Field manual for payments, fraud, and chargebacks

For people who actually own payments, fraud, and chargebacks.

Playbooks and reference for merchants, SMBs, fraud teams, and people who get yelled at when payments break. Not written by a vendor. Nothing to buy here.

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Most Viewed

The pages practitioners visit most often.

Decline CodesWhy transactions fail Reason CodesChargeback categories by network Reduce Chargebacks FastEmergency playbook RepresentmentHow to fight and win 3D SecureLiability shift explained 0.9% Panic GuideWhen your ratio spikes

Card-Present (In-Person)

Retail stores, restaurants, terminals

Card-Not-Present (Online)

E-commerce, subscriptions, phone orders

What's Your Problem?

🚨 Chargeback ratio spikingEmergency actions for ratio crisis 💥 Fraud attack happeningStop the bleeding right now 📉 Auth rate droppingDiagnose and fix declined transactions 💰 Processor holding my moneyReserves, holds, and what to do ⚖️ Fighting a chargebackEvidence that wins disputes 🔄 Need a new processorSelection and migration guide

What's Your Scale?

Different volumes need different strategies. Find your tier.

Under $100K/mo

Focus on basics. Don't over-invest.

Skip: Alert vendors, representment services, guaranteed tools

$100K–$1M/mo

Alert services make sense. Process matters.

Skip: Guaranteed chargeback tools, custom ML models

Over $1M/mo

Dedicated resources. Multi-processor strategy.

Consider: Dedicated fraud analyst, representment vendor, custom integrations

Where Should I Start?

Under $100k/mo? Start here.

You're running a small business and need the basics right.

Reduce Chargebacks Fast (30 min)
Descriptors and Comms (15 min)
Buying Payments (if choosing a processor)

Ratio spiked? Start here.

Your chargeback ratio jumped this week. Stop the bleeding.

Zero Point Nine Panic (Hour 1 actions)
Network Programs Reference
Alerts (deflection options)

I run a business

You keep getting declines and chargebacks, and your processor isn't explaining anything.

I got a chargeback

You're staring at a chargeback notice and a deadline.

I work in payments or fraud

You own auth rates, dispute queues, or compliance programs.

I'm researching payments

You need to understand how all this actually works.

Topics

Payments

Money flow, fees, and why processors panic before you do.

Start with: Auth and capture

Fraud

What real fraud looks like and how to catch it without nuking conversion.

Start with: Fraud economics

Chargebacks

What actually wins disputes and what's a waste of time.

Start with: Fundamentals

Compliance

The stuff that gets you fined. Network rules, PCI, consumer protection.

Start with: Network rules

Operations

The boring work that keeps your processor and your bank happy.

Start with: Processor management

Playbooks

Step-by-step for crises and projects. When something is on fire, start here.

Start with: Reduce chargebacks fast

Reference

Decline codes, reason codes, return codes. Look things up fast.

Start with: Decline codes

Fraud VendorsOpinionated

Who to buy from, who to ignore. When you actually need tools.

Start with: Vendor overview

Common Questions

These pages are written for merchants and ops teams, but cardholders can still use them to understand what's going on.

What's Not Covered Yet

This site doesn't yet cover in depth: marketplace/PayFac operations, crypto and stablecoin payments, or card program management (issuer-side deep dives). These may be added in future updates.

About

Written by a Head of Fraud at a card issuer, and former payments lead for digital marketplaces and high-risk subscription businesses. This is the resource I wished existed when I started.

Found an error? Email matt at paymentsandrisk.com with the page URL and what needs fixing. Corrections, suggestions, and "you got this wrong" emails are all welcome.

Last updated: December 2024