Business owners get a leg up against ''friendly fraud''

Business owners looking for support to navigate the problem of "friendly fraud" will get it, thanks to a new program from US Digital Transactions Corporation. The company will offer the first chargeback recovery program that will target business owners who want to recoup losses from a type of fraud in which cardholders want a charge withdrawn that they themselves made. Friendly fraud is a charge made by a consumer, but successfully contested without a legitimate reason for wanting the purchase canceled. "Chargebacks can be the most frustrating aspect of a business. The merchant must comply with regulations set forth by the card associations to refute the chargeback and most often the merchant ends up losing the revenue. A merchant can also lose their ability to accept credit/debit cards if the percentage of chargebacks is too high," Greg Wooten, chief executive officer of USDT, said in a statement. Previously, there were no protections to help business owners guard against this type of fraud, which accounts for roughly 20 percent of the $138 billion worth of fraud concocted annually, according to USDT.