Singapore-based Jia Min’s appointment will help to facilitate the rapid growth, as well as being a strategic move aimed at overcoming any language barriers with partners to ensure a truly seamless end-to-end service.

Jia Min said in a statement “APAC is a fast-growing market with great potential for growth. We’re seeing a mass adoption of credit cards and digital payments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which naturally means we’re witnessing a spike in the reports of fraud. Despite the demand for dispute management specialists in the region, there has been a distinct lack of support and solutions available on the market, which presents an ideal opportunity for Chargebacks911. There has never been a better time for us to focus our attention on this under-serviced region.”

Jia Min brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked across the dispute technology, fraud prevention and risk management industries, and a background in the increasing pre-transaction risks such as advertising fraud and loyalty membership fraud.

Her knowledge in eCommerce operations, challenges and trends, as well as strong networking abilities, will further bolster Chargebacks911’s already impressive APAC outfit. Her multilingual skill set will prove invaluable when bolstering Chargebacks911’s offering in the market.

The post Chargebacks911 appoints Jia Min Tan as director business development appeared first on International Finance.

The company will still be known as Chargebacks911 in North America, Australia and elsewhere outside of Europe.

“Our presence in Europe is rapidly expanding, and we want European merchants to understand that we’re their go-to solution for any issue related to chargebacks,” said Monica Eaton-Cardone, the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Chargebacks911/The Chargeback Company.

“The name ‘Chargebacks911’ originated because we served as an ‘emergency hotline’ for American businesses who were victimised by chargeback fraud (also referred to as ‘friendly fraud’). 911 is the equivalent of the UK’s 999 or Europe’s 112 – it’s how you reach first responders. But now we’re much more than just a hotline. We offer a full range of chargeback services for merchants, acquirers and issuers. Whether it’s temporary help or long-term strategy, we deliver both scale and scope.”

“In short, we outgrew our name,” Eaton-Cardone continued. “We now have a European-focused brand that reflects our all-encompassing role as the industry’s preeminent leaders in chargeback defence, management, mitigation and compliance. If you have a problem with chargebacks, call The Chargeback Company. It’s what we do, and we’re here to help.”

Chargebacks occur when cardholders complain to their banks to dispute a charge. The burden-of-proof is then on the seller to defend the legitimacy of the sale, which is a difficult threshold for Internet purchases, card-not-present transactions and shipped merchandise. Online merchants lose more than £80 billion annually to chargebacks and chargeback-related expenses, and the problem is growing by 20 percent each year.

“Chargeback fraud is basically a ‘hidden tax’ on the industry,” said Eaton-Cardone. “It’s an extraordinarily serious problem that requires an equally serious solution.”

The Chargeback Company is the first company fully dedicated to mitigating chargeback risk and eliminating chargeback fraud. Last year, Chargebacks911/The Chargeback Company safeguarded over 2.4 billion online transactions for clients in 87 countries.

The post Chargebacks911 rebrands as The Chargeback Company in Europe appeared first on International Finance.

Gjura will join Chargebacks911’s innovative team leaders as they build upon the company’s North American efforts and expand opportunities in Europe. His efforts will focus primarily on assisting merchants in verticals with emerging risk, as well as expanding deeper, exclusive relationships with leading aggregators, third-party vendors, acquirers and financial institutions.

Gary Cardone, CEO of Chargebacks911 said, “I have admired Kristjan for years and couldn’t be more thrilled that he is joining us at such a pivotal time in the industry. He has broad and diverse connections and an impressive understanding of payments and fraud. But what really attracted us to Kristjan is his ethics and philosophy of doing business. Monica Eaton-Cardone and I built this business under one shared belief system— to be best-in-class, to exchange in abundance, and to ensure every commercial deal that is done is a measurable win-win for all parties involved.  Kristjan has built a track record in perfect alignment with these same principles.”

“The world we are living in is driving unparalleled transparency—and subsequent efficiencies. Without clear and measurable value propositions, many business models will fail in the next two to five years. While many businesses in payments have been designed around exploiting inefficiencies, our objective is to make payments more efficient; to help eradicate friction, leakage, and losses; and to design products, technology and services built to solve problems— not exploit them. Kristjan, in tandem with the other key team members, will help play a critical role in this process,” he continued.

