US: Chargeback rate has increased since March 2020 – Kount survey

US-based digital trust and fraud prevention company Kount has published the ‘Digital Payments in 2021: Opportunities and Chargeback Risks’ survey.

The survey takes a deep dive into 2021 chargeback trends and risks across customer experiences, both pre and post payment authorisation.

Kount commissioned Atomik Research to survey over 500 US adults who work for companies that process at least 500 online transactions monthly. The findings reveal insights into why many businesses have indicated their chargeback rates have increased, their top chargeback sources and challenges, and how they manage and dispute chargebacks.

Survey highlights include:

• 58% think their company’s chargeback rate has increased since March 2020.
• 45% of respondents who think their company’s chargeback rates have increased since March 2020 speculate delivery delays are the top reason for the increase.
• 70% of companies have been in a fraud monitoring programme in the last 12 months.
• 15% of respondents say their companies don’t use post-authorisation chargeback tools.

The report finds today, an average of 33% of companies accept card-not-present (CNP) payments via contactless payment apps, online transactions, and telephone. Additionally, 19% accept cryptocurrency, and 86% offer subscription-based or recurring billing, exposing more businesses than ever to the ups and downs of ecommerce.

While accepting more payment methods means businesses can better compete and cater to consumers’ needs, results indicate these new payment methods also increase a business’s risk of accepting fraudulent orders and dealing with the resulting chargebacks.