The holiday season is one of the busiest times for consumer’s wallets and your business. Additionally, fraudulent payment card activity occurs more often during this time, which could be very costly to your business and your customers. For that reason, it is important to know how to help reduce the risk of fraud within your business so that you can stay focused on the holidays and running your business smoothly.

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  1. Physical Card Transactions: Providing your customers with (EMV) chip processing is essential to avoid chargebacks and any liabilities. EMV chip cards are currently the most secure cards available to customers and your business.
  2. Card Not Present: Find ways to validate the purchase by verifying the customer’s identity when dealing with purchases where the payment card is not present. The Address Verification Service (AVS) is a tool the enables you, the merchant, to detect suspicious card transactions by verifying that the billing address entered by the customer is the one associated with the cardholder.
  3. eCommerce:  eCommerce merchants are also at higher risk of card testing during peak seasons or holiday weekends.  It is important to make sure you’ve reviewed and enabled additional security measures with your gateway to help prevent this type of fraud.  i.e., AVS and CVV matching, Daily Velocity Thresholds, Volume Thresholds, etc.
  4. Keep Records: It is crucial to save copies of all your payment card transaction receipts, so you have documentation in case of a chargeback or dispute.

Today, payment card fraud no longer looks like a stolen payment card number or a data breach. Now, it is a growing problem that includes payment card chargebacks, disputes, and identity fraud. Taking these few additional steps to protect your business from payment card fraud will enable you to enjoy the holidays for yourself and your customers. Should you have questions related to fraud or feel like you may have been a victim of fraud, Arvest Merchant Relationship Advisors are proud to offer local and knowledgeable assistance when you need it. For information about the benefits included with Arvest’s local merchant services, please visit arvestmerchantservices.com.