Kristjan Gjura joins Chargebacks911 from Ethoca, bringing over a decade of financial sector experience from his time with B+S Card Service and Deutsche Card Services. He added, “It’s a thrill to join Chargebacks911. I’m looking forward to help in supporting the company’s global expansion and further its leadership role across the payments industry. Chargebacks911’s unrivaled and comprehensive chargeback technology—directed at the actual problem, not the symptoms— was simply too attractive and compelling to pass up.  It is very rare to see a company able to successfully scale and scope in the global payments industry without outside funding or investors. Their unique approach— including their understanding of the problems, technology, and intellectual capital— is unequalled. I’m honoured to be a part of it.”

Gjura will be instrumental in bringing Chargebacks911’s services to the European market and advancing the company’s award-winning, global chargeback management platform.

The post Chargebacks911 advances intellectual capital and industry expertise with new hire appeared first on International Finance.

January 31, 2017: Chargebacks911™, a global risk technologies company and an internationally-renowned leader for risk mitigation, announces the appointment of Tracy Cray as Director of Card Scheme Compliance at Chargebacks911’s new Essex location.

Tracy Cray, former Chargebacks & Disputes Manager for The Royal Bank of Scotland, has led Europe’s most successful chargeback processing division for the majority of her 34-year tenure in the payments industry. She also chaired a number of chargeback and scheme forums, including the European Experts Chargebacks Group.

As an unrivalled expert in the field of chargeback management and risk mitigation, Tracy’s in-depth understanding of card schemes and influential relationships within the industry will serve as the cornerstone of Chargebacks911’s latest venture — services tailored to assist issuers, acquirers and enterprise-level merchants. The service will launch in Q1 in Europe and will be offered to qualified clients, backed by a performance and ROI guarantee.

Tracy says, “When it comes to chargeback management, financial institutions are burdened in many ways — it’s impossible to stay current on constantly-evolving regulations, there is little transparency regarding the processes of other entities, and an inability to maintain compliance becomes a major liability. These hidden issues have continued to accumulate without reprieve.”

According to some reports, internal chargeback-related expenses have climbed by 21% since 2015 and are expected to double in 2017.

“For this reason,” Tracy continues, “the services Chargebacks911 is offering will be a godsend to many, taking the guesswork out of the equation completely with effective results that last. I couldn’t be more pleased to lead this unprecedented industry initiative.”

Monica Eaton-Cardone, co-founder of Chargebacks911, says, “Tracy is undoubtedly the most astute chargeback expert I have met, with an undeniable and persistent approach to positively address the core source of any problem she takes on. Her in-depth understanding of the inner-workings of chargeback management is unmatched, and we’re thrilled to have her join our growing leadership team in the UK.”

Chargebacks911’s new services will include, among other things, personalised consulting and results-oriented strategies to assess current policies and procedures. By identifying oversight, errors, and unrealised opportunities, clients will experience an immediate improvement to their bottom line.

The post Payments industry expert leaves RBS to Join Chargebacks911 appeared first on International Finance.

November 24, 2016: With the holiday season just around the corner, merchants are preparing for the most active online shopping time of the year. But, while many focus on marketing and deals, retailers and issuers face a bigger overlooked issue that could move them into the red.

In the US, the sales spree will be initiated on the fourth Friday of November with Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. In 2015, online sales for this event added up to an astounding $2.72 billion, with an additional $1.73 billion spent on Thanksgiving Day.

What started in the 1990s as a curious ‘anti-Valentine’s’ celebration for single people in China, has transformed into the biggest online shopping day in the world. Ostensibly held on November 11, but often extending to a week-long sale, the holiday set a new sales record of around £19 billion in just one day this year.

While these celebrations are increasingly global and popular, with record-breaking sales, huge amounts of attention from customers and greater earning potential for merchants, statistics reveal that severe consequences are likely to follow in terms of chargebacks.

