15 Best Chargeback Protection Services for 2022
Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
Karina Fabian writes and reviews business software, services, and topics for starting a business, startups, and small businesses. She has more than seven years of business writing experience.
This article is part of a larger series on Payments.
Chargebacks cost merchants an average of 0.47% of their total revenue each year, per Shopify—that’s thousands of dollars of revenue or more lost to chargebacks due to criminal or friendly fraud. The best chargeback protection services can save you from these transactions and fight chargebacks when, or even before, they happen.
- Kount: Best overall chargeback protection service
- Sift (formerly Chargeback App): Best for combating friendly fraud
- Signifyd: Best for ecommerce companies selling physical products
- Verifi: Best for merchants that take Visa (also works with other chargeback apps)
- ClearSale: Best for reducing false declines
- Chargebacks911: Best for high-risk businesses and merchants that work with affiliates
- Chargeback Gurus: Best for chargeback analysis with a money-back guarantee
- Midigator: Best for early detection for proactive resolution before fees are assessed
- ChargebackHelp: Best for new merchants needing a payment gateway, or those wanting to switch payment gateways
The best way to protect yourself from chargebacks is to prevent them. However, even the best businesses experience some chargebacks, and having the right tools to deal with them can save you time and money. If you’re just starting out accepting payments, choosing the right merchant account can be really helpful in preventing chargebacks.
So, we also looked at some popular processors that come with built-in chargeback programs:
- PayPal: Popular for online transactions
- Square: Merchant services for small brick-and-mortar and/or online businesses
- Stripe: Top payment processor for online startups
- Shopify: Popular ecommerce platform with built-in payments
- BlueSnap: Global payment processor for online B2B transactions
- Bolt: One-click checkout for online businesses
If you’re experiencing excessive chargebacks or operating a high-risk business, you may need a specialized high-risk merchant account in addition to chargeback protection.
Best Chargeback Protection Services Compared
Minimum monthly spend | Contract required | Chargeback guarantee* | Prevents false declines | Provides detailed transaction information | Automates dispute management | Chargeback representment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $1,000 | Contract | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | No |
 | Unknown | No | No | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | No |
 | $1,500 | Canceling needs 30 days advance notice | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
 | None | Canceling needs 30 days advance notice | No | No | ✔ | ✔ | No |
 | None | No | ✔ | ✔ | No | No | No |
 | None | No | No | No | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
 | None | Canceling needs 30 days advance notice | ✔ | No | No | ✔ | ✔ |
 | None | No | No | No | No | ✔ | No |
 | None | No | No | No | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
*Guarantees refer to reimbursement for chargebacks or refunds on service if a fraudulent chargeback gets through and/or is not successfully defended.
Kount: Best Overall Chargeback Protection Service
Kount
Overall Score: 4.41
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Sophisticated automation and AI tools
- Works with merchants already in an excessive chargeback program
- Highly rated by real-world users
- Personalized services
What's Missing
- $1,000 monthly minimum
- Users say some of the terminologies are confusing and processes are complex
- No chargeback representment
Kount Pricing
- Custom quoted based on sales volume, goals, and the types of fraud and chargeback issues you typically have.
- Monthly Minimum: $1,000
Key Features
- AI-driven fraud detection that looks at billions of data points
- Protection against malicious logins
- Data storage and analysis to determine problem areas resulting in potential chargebacks
- Flag known customers to prevent false declines
- Rules setting for automated alerts
Kount earned top billing on our list of the best chargeback protection services because it has several programs that attack chargebacks on multiple levels: preventing chargebacks, stopping malicious logins, and analyzing chargebacks for patterns. It offers digital protection for over 9,000 businesses, from gas and gaming to finance and food. It even prevents false declines and fraudulent transactions.
What is a false decline? False declines happen when a transaction is mistakenly flagged as fraudulent and denied. This can have serious consequences to customer satisfaction, return visits, and your reputation.
The provider earned the highest score on our evaluation: 4.41 out of 5. Its pricing score was low because it has a contract and a minimum of $1,000 per month spend, meaning it’s best for well-established businesses losing well over $1,000 monthly due to chargebacks. However, it is not the only company that requires a $1,000 minimum—some on our list, like Signifyd, have an even higher monthly minimum.
