social media campaign you can leverage our NTC ePay technology to help you increase sales. Use our ePay links to post vacation packages or special sales and have customers pay by two clicks.
Next week we will share the third reason in this series why National Transaction Corporation is the preferred choice for travel agents like you.
Remember, when you need a safe and technologically advanced gateway to manage all your travel agency payments, look no further than NTC.
Feel free to call us now at 888-996-2273, if you are ready to start using NTC ePay today.
Posted in Credit card Processing, Credit Card Security, e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Payments, Internet Payment Gateway, Merchant Services Account, Mobile Payments, nationaltransaction.com, Travel Agency Agents Tagged with: card-not-present, credit card, customers, e-commerce, electronic payment, merchant account, Mobile Payments, payments, Security, transactions, travel
April 23rd, 2018 by Admin
Have you ever had issues with your credit card processing service only to get turned around and around by the rep on the phone? You hang up feeling frustrated, angry, and without any answers.
Sometimes it’s a small problem, but what happens when they “misplace” your money, or there’s a problem with your account and you can’t receive any payments – and no amount of calling, emailing, or “chatting” seems to help you resolve anything?
There’s a better alternative to credit card payment processing, a company that’s been around for a long time, and is backed by one of the biggest banks in the country: National Transaction Corporation. And we have live, knowledgeable, friendly people waiting to pick up your calls and help you with your questions – no runaround, no excuses, no delays.
That’s the NTC way: Help when you need it, on a human level.
You may have had to make a lot of phone calls about chargebacks if you are using one of the more familiar service providers like PayPal and Square. Chargebacks are a primary cause of business owners’ complaints with these companies, because these services will usually side with the cardholder in the event of a dispute as they arbitrate the chargeback themselves.
NTC does business fairly and sensibly. When you process your credit card sales through NTC, you will be dealing with Visa or other credit card companies directly.
When you work with those other service providers, you may be worried about where your money might end up – especially if you’ve read all the nightmarish complaints that business owners like you have posted on trusted sites like the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Affairs.
Imagine you’re making a money transfer, and the cash seems to disappear? You call and you write and you chat, but no one has anything helpful to offer you and you wonder just where your money went, and what will happen to it now.
NTC knows that’s not how you build trust with your customers. We pride ourselves on our outstanding customer support, ease of use of our services, and the confidence and integrity that comes from being backed by one of the biggest banks in the country, US Bank.
National Transaction Corporation aims to make growing your business easier and more profitable by tailoring our services to your specific needs. We do this because we like you to establish a long-term partnership with us.
Now whether you are a florist, a restaurant, or any other kind of merchant, remember to look beyond just the advertised rate when looking for the best credit card payment processing service provider.
If after reading this article and you would like to speak to one of our live customer service representatives, simply call NTC today at 888-996-2273.
Posted in Credit card Processing Tagged with: consumers, credit card, customer, customers, electronic payment, merchant account, Security
August 17th, 2017 by Elma Jane
How Do Credit Cards Work?
Paying with a credit card seems like a simple process. You charge the customer, they swipe their card, and then they walk out the door.
But behind the scenes, it’s a bit more complicated.
A credit card payment involves four parties.
- The Merchant
- The Customer
- The Issuing Bank
- The Merchant Services Provider
You know who the Merchant and Customer are – that’s the easy part.
The Issuing Bank is the institution that lends money to the Customer.
When the Customer swipes their card, the Issuing Bank lends them the sale amount. This loan is given with the understanding that the Customer will pay the amount back within 30 days or repay it with interest.
Before the Merchant sees any of that money, it goes through the Merchant Services Provider. In exchange for their credit card processing services, they take out a fee before paying that money to the Merchant.
These fees vary between Merchant Services Providers, but one thing is certain: The Merchant always receives less money than the Customer paid them.
This might seem like a raw deal. However, accepting credit cards can lead to more sales than if you only accept cash.
