Prevent Credit Card Chargeback

How You Can Prevent Credit Card Chargebacks

  • Never alter a sales receipt.
  • Always obtain an authorization for the exact amount of the transaction processed to the card.
  • If authorization is declined for the full amount of the sale, don’t try to get an authorization by “splitting” or lowering the amount of the transaction.
  • If you can’t get a single authorization for the full amount of the sale, then decline the credit card transaction and request another form of payment.
  • For transactions where the card is present at the time of sale, always process a chip card with your EMV enabled terminal. If the transaction is not processed successfully, follow the prompts on your terminal to resolve the matter.

  • Merchant Alerts – Receive timely notifications of reconciliation and dispute events that have bottom-line impact
  • When a credit is owed to a customer and the original purchase was made with a credit card, process the credit back to the original card number instead of refunding by cheque or cash. If a credit is due on more than one sale, then process each credit individually
  • For debit processing, when a customer is due a credit and the original sale was made on a debit card, process the return back to the original debit card instead of refunding by cheque, cash or credit card. If a credit is due on more than one sale, then process each credit individually.* 

    *Dependent on merchant set-up
  • If the sale is being conducted in-person, make sure your return policy is pre-printed on the credit or debit card transaction receipt and signed by the cardholder at the time of the original sale.* The refund policy must be close to the cardholder’s signature to be recognized by the Payment Brands.
    *Signature may not be required for Chip Credit and Debit Cards.
  • If the card is present at the time of sale, always compare the cardholder’s signature to the signature on the back of the card. If the signature panel is blank, then ask the cardholder to sign it. If the cardholder refuses, then you should request another form of payment.*
    *Signature may not be required for Chip Credit and Debit Cards.
  • Respond to all retrieval requests with valid, legible documentation
  • If the card is present at the time of sale, be sure to compare the credit card account number on an electronically printed draft to the credit card number embossed on the credit card. If the numbers don’t match, call your Authorization Centre and tell the operator that the card numbers do not match.
  • For e-commerce sites, it’s recommended that all transactions be reviewed for address verification results and that the Customer Identification Number or Card Identification Number (CID) be required.

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