Are you selling products on Wix, but facing higher chargeback rates than you expected? Then there might be something wrong in the setup and default settings of your high-risk merchant account and payment gateway with Wix. Additionally, you may benefit from an active chargeback mitigation program that automatically communicates with the credit card companies to prevent chargebacks before they occur.
We specialize in helping businesses in traditionally high-risk industries find the high-risk merchant services they need to accept credit cards without fear of being shut down. This means we have become chargeback experts.
The unfortunate truth is that excessive chargebacks can actually lead to a closed merchant account and even frozen funds, especially if you solely rely on PayPal, Stripe, and similar solutions.
While chargebacks are a simple fact of life when selling high-risk products and services online, we often find that a less than ideal configuration and/or a lack of chargeback mitigation systems are the root causes for higher-than-expected chargeback ratios.
At E-Commerce 4 Internet Marketers (IM), we have a large and growing number of partnerships with US credit card processors and payment gateways that help our clients stay ahead of their competition and on top of their chargebacks while using Wix.
If you’re ready to start proactively combating higher than necessary chargeback ratios, please contact us here. We’re more than happy to give you some insights on what options are available. Or if you’re past the “looking for information” stage, contact us here so that we can help you with a proven chargeback mitigation system that often more than pays for itself, month one.
What causes higher than necessary chargebacks?
As a Wix e-commerce website owner, you have many balls in the air at the same time. It’s practically impossible to know everything at any given moment. However, there is invaluable information that will help you when dealing with chargebacks. One example – “How many chargebacks are too many?” stands out in this context.
While different credit card providers have different terms, the general rule of thumb is that you’ll be unaffected if your chargeback-to-transaction ratio is at or below 0.9%. If you were operating on the assumption that 1% was fine, then you’re not alone. However, there were updates as to what an acceptable chargeback ratio is back in 2019.
If you start seeing a higher ratio than 0.9%, it might very well be time to thoroughly examine the reason codes given on the chargebacks and to start disputing them. You can read more about this side of chargebacks here.
However, we want to stress that different provides also work with different timeframes and deadlines for when you can dispute a chargeback. For example, American Express operates with a 20 day window response time to chargebacks, while Visa gives you a 45 day window. You can read more about chargeback time limits and consequences here. Disputing chargebacks is, of course, an available route for you. But it takes up time and resources, and the merchant is often on the losing side of the dispute. Preventative measures are always the best way to go.
We’re here to help and can set you up to avoid unnecessary chargebacks through you Wix site in the future.
Scammers and fraudulent transactions
Unfortunately, there will always be those that operate in bad faith, trying to take you and the credit card companies for a ride. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using Wix, WooCommerce, Shopify, ClickFunnels, or any other e-commerce platform. Scammers and fraudsters do exist, and every effort should be made to combat them so that your business doesn’t become a victim of fraud.
While you can read more extensively on what you can do to combat fraudulent transactions and chargebacks here, we’ll cover some quick tips below:
- Implement essential pre-sale tools, like AVS and card identification numbers.
- Correctly set up your payment gateway and e-commerce software.
- Make accurate use of your billing descriptors.
- Implement chargeback mitigation programs and software.
While you can try to implement these yourself, we do recommend that you speak to a high-risk payment processing expert if you’re getting anywhere close to exceeding the 0.9% threshold. Contact us using the form at the bottom of this page, and we can implement a chargeback prevention system for you.
To help you be a step ahead of fraudsters, please see the following additional resources:
Friendly fraud and high-risk Wix sales
When you’re selling high-risk products on Wix, or any other platform for that matter, friendly fraud can be a problem. The good news is that you’re not powerless, even in the face of friendly fraud. You can get more details on dealing with friendly fraud here, but below we’ll summarize some advice:
- While there are those who’ll bypass customer service and call their credit card company first, having good customer service can help reduce chargebacks significantly and will help resolve conflict.
- A chargeback issued as “Merchandise Not As Described” is easier to substantiate if you have detailed product descriptions, clear photos from multiple angles, item statistics, and other pertinent information clearly displayed and covered on your website.
- One of the most common reasons for chargebacks is the claim that merchandise was ordered, but not received. To combat this, enforcing delivery confirmation with your shipping can save you a lot of problems down the road.
- Provide an easily found and understood return policy. This should aim to make it easy as possible for customers to return their items and offer alternatives, such as store credit or a partial refund, where a full refund is not possible.
Use a chargeback mitigation system that works for high-risk Wix e-commerce
All the advice we’ve provided above will help you a lot in dealing with higher than necessary chargeback rates. You’ll be in a good position to have a healthy ratio that allows you to avoid closed accounts or frozen funds. However, implementing all these elements can be a little difficult and disorientating without the use of software or technology to help.
At E-Commerce 4 IM, we offer an affordable comprehensive chargeback mitigation system that will give you the tools you need to combat chargebacks in the most efficient way – prevention. We’ll give you near-real-time alerts, put in place checks and balances to ward off suspicious transactions, and we’ll set it all up for you. Simply contact us today for a healthier, lower chargeback ratio.