Kount also lacked representment, although it has tools for disputing chargebacks. However, it has the most tools for preventing fraud and chargebacks and is highly effective. Despite some complaints about complex processes, it had the highest user approval rate: 4.75 out of 5 stars, averaged over multiple third-party user review sites.
It offers a chargeback guarantee with 100% coverage of eligible fraud-related chargebacks or a KPI-performance guarantee. Customers also report an average 83% reduction in manual reviews, 70% reduction in false positives, and a 99% reduction in chargebacks.
Kount Integrations
Kount partners with payment providers such as Chase, Sage, Braintree, and BlueSnap. It also integrates with ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. It offers optional third-party subscriptions to data from Chargebacks911, Ekata, LexisNexis, and others.
Kount Customer Support
Kount users have access to a variety of customer support resources, more than many of the other options on this list. Phone support is available Monday through Friday (except holidays), 6 a.m.–6 p.m. Mountain time. It also offers email support, an online help center, and other tools like white papers, webinars, videos, and both live and virtual events.
How Kount Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
Sift: Best for Friendly Fraud
Sift
Overall Score: 3.97
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- AI-powered chargeback response generator
- Tied to bank rules for formatting and evidence requirements
- Fraud prevention tools available
- False decline prevention tools
What's Missing
- No guarantee
- Does not use 3D Secure
- No chargeback representment
Sift Pricing
- Now that Chargeback App is part of Sift, pricing is not publicly available. Previous reports said Chargeback App charges by sales volume, around 5 cents per transaction with minimum annual fees of $8,000.
Sift Features
- Account analysis
- Enrollment in Visa Merchant Purchase Inquiry
- AI-powered automated responses to chargeback alerts
- Compiles evidence to accompany response letter
- Add-ons for account defense, fraud prevention, protection against malicious content, and more
Sift Dispute Management (formerly Chargeback App) provides automatic sharing of transaction data with both customers and banks to identify transactions. It can use that same data to populate a detailed response using an extensive rules and regulations database to determine the information and formatting that meets requirements and puts forth the best argument. It then submits the response automatically. This automated evidence compilation makes Sift a great option for combating friendly fraud with little effort.
Friendly fraud: When a customer disputes a legitimate charge due to confusion or an attempt to get their money back. Friendly fraud chargebacks can be caused by customers not recognizing the charge or merchant name, family members making purchases unbeknownst to the cardholder, or customers wanting an illegitimate refund.
Sift can spot issues that lead to chargeback requests, allowing you to prevent future issues. For example, if many customers don’t recognize charges from your business on their credit cards, it may suggest changing the description with your payment processor. It also provides real-time overviews and advanced reports for deeper examination.
The service came in second on our evaluation, scoring 3.97 out of 5. The pricing score was average, especially now that Chargeback App is under Sift, which does not advertise its pricing but also does not list contracts or minimum spend like others do. It did very well with prevention and resolution tools but lost points because it lacks representment and does not repay chargeback fees. Nonetheless, it is easy to use, has a real-world user rating of 4.58 out of 5 (averaged over multiple review sites), and is highly effective.
In the News:
Sift acquired Chargeback App in 2021. Sift is a leading provider of fraud prevention services with clients such as Box, DoorDash, and Wayfair. It added Chargeback App as its Dispute Management tool. It also provides fraud prevention and user account protection and tools to prevent account takeovers, block scams and stop malicious content.
Sift Integrations
Sift integrates with most payment technologies, including PayPal, Stripe, Vantiv, Authorize.net, and Worldpay. It works with Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop, and offers an API for integrating into other software solutions. It also integrates with Verifi and Ethoca for card processing information.
Sift Customer Service
Chargeback App has a variety of self-serve support options, including response templates, a knowledge base, e-books, guides, and reason codes. If you need further assistance, you can reach out via email.
