UK merchants are losing more revenue to friendly fraud than scams
As UK merchants process more digital and card payments than ever before, a growing share of that revenue is being put at risk after the transaction is complete. Rising chargeback volumes, stricter card network monitoring thresholds, and increasing levels of first-party misuse are creating a perfect storm where businesses are fighting to keep what they’ve already earned. In response to these mounting challenges, Chargebacks911 has announced a strategic partnership with acceptcards to deliver enhanced chargeback prevention and management services to acceptcards’ merchant clients.
According to UK Finance, UK-issued debit and credit cards were used for 31.4bn transactions in 2024, with a total value of over £1tn. Accounting for 64% of all transactions, cards continue to be the dominant form of payment in the UK. However, this dominance brings with it the growing and often overlooked issue of friendly fraud—where customers dispute legitimate charges—which LexisNexis has deemed the leading form of global fraud against merchants, even surpassing scams.
This evolving risk landscape is driving demand for more proactive, end-to-end payment and dispute management strategies. Through this partnership, accept cards merchants will gain access to advanced tools and expertise designed to reduce disputes, recover lost revenue, and protect long-term profitability.
“Merchants today are navigating a far more complex payments environment than ever before,” said Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO of Chargebacks911. “It’s no longer enough to simply accept payments. You have to actively manage what happens after the transaction. By partnering with acceptcards, we’re helping UK businesses take a more proactive approach to protecting their revenue throughout the entire payment lifecycle.”
The collaboration brings together acceptcards’ strength in payment acceptance and merchant services with Chargebacks911’s global expertise in dispute mitigation and remediation. The result is a more comprehensive solution that addresses the entire transaction, from checkout to post-transaction risk management.
Through this partnership, acceptcards’ merchant clients will benefit from proactive chargeback prevention strategies designed to reduce dispute rates, alongside advanced analytics that help identify the root causes behind those disputes. Additionally, merchants will have access to autonomous dispute management and representment processes, as well as greater visibility into their post-transaction performance and risk exposure, enabling more informed decision-making and long-term optimisation.
“Getting paid is only part of the equation,” said Richard Bradley, founder and CEO at accept cards. “Our merchants also need to keep that revenue. Partnering with Chargebacks911 allows us to offer a more complete solution, one that not only supports seamless payments but also helps protect businesses from the growing impact of chargebacks.”
The announcement comes at a time when UK merchants are seeing increased dispute volumes driven by eCommerce growth, contactless adoption, and shifting consumer expectations around refunds and customer service. Industry data shows that friendly fraud now accounts for 45% of all chargebacks according to a 2025 Mastercard report. Furthermore, 72% of merchants reported an average 18% increase in friendly fraud over a three year period, according to Chargebacks911’s Chargeback Field Report.
By combining payment optimisation with post-transaction intelligence, Chargebacks911 and accept cards aim to help merchants reduce unnecessary losses, improve operational efficiency, and build stronger, more resilient payment strategies.