Monica Eaton Explains How to Defend Against Losses
Chargebacks911 Monica Eaton offers her best tips to thrive throughout the COVID-19 crisis in a new guest feature for The British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The British Retail Consortium is a leading trade organization for retailers operating in the UK and European markets. The BRC’s membership comprises over 5,000 businesses delivering £180bn of retail sales and employing over one and half million employees.
The COVID-19 crisis is disrupting everyday life for billions of us around the globe. Even eCommerce retailers are feeling the pinch, as potential supply disruptions, shipping delays, and other obstacles cause trouble across the world. As Monica explains, this leads to additional, unforeseen problems.
“As a result, retailers across the globe are experiencing a spike in chargebacks and friendly fraud, with some industries suffering chargeback losses 10 times higher than before COVID-19,” she says.
Merchants need to take a multi-pronged approach in response to this situation. They must adopt practices to stop chargebacks in the short term, while also looking to prevent additional losses in the future.
“The worst thing a retailer can do now accepts chargebacks and friendly fraud, believing they’re a side-effect of COVID-19 that will resolve itself. A retailer needs to identify where its chargebacks are coming from (criminal fraud, merchant error, or friendly fraud) and fix it or fight against them. Not challenging fraudulent disputes can make a company look weak and leave it open to future attacks.”