How Sift Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
Signifyd: Best for Ecommerce With Physical Products
Signifyd
Overall Score: 3.89
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Transaction-to-resolution protection
- Provides merchant insights for future prevention
- Protect accounts, manage abuse beyond payment fraud
- Prevents false declines
What's Missing
- $1,500 monthly minimum
- Does not protect digitally delivered goods
- Support only through the contact form
- No custom fraud rules
Signifyd Pricing
- Custom pricing; call for a quote
Signifyd Features
- Adaptive AI/ML that delivers actionable insights
- IDs multiple fraud anomalies automatically
- Guaranteed protection of approved orders
- Customer abuse scores
- Unauthorized reseller protection
- Automated chargeback recovery
Signifyd provides comprehensive fraud protection for ecommerce. It can identify anomalies like account takeovers, unauthorized resellers, and promotions abuse. You can create your own custom logic and automated responses to these attacks. Insights reporting analyzes your chargebacks to uncover trends and help you prevent friendly chargebacks. It handles shipping and offers a 100% reimbursement for Item-Not-Received chargebacks on physical products making it the best choice for online retailers of physical goods.
It earned 3.89 out of 5 in our evaluation. It got a perfect expert score for quality of features and effectiveness and only lost points on ease of use because it lacked personal recommendations (only a few like Kount, Sift, and Chargeback Gurus do this). It can provide analyses that you can act upon, however, and its pre-transaction charge prevention offerings are among the strongest. Its biggest hit came in pricing, as it requires a $1,500 monthly spend and 30 days’ notice to cancel. Real-world users on third-party review sites give it an average of 4.63 out of 5 stars.
Signifyd is available in over 100 countries, which is a much higher number than most other chargeback protection companies (for reference, Visa’s Verifi works with just over 40). Users said that it is easy to use and flexible and that the company is quick to refund chargebacks based on fraud. However, it does not guarantee delivery of digital items.
Signifyd Integrations
Signifyd integrates with ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce, Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Shopify. You can also use a custom API.
Signifyd Customer Support
There are two troubleshooting options with Signifyd: a contact form and a support portal. These are limited options compared to ClearSale’s 24/7 phone support.
How Signifyd Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
Verifi: Best for Visa Disputes
Verifi
Overall Score: 3.79
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Works with 40+ countries
- Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) automates resolutions and reduces chargebacks
- Chargeback representation and management
- Works with other chargeback prevention companies
What's Missing
- No chargeback guarantee
- Doesn’t prevent fraudulent transactions
- Does not prevent false declines
Verifi Pricing
- Like most of the other chargeback protection platforms on this list, Verifi doesn’t disclose pricing information on its website. You’ll need to contact Verifi directly for pricing information.
Verifi Features
- Data sharing with issuer call center or cardholder self-service
- Automated responses to disputes before charges are levied using seller-defined rules
- Financial resolution (refund) capability through Visa
- Dispute processing
- Reporting dashboard with KPIs and performance data
Verifi (owned by Visa) works with both sellers and banks or payment processors that issue chargeback notifications. When you have Verifi, the issuing authority can access transaction details to validate sales—a common cause of chargebacks. Even more, it can give customers direct access to the details through the bank’s online or mobile applications. This is one reason many chargeback apps and payment processors integrate with Verifi. In fact, if it isn’t sufficient on its own, it’s a selling point when looking at other services.
It earned a 3.79 out of 5 in our evaluation, with all subscores being good but not outstanding. It lost points because it doesn’t protect against false declines or pay chargeback fees, and its overall chargeback decrease is slightly below the best on our list. However, it offers good reports and excellent deflection services.
It helps prevent chargebacks by sending fraud notifications as soon as they are confirmed by the bank or card authority. It can also send notices of stop payments, so you can cancel orders or subscriptions accordingly. It reports lost or stolen Visa cards, so you can block these cards. Overall, it claims businesses will experience up to a 42% reduction in dispute rates.
About half the services on our list offer full management and representation when chargebacks occur. With Verifi’s program, you get a reporting dashboard with KPIs and performance and business summaries. This lets you uncover weaknesses leading to chargebacks and helps track Verifi’s success in disputing chargebacks for you.
Verifi Integrations
In addition to working with Visa, Verifi integrates with payment processing services like Bank of America, Chase, BlueSnap, Vantiv, and Merchant Solutions. You’ll also note that other chargeback protection services integrate with it as well. However, other chargeback protection tools, like Chargebacks911, have more extensive integration lists.
