US consumers are disputing card purchases at a record pace, as online fraud, confusing billing practices, and sneaky subscription charges drive a surge in chargebacks.
Bloomberg cites new data from research firm Juniper Research on consumers' aggressive use of chargebacks. Last year alone, US consumers filed 158 million transaction disputes, up 29% from 2021 and outpacing overall growth in card spending. Global disputes jumped 46% over the same period.
The increase may reflect not only more legitimate fraud but also subscription traps, unfamiliar merchant names, poor service, and "friendly fraud," in which shoppers mistakenly or knowingly challenge legitimate purchases.
The report continued:
Some of this growth in reported fraud is indeed a reflection of growth in real fraud. More people are getting scammed, especially online.
But according to Michael Greenwood, a senior research analyst at Juniper who focuses on digital payments, that's not the main source of dispute rates. Instead he points to two other phenomena responsible for the ballooning number of chargebacks: growing confusion among consumers over how the transactions on their monthly statements correspond to their actual purchases, as well as an increasing willingness, especially among younger shoppers, to engage in a little bit of fraud of their own.
Rising chargebacks may also signal growing consumer stress, as online fraud and distrust of merchants increase. This appears to be one of the drawbacks of going cashless for some people in the era of e-commerce. Some shoppers are struggling with subscription traps, unclear billing, and deteriorating service, while a growing share are also using disputes to reverse legitimate purchases.
The spike in chargebacks is also hurting retailers, resulting in higher fraud losses and processing costs.
Business revolt?
Meanwhile, consumers are carrying near-record credit card balances as inflation remains elevated. The average credit card interest rate is hovering near a record high of 22%.
The good news is that consumer credit figures in May fell for the first time since Nov. 2024 as interest rates spiked.
So one drawback of e-commerce and an increasingly cashless economy is the rise in chargebacks. Digital transactions create more opportunities for fraud, billing confusion, and subscription disputes.