preCharge Issues 1st Annual Chargeback Report

NEW YORK, NY – August 1, 2007 – While eCommerce fraud is projected to cost businesses $9.25 billion in 2007, the cost of managing fraud actually exceeds the cost of fraud itself by as much as 300%. preCharge Risk Management Solutions, a leading provider of proprietary chargeback and fraud protection services, today announced the release of its 1st Annual Chargeback Report.

Based on an independent survey of nearly 2,000 online merchants, the report highlights growing concerns expressed by the vast majority of participating merchants about the cost of managing online fraud and eCommerce. According to Gwen St. Clair, Vice President of Risk Management at preCharge, “The basis of the survey was to provide a voice to merchants in an industry where the only perspective to-date has come primarily from third-party processors. This survey was 100% merchant-driven, in an attempt to find out directly from merchants what they are experiencing.”

“eCommerce is a relatively new frontier. While overall growth in the industry is up and chargeback rates have declined, there’s more going on than meets the eye, according to the merchants surveyed. This is the only forum where merchants have been given the opportunity to collectively speak their mind, and the results suggest some of the trends are not favorable”, continued St. Clair.

“By the very nature of our service, we talk to merchants on a regular basis, we hear their concerns, but we also see first-hand how these issues can negatively affect their business. In an attempt to control fraud, merchants are losing revenue and profits - citing decline rates, order abandonment, a lack of confidence in accepting international transactions and the increased cost of in-house fraud management as some of the causes,” added Howard Schechter, preCharge Vice President of Sales.
The report indicates that consumer eConfidence and average spending per customer are declining, with no clear way to address them, creating even greater concern amongst merchants. Merchants clearly expressed a need and desire for better tools and resources to effectively manage online fraud and eCommerce safely and securely, so both merchants and consumers can realize the full potential of online commerce.

For a copy of the Annual Chargeback Report, or for more information about preCharge, visit https://www.precharge.com/.

About preCharge
Founded in 2003, preCharge is a global leader in risk management tools designed to give merchants across the globe the resources necessary to do business anywhere. With a global network spanning over 180 countries and over five billion points of data, preCharge maintains one of the most powerful networks and the largest fraud database in the world, linking payment networks, gateways and merchants on a scale never before seen.

preCharge is headquartered in New York City, servicing merchants throughout the Americas, the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia.