Food and Beverage Industry Dispute Resources

[Seamus]

Hi Seller Community!

Card not present payments are on the rise as the Food and Beverage industry continues the shift from in person to remote payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread adoption of QR code ordering systems. Many sellers are confronted with unexpected challenges as a result of these new sales channels, most notably the increased prevalence of disputed payments, and the absence of resources to properly protect themselves from these disputes. We’ve compiled a list of resources to help you identify potential fraud, and respond to disputes if they do occur.  

How to identify fraud and prevent disputes

• Best Practices

1. Keep an eye out for orders well above your normal size or order pattern. Orders with a lot of the same item, and high-price items can be red flags.
2. Use a service with the ability to aggregate customer information like customer profiles.
3. If possible to do so safely, require signature on delivery.

For more about chargebacks and best practices to prevent them, read our Chargebacks 101 blog post.

How to manage disputes

If you are not familiar with the dispute process, you can learn more about the dispute process in this Support Centre article.

Some fraud claims may be initiated when a buyer doesn’t remember the payment that was made. So to jog buyer’s memories, follow these guidelines to minimise disputes: 

• Make your business name recognisable by customising your business name. Your business name will show up both on Square receipts and on the buyer’s bank statement. 
• Add your phone number, address, website, and social media pages to your receipts. This will help a customer reach out to you directly if something goes wrong with a sale, rather than immediately filing a dispute with their bank.
• Itemise receipt of the purchase which would require using Square’s item library. Click here for best practices.
• Have any information about the buyer handy. This includes: name, email, delivery address.

Effective evidence to provide when there is a dispute

• For pick-up orders using card not present transactions, this evidence is helpful:

1. Cardholder signature
2. Copy of identification presented by the Cardholder
3. Details of identification presented by the Cardholder

• For delivery orders, any type of evidence supporting documentation that shows that the order was delivered is helpful:

1. Photograph of completed delivery 
2. Messages between cardholder and courier that proves the cardholder is in possession of the order
3. A review of the order left by the cardholder that proves they received the order

I hope these best practices are helpful for you. You can learn more in our Support Centre article. Please let us know if you have any questions below!