Verifi Customer Service
Verifi offers customers support over the phone Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Pacific time and online channels via live chat and a contact form. It is one of the few that has an online knowledge base for its product. Others, like Chargeback Gurus, only offer general articles on fraud and chargeback prevention.
How Verifi Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
ClearSale: Best for False Decline Reduction
ClearSale
Overall Score: 3.68
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Uses both AI/ML and human fraud experts to spot and block fraudulent charges before they go through
- Provides protection from false declines
- Fraud consulting services
What's Missing
- Not every plan has representment
- Response and processing times can be slow
ClearSale Pricing
- Pricing is applied by KPI. You can call for a quote or get ClearSale Chargeback Protection for 0.4%–0.5% of sales.
ClearSale Features
- Fraud scoring using AI/ML
- Manual checks of transactions failing AI fraud scores
- Protection from false declines
- Blocking fraudulent transactions
- Reimbursement for chargebacks caused by missed fraudulent transactions (with Guaranteed Protection plan)
ClearSale is a chargeback protection system for online shopping carts and apps that prevents chargebacks by blocking fraudulent orders. Similar to Chargebacks911, it uses a blend of AI/ML technology and manual review to identify fraudulent transactions. It boasts a 98% reduction in chargebacks and an 80% reduction in false declines, the best in this guide.
With 3.68 out of 5 on our rubric, it’s a solid service with most of the main tools you need for chargeback prevention and dispute management. It earned a high score in pricing because of its choice of plans and lack of contracts or minimum fees. While it lost points for not letting you create fraud detection rules, it makes up for it by evaluating suspicious transactions twice to reduce friendly declines. It also took a hit for not having representment. Its real-world user score on G2 was 4.7 out of 5 stars.
ClearSale AI scans each transaction, assigning a fraud score based on factors like order information, device, behavioral data, and more. If a transaction fails the fraud score, it’s then checked manually by ClearSale’s fraud experts.
The provider offers a guarantee plan where it reimburses you for any missed frauds that result in chargebacks, or you can purchase the key performance indicator (KPI) plan, where you and ClearSale set KPIs and you get a discount if ClearSale doesn’t meet them. Kount also has a KPI-dependent warranty.
ClearSale Integrations
ClearSale integrates with about a dozen ecommerce platforms, including Magento, Shopify, Oracle, and BigCommerce. It also offers an application programming interface (API) for custom integrations and a mobile software development kit (SDK) for Android and iOS app integrations.
ClearSale Customer Support
ClearSale has one of the most readily available customer support teams on this list, with team members standing by 24/7 to help solve technical issues. In fact, reviewers praised its customer service on Trustpilot. You can reach them via phone, email, and contact form. You can also browse its knowledge base, which has tutorials, articles, podcasts, and webinars.
How ClearSale Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
Chargebacks911: Best for Affiliate & High-risk Business
Chargebacks911:
Overall Score: 3.60
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Spots merchant missteps leading to chargebacks
- Chargeback representment
- Works with high-risk industries
- Prevents merchant error chargebacks
What's Missing
- Does not seek or block customer charges before they occur
- Does not refund chargeback fees
Chargebacks911 Pricing
- Call for a quote
Chargebacks911 Features
- Affiliate fraud protection and prevention
- Fraud analysis for source detection
- Merchant compliance reviews to prevent merchant errors
- Merchant account cost analysis for cost reduction
- Chargeback alerts
Chargebacks911 works with all industries, including high-risk merchants, but it’s the only one we found with a specific program for merchants working with affiliates. This chargeback management service combines technology and personalized analysis to evaluate affiliate marketing techniques to identify those that may intend to commit fraud.
As with Verifi, Chargebacks911 offers a number of dispute prevention tools like providing chargeback alerts before they are officially filed, issuing immediate responses or refunds to prevent chargebacks, and providing representation in fighting a chargeback. Like many of the services ranking below Chargebacks911, its focus on dispute management and chargeback resolution means it received a low score on our rubric for fraud prevention—1 out of 5.