Chargeback volumes can increase by as much as 50% during the holiday season, and this percentage is only likely to continue. But, what are the reasons behind this?

Buyer’s remorse is one of the biggest problems most closely associated with peak shopping days. The drop in prices and the multiple sales during the shopping seasons make customers feel pressured into buying something before it disappears. But, later, with a cool head, customers sometimes change their minds or find a better deal elsewhere and no longer want the product. This regret often results in illegitimate chargebacks for customers trying to find another way to get a ‘refund’.

Similarly, customers are becoming increasingly demanding. Tight deadlines and high pressure around the holidays means small mistakes can be unforgivable to shoppers. If consumers are having a bad shopping experience and are not satisfied with the merchant’s performance, they may initiate a chargeback. A new report from Radial indicated that 71% of shoppers expect their online orders to arrive within five days, while 51% would stop shopping with a retailer if their order arrived later than the promised delivery date.

Adding to this problem, there is a flawed impression for ecommerce regarding the source of fraudulent chargebacks. Even though fighting cybercriminals and protecting customer’s data and money must be a priority for all merchants, criminally fraudulent purchases are surprisingly low on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles’ Day. Only 10% of chargebacks can be attributable to criminal fraud, with 20% coming from merchant error and 70% from friendly fraud.

Friendly fraud occurs when a consumer makes an online shopping purchase with their own credit card, and then requests a chargeback from the issuing bank after receiving the purchased goods or services. It is a problem which is not currently being properly addressed by most retailers.

The truth is the industry is also slow to react. Merchant liability often surfaces in the weeks following these shopping holidays – approximately 90 days after the purchase — as the costs of online fraud and chargebacks become apparent. In addition, big purchasing events, like Black Friday, produce significant alterations to normal customer shopping behaviours, making it even harder for merchants to identify and stop friendly fraud.

For them, sales are often seen as more important, but chargebacks can essentially make a greater loss when adding the value of the lost sale, as well as the cost of the goods and a chargeback fine. Worse still, ineffective or poor chargeback management is about to become even more costly.

The burden of chargebacks is not only owned by online merchants; issuers are getting increasingly serious about enforcing better governance on them. MasterCard recently acted to help reduce its own encumbrance by introducing its new Dispute Administration Fee (DAF). This is a fee passed through to merchants who fall foul of customer chargebacks and fail to effectively dispute their legitimacy. Ecommerce merchants can expect to pay an additional €15 fee for chargebacks they accept without filing rebuttal, and up to €30 if a non-compliant response is filed. Issuers are penalised as well with the reverse incentive.

As this year’s shopping season progresses, merchants who lack a disciplined chargeback policy are likely to be more vulnerable than ever before. The only way to avoid this is for retailers to understand chargebacks and the detrimental affect an ineffective risk mitigation system can have on their business. Beyond losing merchandise and revenue, online retailers can face additional fees and consequences, particularly if they exceed allotted chargeback thresholds.

Adhering to best practices reduces the risk of chargebacks. Superior results are obtained through the use of combined methods which leverage both in-house and outside expertise.

Recent studies performed by Global Risk Technologies revealed that merchants using a combination of fraud management strategies experienced improved performance within every fraud detection tool and reported a gain on average of 22.4% over those who did not utilise a layered approach or combination method.

Retailers don’t need to accept chargebacks as a cost of doing business. Acknowledging the problem and putting in place comprehensive management strategies can ensure merchants benefit from huge shopping days without sustaining enormous financial disasters.

Monica Eaton-Cardone is CIO and co-founder of Chargebacks911

The post The real shopping season sales killer appeared first on International Finance.

Monica Eaton-Cardone

November 24, 2016: With the holiday season just around the corner, merchants are preparing for the most active online shopping time of the year. But, while many focus on marketing and deals, retailers and issuers face a bigger overlooked issue that could move them into the red.

In the US, the sales spree will be initiated on the fourth Friday of November with Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. In 2015, online sales for this event added up to an astounding $2.72 billion, with an additional $1.73 billion spent on Thanksgiving Day.

