Credit card processing is one of the chief concerns of those merchants who are looking to consistently beat the competition. While many merchants are looking for ways to reduce their processing costs, there are others who manage merchant accounts who are looking to reduce their risks. Whenever a company decides to accept credit cards, that company inevitably must worry about chargebacks. A chargeback is when a customer purchases something from the merchant with a credit card, then attempts to cancel the charge through his credit card company. If the customer is successful, merchants can lose out on significant revenue, taking a major loss on what would have been an important sale. There are a few strategies that can help those in charge of merchant accounts with this difficult reality in credit card processing.
Signature on delivery protocols
Your business will find that one of the most common reasons given in chargebacks is that a customer did not receive the item he or she paid for. Typically, when a business ships an item, the delivery service will simply leave that item at the customer’s door. What happens, then, when someone steals the item? By requiring a signature on delivery, your business can ensure that the customer actually gets the item that was sent their way. This is an important safeguard which can shut down some of the fraud right in the beginning.
Clearly defined “Terms and Conditions”
Often, chargeback disputes will occur because customers will claim that there was some sort of deficiency in the product. However, this can be a challenge for merchants because of the nature of selling goods. What happens when a short, for instance, rips two weeks after a person has purchased it? If your store has policies on returns and things of that nature, then you must outline them in a clearly defined section. From there, you should make your customers agree to your terms and conditions as a precursor to their purchase. This way, if they attempt to file a dispute with their credit card company, you will be able to point that company to the fact that the customer clearly agreed to your terms before buying the item.
In addition to these steps, it is important to take precautions on who you sell to. If you notice repeated fraudulent activity from a consumer, then you can safely choose not to deal with them. Risk management is not a science, but by using some common sense, merchants can save out on potentially large losses.