Nonetheless, it earned high marks on chargeback resolution, ease of use, and overall quality of features. All told, Chargebacks911 got an overall of 3.6 out of 5 in our evaluation, an excellent score considering the lack of fraud prevention tools.
It works with some two dozen industries and about 90 currencies to provide international coverage. In addition to ecommerce, travel, and digital industries, it has customizable programs for larger businesses and solutions for financial institutions. It also offers a merchant account cost analysis to determine how you can reduce your credit card processing costs.
Chargebacks911 Integrations
This is another area where Chargebacks911 stands out. It integrates with 40 different CRM platforms. If yours is not one of them, it will set up a workaround until it can engineer a complete integration. Many other solutions have APIs, but only Chargebacks911 and ChargebackHelp offer custom integrations in their plans.
Chargebacks911 Customer Support
Chargebacks911 offers resources through its knowledgebase and online guides. You can also reach its team by submitting a contact request form online, by email, or by phone—although hours of availability aren’t specified.
How Chargebacks911 Compares to other Chargeback Services
Chargeback Gurus: Best for Chargeback Analysis & Money-back Guarantee
Chargeback Gurus
Overall Score: 3.53
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Automated scans of 40+ data points to identify vulnerabilities
- 100% money-back guarantee
- Offers 30+ analytical reports for merchants
- Chargeback representment
What's Missing
- No manual checks
- Only uses 3D Secure to prevent fraudulent transactions
- Does not prevent fraud or customer charges before they occur
Chargeback Gurus Pricing
- Call for a quote
Chargeback Gurus Features
- 3D Secure technology for validating transactions
- Has chargeback alerts, so you can respond before fees are applied
- Analysis by the Chargeback Gurus team for chargeback prevention
- Chargeback representment
Chargeback Gurus offers an in-depth analysis of chargebacks with over 30 standard reports, making it a great choice for those wanting to get to the root of their chargeback issue without paying extra for a third-party analysis. While it does not have an independent AI system to evaluate transactions, it does use 3D Secure 2.0 technology, which is the industry standard.
With a score of 3.53, it stands below Chargebacks911 but is still above average for this list. Aside from 3D Secure, it did not have the fraud prevention tools we were looking for, earning it the second lowest score for this criterion (0.75 out of 5; Midigator comes in lowest with a 0.38). However, it offers a satisfying spectrum of chargeback and dispute tools, is easy to use, and scored well for pricing.
Chargeback Gurus claims a 50% prevention and a 70% win against chargebacks. What’s more, it is the only chargeback manager with a 100% money-back guarantee. If you do not see your chargebacks declining and your income increasing, you can quit and get your money back.
Chargeback Gurus Integrations
Chargeback Gurus offers 66 integrations for payment processors, gateways, CRM, ecommerce, and more. Zendesk, Wells Fargo, Paysafe, HelloSign, FlexPay, Ethoca, Authorize.net, and Converge Pay are just a few.
Chargeback Gurus Customer Support
You can reach Chargeback Gurus support via phone or help yourself with FAQs, e-books, and guides. The FAQs address questions about the product but not how to use the software.
How Chargeback Gurus Compares to Other Chargeback Services
Midigator: Best for Proactive Resolution
Midigator
Overall Score: 3.51
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Customized and automated dispute responses
- Set custom triggers for notifications
- Partners with Ethoca and Verifi
- A la carte pricing
What's Missing
- Does not prevent fraudulent transaction
- No guarantee
- No false decline prevention
Midigator Pricing
- Charges are based on services provided; contact Midigator for a quote
Midigator Features
- In-depth analytics
- Account reporting dashboard
- Chargeback alerts and custom notifications
- Dispute flows to reduce time spent on disputes
Midigator provides chargeback dispute tools to help you resolve issues before the fees are assessed. It analyzes hundreds of options for compelling evidence for a dispute package with the best chance of winning and has a platform where you can analyze your chargebacks. Here, you can respond to alerts with refunds, stop-order fulfillments, subscription cancellations, or disputes. Midigator claims a 65% to 80% win rate on disputes.
