3 ways chatbots can boost customer service and prevent chargebacks

Chargebacks are one of the biggest problems facing companies today. Fraudulent activity is on the rise in the guise of ‘friendly fraud’, hitting businesses hard in the pocket and damaging their relationships with financial providers.

Online and mobile fraud is expected to reach an unprecedented high of $25.6 billion over the next two years, well up from the $10.7 billion that took place in 2015. Friendly fraud is a factor in those figures with online retailers needing to be especially wary.

Preventing chargebacks, especially fraudulent ones, is one of the toughest problems facing retailers, both off- and online. How do they prevent chargebacks that compromise their security and hit profits while, as well, honouring legitimate chargebacks and maintaining strong customer relationships?

How chatbots are helping to prevent chargebacks

As well as adjusting some internal and external financial systems to reduce chargebacks, developing technology is going a long way to helping fight the problem of friendly fraud and building stronger relationships with customers online.

Chatbots for instance are helping companies looking at preventing chargebacks, and Fibonatix can work with companies on a consultative basis to help them combat the problems of friendly fraud, streamline their financial processes and introduce bespoke technology that should reduce the rate of chargebacks.

So, how are chatbots helping to combat friendly fraud as well as building stronger relationships with customers?

1: Chatbots are a great customer service solution

Research suggests that by 2020, 85% of customer interactions are likely to occur without humans. Sounds a bit scary, but considering that a lot of chargeback requests occur when customers aren’t able to get in touch with a company or are frustrated by their lack of communication, a chatbot system can be a fantastic solution.

Chatbots can help people to resolve common problems they may have if they have an issue with a product or service and work to help customers resolve their issues. They can provide information such as returns policies or direct them to areas on a website designed for FAQs, company information and much more besides.

2: Chatbots help you get to know your customer

Similarly, the algorithmic nature of chatbots mean they’re constantly learning and gathering the most common customer queries. The more that a chatbot interacts with your customer base, the more it can learn about their wants, needs on both a personal and broad level to eventually provide a bespoke experience for shoppers.

Whether it’s collecting customer request orders or providing them with information, that personal level of service is key to building better customer relationships and improving trust, an essential factor in reducing chargebacks and providing an overall better customer experience.

3: Chatbots help you collect better data sets

As well as reducing chargeback requests, chatbots can help you learn more about your potential customers and the problems they may face in their lives to keep one step ahead and further reduce the chance of fraudulent chargeback requests.

With online merchants losing £80 billion annually because of chargeback requests and growing, the right chargeback strategy can direct website visitors to specific pages designed to effectively capture data in transparent, ethical ways, giving you a better picture of your customers, their wants and needs when it comes to customer service and allowing you to build better relationships with the people that matter to you most.

A culture of chargebacks and ‘friendly fraud’ is hitting businesses of all shapes and sizes. How can companies adapt to an evolving consumer chargeback philosophy, protect their profits and keep markets happy at the same time? Read ‘What is friendly fraud and how do chargebacks work?’ to learn more.