Note: We are not attorneys or accountants. The following information is purely meant to be informative, subject to change, and we invite you to contact us with any questions. Thank you.
In recent months, FPN has shared tips around navigating chargebacks. This month, our payments education continues with a focus on how to help you protect your revenue.
Defending a transaction becomes increasingly difficult when:
The billing address and zip code do not match.
You enter the business address but the cardholder uses the home as the mailing address. You may be delivering a product or providing a service at a business, but the cardholder billing address is the home address.
The CVV2 or CVC is not included or does not match.
The CVV2 or CVC number is crucial. It was designed to help protect the cardholder and is their responsibility to enter or confirm this information before processing falls back to you, the business owner.
The card used to make the purchase is not actually issued to the person buying.
A business owner hands the payment card to an office manager or a partner to process. Perhaps the card belongs to a spouse or parent. A personal card being used for business, the person leaves the company and disputes prior charges. It becomes challenging when there is a divorce or when a business partner leaves.
What can be done?
The following suggestions do not guarantee you will win every chargeback, but they will help strengthen your defense against them. Remember that chargebacks are disputes on products and services provided.
- Ensure the contract includes language requiring the cardholder to verify and confirm that the card being used to process payment is issued in their name and they alone have the ability to authorize the transactions. This is especially crucial when issuing a recurring payment or billing for a subscription.
- Language on your payment form, invoice, and website require that the cardholder provide the correct billing address, zip code, and that they will communicate if there ever is an address change. Ensure the responsibility for notifying you of card and address changes lie with the cardholder and communicate such before the next transaction is run with the updated information.
- Use a payment form, web payment page, or text-to-pay method that ensures the cardholder enters their complete payment information. This is greatly preferred to your hand-keying the transaction.
- Be sure the payment page, your company website, and the client’s receipt include language around your return and cancellation policies. Include a links to a web page with this detail whenever possible.
- If you have a contract, do not bury the return and cancellation policies. Instead, create a single page that includes clauses for return, cancellation, and card/ACH policies and fees.
- If you are going to set-up a payment plan for a large purchase, do not have a verbal contract or a hand-shake agreement. Create an invoice, a payment plan, include the start date of the payment, the ending date of the payment, the card to be charged, the amount, person authorizing the payment, and most importantly, a signature on the terms and conditions.
We hope you found these tips helpful in protecting various transaction types between your business and your customers. As always, should you need assistance or want to explore making some changes to your account profile or gateway configuration, please do not hesitate to contact FPN support by emailing support@franchisepayments.net or calling 866-420-4613 Option 1.
Gain The Advantage
We know keeping up with the ever-changing nuances of payments can be a lot to keep up with. This is why FPN developed The Advantage Program, a trio of solutions designed to help protect your business against chargebacks and data breaches.* Options may include:
- Get reimbursed for chargebacks up to $1,000*
- Should you suffer a data breach, you’ll be insured for up to $100,000*
Stop wasting time chasing down funds so you can focus on new customers. Contact FPN today to learn how The Advantage Program can give you peace of mind and protect your business.
* The FPN Advantage program is primarily for what card brands consider ‘card present’ transactions. Protection terms subject to change. Please contact us should you have any questions.
