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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.

Follow The GuideI have a specific problem
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Quick start

→I run a business→I work in fraud/ops→I got a chargeback
166+Free guides
15Learning lessons
50+Processor guides
157Vendors compared

Have a Specific 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

The Guide

New to payments? Follow this 15-lesson journey from zero to operationally competent. Start from the beginning or jump into any pathway.

1

Getting Started with Payments

How money moves, choosing a processor, understanding fees

3 lessons · 20 min
2

Handling Your First Chargeback

What chargebacks are, responding to disputes, gathering evidence

3 lessons · 25 min
3

Protecting from Fraud

Fraud basics, setting up free protections, what to monitor

3 lessons · 20 min
4

Running Payments Daily

Daily and weekly tasks, reading statements, when to get help

3 lessons · 19 min
5

Reducing Costs & Scaling

Understanding costs, negotiating rates, knowing when to upgrade

3 lessons · 21 min

15 lessons · ~105 minutes total

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, and industry benchmarks. Look things up fast.

Start with: Industry benchmarks

About

Written by someone who has managed fraud for SMBs, card issuers, digital marketplaces, high-risk subscription businesses, and more. The resource I wish 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.