The recently-published 2023 Chargeback Field Report, published by Chargebacks911, was spotlighted in a new feature for Digital Transactions.
The publisher behind Digital Transactions is Boland Hill Media, LLC. Formed in 2003 as a partnership between two veteran publishing executives, Boland Hill Media is a Chicago-based multi-media publisher. They serve the informational and analytical needs of markets undergoing fundamental transformation brought on by shifts in technology and consumer behavior.
The report found that, while chargeback issuances slowed in the aftermath of 2020 lockdowns, activity is picking up, and is now reaching pandemic levels again.
“When we saw in 2021 that 76% of surveyed merchants reported an increase in friendly fraud, we were concerned, but not shocked, given that many storefronts were closed in 2020 and everyone was forced to do their shopping online where fraud is rampant,” Chargebacks911 chief executive Monica Eaton explains in the piece. “But now that we are well past the confines of the pandemic and that number remains the same, more action is needed to quell the ongoing rise in chargeback abuse.”
The piece goes on to note that chargebacks will cost merchants an estimated $117.47 billion in 2023. A major contributing factor noted in the report is the improper use of merchant billing descriptors.
“One significant factor contributing to the increase in chargebacks overall is merchants’ use of billing descriptors that consumers consider to be confusing. Some 32% of consumers surveyed say they often find the billing description on their monthly card statement to be confusing, while more than 25% say they sometimes find the billing description to be confusing,” the article asserts.
