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The Difference Between Chargebacks and Refunds

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Various types of high risk merchants need to be aware of the difference between chargebacks and refunds. The best high risk processors will offer high risk merchant accounts that acknowledge these kinds of risks but still treat them fairly. First, let’s start from refunds. Chances are you already have a good idea of how refunds work, since most of us have had to ask for one from a business at some point in our lives:

Refund – A refund occurs when a customer asks for funds to be returned to the customer’s credit card and the merchant agrees. This usually occurs when the customer returns goods, or the merchant fails to provide goods or services for which the customer has paid.

Partial refunds typically occur when a customer has been provided goods or services, but is unhappy with them, or a particular element was never provided.

Chargeback – A chargeback happens as a result of a dispute. Typically, the cardholder disputes a charge on their credit card statement with the bank that issues the card. This can happen as a result of:

  1. Fraud: The card was used without the customer’s authorization.
  2. Failed Refund: The customer attempted a refund through the merchant, but the merchant either failed to respond or refused to provide the refund.
  3. Inaccuracy: The goods or services that were provided were misrepresented to the customer.

What are High Risk Merchants?

Many types of high risk merchants must pay particular attention to these elements because they can reduce the number of processors willing to give you a good deal on your payment processing.

Businesses that see a high number of refunds and especially a high number of chargebacks can very quickly be labeled high risk by payment processors. This is because chargebacks serve as a red flag that a business is either failing to provide refunds or is misrepresenting their goods or services.

There are many high risk merchant accounts, but they’ll often charge you much higher rates and fees than you should be charged. The best high risk processors will reduce these rates as much as possible, and will specialize in these types of accounts.

With more than thirty years of payment processing experience, Y2Payments can help you save some of that money from your current statements and have it go directly to your bottom line! Contact us today to learn more.

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How to Manage Chargebacks Better

manage chargebacks better y2payments

It’s happened again. You get yet another alert that a credit card chargeback has occurred. Now your funds are tied up until the dispute process is complete. You might win the process, you might lose the process. Either way, though, you’re dealing with a frustrating situation that you shouldn’t have to fight. It impacts your business, and it could hurt your customer base. How can you manage chargebacks better and get your business back on the road? Take a look.

Understanding the Process
What are chargebacks, exactly? A chargeback occurs when a customer is unhappy with the charges on his or her card, and contact the card company. The funds are debited from your account, then held in escrow while the investigation takes place. You’ll be asked to take a closer look at the order in dispute, then provide any evidence that the chargeback is not valid.

Customers typically file a chargeback if they didn’t receive the product or service, the product or services weren’t as described, or they claim the transaction was fraudulent for one reason or another or the cardholder may simply want to avoid accepting his or her financial responsibility and blatantly defraud the business. As the merchant, you have to decide whether to fight the chargeback or give the customer his/her money back.

End the Chargebacks
Obviously no business wants to deal with or manage chargebacks, but there are a few things you can do to help eliminate disputes.

First, start by creating a process your employees can follow easily that helps to reduce any potential errors on your end. For example, something like processing a transaction more that once or entering the wrong amount can cause a chargeback.

Educate your employees so they know how to use the system well. You’ll also want to know and understand the signs of credit card fraud. While this can be a bit tougher if you work with a digital system or phone-based sales, but developing a program to help educate your employees to spot and deal with fraud can help immensely.

Finally, keep your focus on your products and services. Answer customer questions promptly. Make sure your advertising matches your products, and follow your industry regulations carefully.

Chargebacks are never a fun process, but we can help to simplify things a bit. To learn more about how Y2Payments handles chargebacks, contact us today.