The provider can also analyze early-indicator data and order information to identify issues that could cause future chargebacks. It can even defend you against chargebacks but does not agree to defend you against all. Unlike the other chargeback services on our list, if it thinks your dispute does not have a good case, it will recommend resolution instead.
We gave Midigator a 3.51 out of 5—just a hair above the average for this list. It had the lowest score for fraud and pre-transaction chargeback prevention, but that is a reflection of its focus. It scored a perfect 5 for quality of features and effectiveness and only lost points on ease of use because it does not provide personalized recommendations for reducing fraud (you can do analysis, however). It missed a perfect score for dispute resolution because it does not pay chargeback fees. With no contracts or minimum spend, it did well in the pricing category too.
Midigator Integrations
It integrates with Verifi and Ethoca to get real-time alerts and with Stripe, Shopify, Authorize.net, Worldpay, Paysafe, and other payment systems to get transaction data.
Midigator Customer Support
Midigator has a help center that addresses common questions and concerns. It also offers an online resource center where you can view reports and tutorials, access a chargeback reason code directory, pull templates and sample documents, and more. You can reach a support team member via email.
How Midigator Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
ChargebackHelp: Best for Merchants Needing a Payment Gateway
ChargebackHelp
Overall Score: 3.28
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Can automate dispute management
- BILLAPAY gateway captures data needed for disputing chargebacks
- Provides merchant account
What's Missing
- Very few tools to stop fraud or chargebacks requests
- Does not provide ongoing transaction/chargeback analysis for preventing future chargebacks
- Help site not very helpful
ChargebackHelp Pricing
- Call for pricing information
ChargebackHelp Features
- Chargeback representment
- Automatically refund money to customers with legitimate disputes
- Manual or automated chargeback response
- Merchant accounts
- BILLAPAY payment gateway
- Managed alerts
ChargebackHelp is about resolving rather than preventing chargebacks. You can resolve disputes yourself, have ChargebackHelp manage them, or automate the process. In addition, it provides a free chargeback analysis and helps high-risk merchants with getting accounts. It’s the only one that has its own gateway to reduce costs while providing fraud protection and built-in data capture.
It provides you with the means to fight chargebacks easily, often before the bank issues the chargeback fee. It can provide information to customers who may have forgotten a purchase or send evidence to the bank to put the burden of proof on the customer. Finally, it can automatically refund customer money to resolve legitimate disputes, which it says cuts chargebacks by 40%.
ChargebackHelp earned 3.28 out of 5 (for comparison, the list average is 3.5). Like Midigator, it had a low score for pre-transaction chargeback protection because that’s not its focus. However, it also took hits for not paying chargeback fees like many of its competitors and not providing personalized tips. Other individual functions were there, but not as high-quality as, say, Kount or Chargebacks911. Nonetheless, it made a great showing for chargeback resolution tools, reports, and dispute management.
ChargebackHelp Integrations
ChargebackHelp integrates with CRMs, payment gateways, and major card networks. It also has partnerships with Verifi, CDRN, and Ethoca.
ChargebackHelp Customer Support
ChargebackHelp customer support is more readily available than some other platforms. You can reach it via phone or email. There’s also a knowledge base and code guide.
How ChargebackHelp Compares to Other Chargeback Protection Services
Payment Services That Include Chargeback Protection
Not every business needs a separate chargeback management service, as some are cost-prohibitive for small businesses. However, many merchant accounts, payment processors, and ecommerce platforms offer some form of protection. It could be a cheaper alternative for getting the chargeback management services you need.
Here are a few examples of popular payment processors with built-in chargeback protection:
Built-in Chargeback Protection Compared
Chargeback protection fees | Guarantee | Dispute management | Chargeback representment | Standout feature | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $0 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Available in 202 countries |
 | Fraud monitoring: 6 cents per transaction; chargeback protection included in plans | Reimbursement on qualified transactions | ✔ | ✔ | $250 in chargeback fees waived each month |
 | Free for merchants with standard flat-rate pricing* | Reimbursement | None | ✔ | AI/ML monitoring, customizable fraud rules |
 | Undisclosed | Reimbursement | ✔ | None | Works in Shopify dashboard |
 | Charges for service you’re enrolled in | Depends on enrolled service | ✔ | ✔ | DIY or full-service options |
 | Undisclosed | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Automated responses |
*4% per transaction for chargeback protection; 5 cents per transaction for Radar fraud protection for businesses on custom or interchange-plus pricing plans.