On our next article we will discuss how to start accepting credit card payments and understanding the processing fees….so stand by for more information about Electronic Payment Processing.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Electronic Payments Tagged with: bank, credit card, customer, electronic payment, loan, merchant, payment
July 24th, 2017 by Elma Jane
NTC provides customers with multiple options for their online business. Customers can work with one company and one product to satisfy all of their payment needs. This is a great benefit to small businesses and large businesses alike. If you have any questions or would like to set up an account, call now 888-996-2273.
Electronic Invoicing Made Simple with NTC e-Pay
NTC GIVES.Com allows congregation to accept payments on multiple platforms.
NTC GIVES provide Electronic Payment System for:
Church, funding raising and charity projects.
Process your Travel Agency Payments for less. Get 100% funding the next day.
Electronic Payment Processing:
Take payments quickly and securely anywhere and anytime
Transaction can be processed in physical face-to-face, mail order/telephone order or e-commerce environments.
Recurring and installment payments available
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: e-commerce, electronic payment, payment, recurring, transaction, Travel Agency Payments
July 18th, 2017 by Elma Jane
1979 was a turning point in the credit card processing industry. Point of sale terminals emerged that year when Visa introduced a bulky electronic data capturing terminal which was the first payment credit card terminal.
In the same year, magnetic information stripe was added to the credit card which allowed card information to be captured electronically. Now Mag stripe was replaced by EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) .
In 1994, the first version of the EMV was released and it became stable in 1998.
The United States started using the EMV Technology in 2014.
The future of payment will see Mobile payments, Electronic payments and Contactless payments like NFC (Near Field Communication) and smart cards, and is now taking over the traditional payment. Electronic Payment Technology will continue to evolve.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: contactless, credit card, Electronic Data, electronic payment, EMV, mobile, nfc, payment, point of sale, terminals
July 12th, 2017 by Elma Jane
NTC Gives™ is an Electronic Payment Organization that allows congregations to accept payments on multiple platforms and supports non-profit organizations in our communities utilizing the award-winning customer service and industry leading technology of National Transaction Corporation™.
Keep Giving – allows recurring donations regardless of your worshipers attendance.
Mobile Giving – accept donations on a multitude of devices.
Secure Donations – Offload your protection mechanism to the banks payment gateway to ensure security breach while protecting your members.
For church congregations, start accepting donations online as well as recurring donations. Call now 888-996-2273 or go to NTC GIVES.Com
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: banks, electronic payment, gateway, Security
June 27th, 2017 by Elma Jane
E-commerce has been growing, and now the overall market is starting to take notice; thanks to advances in online payment processing and electronic payment technology, as well as the willingness of almost all merchants to accept credit cards online.
E-commerce ecosystem are set to double and will account for a rising share of overall card payments. In addition to increased internet and smartphone penetration; more e-commerce merchants and an increase in the use of digital wallets.
Cardholders globally are becoming more confident in the security of the e-commerce channel, with the expected implementation of 3D-Secure 2.0 and increased use of sophisticated anti-fraud systems in many markets it gives consumer assurance that payment cards are safe to use for e-commerce purchases.
Trends indicate that e-commerce is the wave of the future for shoppers. But digital shopping is just one piece of the broader payments ecosystem.
For Electronic Payment Set Up Call Now! 888-996-2273
Let’s Get Started National Transaction.Com
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: card payments, credit cards, Digital wallets, e-commerce, electronic payment, merchants, online, payment, Security, smartphone
June 6th, 2017 by Elma Jane
Need Electronic Payment Set Up?
NTC will manage your paperwork and onboarding and we can negotiate other flexible terms of your contract.
The quality of NTC’s services, plus the level of continuing customer support, will be the key difference.
Being transparent and straightforward that’s NTC!
Call NTC now 888-966-2273! or click here NationalTransaction.Com to get started!
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants Tagged with: electronic payment
