As e-commerce and remote payments continue to grow, so do the risks of fraud. Anytime you are taking a payment without the cardholder present, the risk grows. Here are some recommendations on how you can protect your business when customers demand more convenient ways to pay:
Know the customer
Before taking a card number over the phone or through text-to-pay, ask yourself if you truly know this customer. Are they a repeat customer? Have you taken a successful payment from them before? If not, consider asking them to pay in-store, where ID can be verified.
Card Holder Verification
When taking a remote payment, ask if the cardholder’s name is the same as the customer on the invoice. If your customer is having a relative or friend make the payment, update your records to show the cardholder name and customer name on your invoice.
If the customer is having someone else pick up, ask for written authorization from an email on file and add that person’s name to the invoice.
IP address
If you are using a text-to-pay or website payment, ensure you know how to access the IP address information. The IP address records the device’s general location at the time of payment which can help tie the activity to your customer. Not all card brands will consider electronic data when assessing chargebacks, but the more data the better! The IP Address can be useful in the event you take a claim to court.
Disclosures
When fighting a dispute, you will need to submit invoice examples which need to include refund and dispute policies. It’s also recommended to have these present on your website and included in dispute submissions. We encourage you to review your policies and make adjustments as needed. Here is a great example of a what a refund policy should look like:
REFUND POLICY
“We offer 30 Money Back Guarantee on every product and service we provide. Please call customer service at 800-000-0000, within 30 days of purchase date to report any concerns. All refunds will be provided as a credit to the credit card used at the time of purchase within five (5) business days upon receipt of the returned merchandise.”
Easy to find
Make sure your phone number and email address is easy to find online and in Google searches. You want customers to come to you first with disputes before calling their financial institution.
It’s a shame we can’t trust every interaction, but that’s the reality. If you ever need help fighting a chargeback or have concerns about fraud, phone your friends at 360 Payments – We are here for you!