PayPal Chargeback Protection
PayPal
What We Like
- Pays for disputes from unauthorized transactions
- Works in 202 countries
- Known and trusted platform by consumers
What's Missing
- Not for digital items
- Complex pricing
- $20 chargeback fee
PayPal Pricing
- No extra fee for protection
- $20 for lost, undisputed chargebacks
Features
- Dispute management tools
- Chargeback protection for qualifying employees
- AI/ML fraud protection tools for qualified merchants
While most chargeback protection services integrate with PayPal, it offers a simple program of its own, free of charge. It will cover disputes due to unauthorized transactions and items not received and holds funds until issues are resolved and works with you on the investigation. This guarantee covers customers in 202 countries; however, it does not cover disputes concerning digital items or services not received. PayPal Business Account holders enrolled in Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments can also take advantage of PayPal’s fraud detection tools and chargeback fee reimbursement.
Read our full PayPal Business review for more information.
Square Chargeback Protection
Square
What We Like
- AI/ML fraud monitoring
- Multiple blocking options
- Includes human expertise
- Chargeback representation
What's Missing
- Not all disputes eligible for protection
- Does not identify/address underlying issues
Square Pricing
- Fraud monitoring: 6 cents per transaction, 90-day free trial
- Chargeback protection: Up to $250 in chargebacks per month
Features
- Chargeback representment
- Monitors payments
- Human alerts you if they see unusual activity
- Create fraud rules
- Explains reasons for suspicious payments
Square provides free fraud monitoring and has a risk management program for 6 cents per online transaction, with a free 90-day trial. For fraud monitoring, it uses machine learning and payments across the Square system to seek the latest fraud trends and alert you accordingly. Square will work with your customer’s bank on disputed charges. Its risk management program includes alerts with blocking options, card blocking, custom rule creation, and analytics to spot trends leading to chargebacks in your business. However, if you don’t purchase the risk program, you still get $250 in “free” chargebacks for qualifying purchases.
Read our Square Payments review to learn more about the platform’s fraud protection and other payment processing features.
Stripe Chargeback Protection
Stripe
What We Like
- Integrates with card networks
- Automates dispute information AI/
- ML fraud monitoring
- Chargeback reimbursement
What's Missing
- Monitoring can get pricey
- No human double-check
Stripe Pricing
- 0.4% per transaction for chargeback protection
- 5 cents per transaction for Radar fraud protection (waived for accounts with standard 2.9% + 30 cents pricing)
Features
- AI/ML fraud detection
- 3D Secure
- Customizable rules, block, and allow lists
- Reports
Stripe offers chargeback protection for an additional 0.4% per transaction. Like Square, it uses machine learning to spot and block fraud. You can also set up custom rules and block and allow lists. It covers online sales for digital and physical products for purchases around the world. Unlike other chargeback programs, if you get a chargeback, Stripe simply reimburses you the disputed amount and waives the dispute fees.
For more information on the provider’s features and pricing, read our Stripe review.
Shopify Chargeback Protection
Shopify
What We Like
- Shopify handles chargebacks for you
- Chargebacks tracked in Shopify
- Integrates with other chargeback services
What's Missing
- US-based businesses only
- May not cover added items for modified orders
Shopify Pricing
- Undisclosed, per-transaction pricing
Features
- Fraud monitoring included in Shopify plans
- Shopify reimburses for damages and chargeback fees
- Fraud/chargeback statistics tracked in Shopify
For US customers accepting online payments through Shopify, the ecommerce software will reimburse you for fraudulent chargebacks. It says it does this “for a small fee,” so talk to your representative for specific rates. The provider includes fraud tracking and prevention in all its plans, however. If its packages are not for you or prices are too high, most of the chargeback services on our list integrate with Shopify.
Read our Shopify review to find more to like about the platform.
