A Year Like No Other

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re going into the 2020 seasonal period under completely different circumstances. Economic uncertainty, driven by job losses and furloughs, is leading millions to hold back on their spending.

Merchants have become reliant on online sales to survive lockdowns. At the same time, friendly fraud has become much easier to commit. Consumers shop from the safety of their own home and there is no-one to confirm a package arrived safely at the point of exchange. In other words, it’s a near perfect storm.

Consequently, chargeback issuances were up 23% globally in June , when compared to the same time in 2019. We’ve seen industries across the board suffering chargeback losses 10 times higher than before COVID-19. Merchants offering digital content saw a 75% surge in transaction volume from March, but were undercut by a 31% increase in chargebacks.