What started in the 1990s as a curious ‘anti-Valentine’s’ celebration for single people in China, has transformed into the biggest online shopping day in the world. Ostensibly held on November 11, but often extending to a week-long sale, the holiday set a new sales record of around £19 billion in just one day this year.

While these celebrations are increasingly global and popular, with record-breaking sales, huge amounts of attention from customers and greater earning potential for merchants, statistics reveal that severe consequences are likely to follow in terms of chargebacks.

Chargeback volumes can increase by as much as 50% during the holiday season, and this percentage is only likely to continue. But, what are the reasons behind this?

Buyer’s remorse is one of the biggest problems most closely associated with peak shopping days. The drop in prices and the multiple sales during the shopping seasons make customers feel pressured into buying something before it disappears. But, later, with a cool head, customers sometimes change their minds or find a better deal elsewhere and no longer want the product. This regret often results in illegitimate chargebacks for customers trying to find another way to get a ‘refund’.

Similarly, customers are becoming increasingly demanding. Tight deadlines and high pressure around the holidays means small mistakes can be unforgivable to shoppers. If consumers are having a bad shopping experience and are not satisfied with the merchant’s performance, they may initiate a chargeback. A new report from Radial indicated that 71% of shoppers expect their online orders to arrive within five days, while 51% would stop shopping with a retailer if their order arrived later than the promised delivery date.

Adding to this problem, there is a flawed impression for ecommerce regarding the source of fraudulent chargebacks. Even though fighting cybercriminals and protecting customer’s data and money must be a priority for all merchants, criminally fraudulent purchases are surprisingly low on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles’ Day. Only 10% of chargebacks can be attributable to criminal fraud, with 20% coming from merchant error and 70% from friendly fraud.

Friendly fraud occurs when a consumer makes an online shopping purchase with their own credit card, and then requests a chargeback from the issuing bank after receiving the purchased goods or services. It is a problem which is not currently being properly addressed by most retailers.

The truth is the industry is also slow to react. Merchant liability often surfaces in the weeks following these shopping holidays – approximately 90 days after the purchase — as the costs of online fraud and chargebacks become apparent. In addition, big purchasing events, like Black Friday, produce significant alterations to normal customer shopping behaviours, making it even harder for merchants to identify and stop friendly fraud.

For them, sales are often seen as more important, but chargebacks can essentially make a greater loss when adding the value of the lost sale, as well as the cost of the goods and a chargeback fine. Worse still, ineffective or poor chargeback management is about to become even more costly.

The burden of chargebacks is not only owned by online merchants; issuers are getting increasingly serious about enforcing better governance on them. MasterCard recently acted to help reduce its own encumbrance by introducing its new Dispute Administration Fee (DAF). This is a fee passed through to merchants who fall foul of customer chargebacks and fail to effectively dispute their legitimacy. Ecommerce merchants can expect to pay an additional €15 fee for chargebacks they accept without filing rebuttal, and up to €30 if a non-compliant response is filed. Issuers are penalised as well with the reverse incentive.

As this year’s shopping season progresses, merchants who lack a disciplined chargeback policy are likely to be more vulnerable than ever before. The only way to avoid this is for retailers to understand chargebacks and the detrimental affect an ineffective risk mitigation system can have on their business. Beyond losing merchandise and revenue, online retailers can face additional fees and consequences, particularly if they exceed allotted chargeback thresholds.

Adhering to best practices reduces the risk of chargebacks. Superior results are obtained through the use of combined methods which leverage both in-house and outside expertise.

Recent studies performed by Global Risk Technologies revealed that merchants using a combination of fraud management strategies experienced improved performance within every fraud detection tool and reported a gain on average of 22.4% over those who did not utilise a layered approach or combination method.

Retailers don’t need to accept chargebacks as a cost of doing business. Acknowledging the problem and putting in place comprehensive management strategies can ensure merchants benefit from huge shopping days without sustaining enormous financial disasters.

Monica Eaton-Cardone is CIO and co-founder of Chargebacks911

The post The real shopping season sales killer appeared first on International Finance.