The holidays are a special time to enjoy the company of family and friends. But not everyone is spreading peace and holiday cheer. For criminals, it is the most wonderful time of the year for fraud and your customers could be next if your organization is not ready. Chargebacks911, a Tampa-based chargeback-management firm, recently released a list of American cities on the East Coast with the highest chargeback rates. Businesses in these areas should beef up their security efforts this year.
New York comes in first with Port Washington’s chargeback rate at 17 percent. Astoria, N.Y. came in at 15 percent, Plainview, N.Y. (13 percent) and variety of cities and towns experienced an average chargeback rate of 12 percent (East Elmhurst; N.Y, Danvers, Mass.; Albany, N.Y; Carteret, N.J.; Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.; Massapequa, N.Y.; and Philadelphia, Pa.).
Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO and co-founder of Chargebacks911, warns online merchants to pay close attention to chargebacks and to use it as part of their risk management strategy. High chargeback rates will slowly drain a business of its profits and make it difficult to attain loans from financial institutions. In addition to lost profits and merchandise, online merchants will also face additional fees if they exceed the 1-percent rule set by banks.
Businesses must be proactive to protect customers and profits. Merchants need to upgrade their POS terminals with chip-and-signature or chip-and-PIN functionality to protect themselves against liability for card-present fraud. In addition to security, merchants can counteract the negative effects of chargebacks by enacting proactive solutions to boost profits. Gift cards are a very profitable piece of merchandise for merchants. If merchants deal in gift cards, they should find payments providers that offer processes and support services that enable fast processing and bigger profits.
Is your business prepared for the holidays? Merchants can easily increase their profits and protect their customers by taking a proactive approach to chargeback prevention. EMB offers quality merchant chargeback protection. EMB offers Chargeback Shield, a program that reduces the frequency of chargebacks by 15-30%.