European financial technology provider payabl. has expanded its relationship with Visa to improve chargeback management for merchants across the UK and EU. The collaboration gives merchants greater access to real-time dispute management tools. It also supports faster dispute resolution and helps businesses reduce costly chargebacks.
“Our collaboration with Visa brings merchants faster resolution, fewer chargebacks, and a better experience for their customers,” said Oleg Stefanets, Chief Risk Officer at payabl.
Through the collaboration, payabl. will provide Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) services to merchants. The solution allows merchants to address disputes automatically before they become chargebacks. As a result, merchants can manage disputes at the pre-dispute stage. The approach can help businesses prevent unnecessary chargeback costs before they occur.
The solution also supports customer experience improvements through virtual refunds. Therefore, merchants can resolve eligible disputes while providing customers with a smoother post-purchase experience.
payabl. Integrates Visa RDR Into payabl.one
The collaboration further supports payabl.’s focus on improving control across the payments lifecycle. The company will integrate Visa’s post-purchase capabilities directly into payabl.one.
Merchants can therefore manage disputes from the same platform used for their payment operations. The platform also supports online and in-person payments, multi-currency business accounts and payouts. This integrated approach gives merchants greater visibility across payment activities. It also reduces the need to manage different systems for payments and disputes.
“In payments, every second counts. Our collaboration with Visa brings merchants faster resolution, fewer chargebacks, and a better experience for their customers,” said Oleg Stefanets, Chief Risk Officer at payabl. “By embedding pre-dispute automation into payabl.one, we’re reducing friction where it matters most: after the sale. Alongside our fraud monitoring capabilities, this helps merchants reduce dispute ratios. It’s another step in our mission to make money flow, giving businesses clarity and control across every transaction.”
Visa also highlighted the importance of proactive dispute management. Merchants increasingly need faster processes to reduce operational disruption and financial losses.
“Proactively managing disputes is critical to reducing their impact on merchants’ businesses,” said Dan Parsons, Head of Acceptance Sales, Visa Europe. “Together with payabl., we’re enabling European merchants to automatically address their disputes earlier in a way that minimises disruption and helps build the trust needed to support their long-term growth.”
Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution allows merchants to make real-time decisions on pre-disputes. The capability can help lower dispute ratios and improve operational efficiency. Moreover, it can help merchants protect customer trust during the post-purchase stage. This supports payabl.’s strategy of creating an intuitive control layer for merchants.
The strategy combines transparency, expertise and reliability across the payment flow. It also gives businesses greater control over transactions and dispute activity.
Rising Impact of Chargebacks and Friendly Fraud
payabl.’s recent Fraud report1 highlights the growing impact of chargebacks on businesses. The report found chargebacks had become one of the most common fraud types affecting businesses.
Among UK-based merchants surveyed, 31% said friendly fraud had targeted their businesses. Meanwhile, 71% believe current chargeback rules favour customers and create financial costs for businesses. These findings reflect wider developments across the payments industry. First-party misuse (FPM), also known as friendly fraud, remains a significant and evolving threat.
According to Visa’s 2026 Global ecommerce Payments & Fraud Report2, 64% of merchants reported increased FPM during the past year. One in four merchants reported increases of 25% or more. The cost of managing these disputes has also continued to rise. The average cost of resolving one FPM dispute now exceeds $80.
That figure has increased for the third consecutive year. Consequently, merchants face growing operational and financial pressure when handling disputes. Businesses are also placing greater emphasis on cost reduction. Cost minimisation has quickly become a major fraud management priority.
Currently, 29% of merchants identify cost minimisation as their top fraud management priority. At the same time, many businesses expect fraud spending to remain flat or decline.
Automation Helps Merchants Manage Disputes
“Fraud is no longer just something merchants deal with at checkout; it’s increasingly happening after the sale,” said Oleg Stefanets, Chief Risk Officer at payabl. “What we’re seeing is a shift from prevention to management, where teams are spending significant time handling disputes, chargebacks, and claims. By automating decisions earlier in the lifecycle, merchants can reduce dispute volumes, stay within scheme thresholds, and take back control of how money flows.”
The partnership between payabl. and Visa addresses this changing payments environment. It gives merchants tools to manage disputes earlier within the payment lifecycle. Furthermore, automated decision-making can reduce manual workloads for payment teams. Merchants can also improve dispute handling while maintaining greater visibility over payment activity.
By combining Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution with payabl.one, merchants gain access to integrated dispute management capabilities. The solution can support faster resolution and lower chargeback exposure. The collaboration also reinforces payabl.’s focus on payment control and transparency. Meanwhile, Visa contributes its dispute management capabilities to support merchants across European markets.
Together, the companies aim to help businesses manage payment disputes more effectively. The solution also supports merchants as fraud patterns and post-purchase risks continue to evolve.
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News Source: Businesswire.com