BlueSnap Chargeback Protection
BlueSnap Chargeback Protection
What We Like
- Self-serve or full-serve options
- Uses Chargebacks911 tools
- Automated responses
- Global reach
What's Missing
- Fees for processing <$2,500/month
- Charges you for services
- Protection is not automatic
BlueSnap Pricing
- Charges you for the service they enroll you in
Features
- Integrates with Kount and Chargebacks911
- Customizable rules
- Device fingerprinting
- 3D Secure
- Representment
BlueSnap is a payment platform with chargeback control. It offers self- and full-service options. It uses Chargebacks911 tools and works with Verifi and other chargeback services to help you automate responses and eliminate merchant issues that lead to chargebacks. Plans start at 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction with a monthly fee if the processing is less than $2,500 per month. In addition, if you need fraud or chargeback protection, it will enroll you in Kount or Chargebacks911 and charge you at the rate those companies charge them.
Bolt Chargeback Protection
Bolt
What We Like
- AI/ML monitoring
- Assists with disputes
- 100% fraud chargeback guarantee
- False decline prevention
What's Missing
- May be responsible for payment and fees
- Pricing not transparent
Bolt Pricing
- Undisclosed
Features
- AI/ML monitoring
- Custom rules
- Chargeback representment
- 100% chargeback guarantee
- Automated responses
Bolt has a checkout process that flags potential fraud but leaves final approval to you. However, it can automatically respond to chargeback disputes and offers full representation. It covers transactions where a cardholder did not give authorization, such as with lost or stolen cards. For other transactions, merchants are responsible for the payment amount, plus $15 dispute fees levied by the card network. Users praise its simple checkout process and say customer service is quick and helpful. They also like that the platform is always improving.
How We Evaluated the Best Chargeback Protection Services
We looked at over a dozen chargeback protection services and narrowed it to the top nine (plus six payment services with chargeback protection plans). To do this, we started with the core tools needed to fight chargebacks, then we expanded to features for preventing fraudulent transactions and improving business tactics.
Kount blew the competition away with an overall score of 4.41 out of 5; Sift was a distant second at 4.01. Kount may be more expensive as you add solutions, but it provides the most complete protection from fraud and account protection to chargeback dispute tools. The only thing it didn’t cover is actual representment.
Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria.
10%
Pricing
20%
Pre-transaction Chargeback Prevention
40%
Chargeback and Dispute Resolution
15%
Ease of Use
15%
Expert score
10% of Overall Score
The services don’t list pricing as it depends on tools, sales volume, and chargeback volume. Thus, we looked for multiple options, no monthly minimums, and no contractual obligations. The top scores were ClearSale, ChargebackHelp, and Midigator.
20% of Overall Score
We believe the best way to prevent a chargeback is to catch it before it happens, so we looked for fraud prevention tools and features that stop friendly fraud before it happens. Kount had a perfect score with all its fraud prevention tools, followed by Signifyd. About half scored 1 out of 5 or lower, but that’s because they focus on after a transaction is made.
40% of Overall Score
These are the tools you hire a chargeback service for: alerts, dispute handling, chargeback representment, and a guarantee or reimbursement of fees if something slips through the cracks. Chargeback Gurus took top billing here with 4.5 out of 5.
15% of Overall Score
We looked for modern, user-friendly dashboards, dispute management tools on the app, and other UI tools. Extra points went to those with strong reports and personalized recommendations. Sift and Chargebacks911 got perfect scores
15% of Overall Score
This included our overall impression of quality, the professed success rate, and user reviews on third-party review sites. Perfect scores went to Signifyd, Midigator, and Kount
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
Chargebacks drain your profits not only through lost products and revenue but in chargeback fees. They stem from fraudulent charges, as well as merchant error, charges forgotten by a customer, and lost packages. If chargebacks are draining your profits, one of the chargeback protection services above may pay for itself and more.
Overall, we recommend Kount for the most complete protection. Its tools do more than help with chargeback disputes. It prevents fraudulent transactions while ensuring legit purchases are approved. It also analyzes fraud and chargeback activity to help you identify trends and issues and provides other personalized services. It can address industry needs as well. Contact Kount and see how it can help you stop chargebacks.
