Fintech firm payabl. teams up with Visa to help merchants cut chargebacks

payabl. and Visa expand dispute tools for EU and UK merchantsEuropean financial technology provider payabl. has expanded its relationship with Visa to give merchants across the EU and UK access to real-time tools designed to resolve payment disputes and reduce costly chargebacks. The collaboration will see payabl. offer Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) service, allowing merchants to automatically resolve disputes at the pre-dispute stage and potentially prevent chargebacks before they occur. The service also allows merchants to issue refunds virtually, which the companies said could help improve the customer experience while reducing the operational burden associated with disputes. The expanded relationship strengthens payabl.’s focus on giving merchants greater control and visibility across the full payments lifecycle. Visa’s post-purchase capabilities will be integrated directly into payabl.one, allowing merchants to manage disputes and monitor RDR activity through the same platform they use for online and in-person payments, multi-currency business accounts and payouts. “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,” he said. “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,” Stefanets added. “Proactively managing disputes is critical to reducing their impact on merchants’ businesses,” said Dan Parsons, head of acceptance sales at 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,” he said. Visa’s RDR service enables merchants to automatically make decisions on pre-disputes in real time, with the aim of lowering dispute ratios, improving operational efficiency and maintaining customer trust. The collaboration forms part of payabl.’s broader strategy to create what it describes as an intuitive control layer for merchants, bringing together expertise, transparency, reliability and control across the different stages of the payment process. The companies said the need for more effective dispute management is growing as merchants face an increasing number of fraud-related claims and chargebacks. A recent payabl. fraud report found that chargebacks had become one of the most common forms of fraud affecting businesses over the previous year. Among UK-based merchants surveyed for the report, 31 per cent said they had been targeted by friendly fraud, also known as first-party misuse. At the same time, 71 per cent of those surveyed said they believed current chargeback rules favour customers and cost businesses money. The findings come amid wider concerns about first-party misuse across the payments industry. According to Visa’s 2026 Global Ecommerce Payments & Fraud Report, 64 per cent of merchants reported an increase in first-party misuse over the previous year. One in four merchants reported increases of at least 25 per cent. The financial and operational cost of dealing with such disputes is also increasing, with the average cost of resolving a single first-party misuse dispute now exceeding $80. Visa’s report found that the average cost had risen for the third consecutive year. Merchants are consequently facing greater pressure to handle disputes efficiently while keeping fraud management costs under control. Cost minimisation has rapidly risen up the fraud management agenda, with 29 per cent of merchants now identifying it as their top priority. At the same time, many merchants expect spending on fraud management tools and resources to remain flat or decrease. Stefanets said the nature of fraud was changing, with merchants increasingly having to deal with problems after a transaction rather than solely at the point of purchase. “Fraud is no longer just something merchants deal with at checkout; it’s increasingly happening after the sale,” he said. “What we’re seeing is a shift from prevention to management, where teams are spending significant time handling disputes, chargebacks, and claims,” Stefanets said. “By automating decisions earlier in the lifecycle, merchants can reduce dispute volumes, stay within scheme thresholds, and take back control of how money flows,” he added. The companies said the integration of RDR into payabl.one would give merchants a way to address disputes earlier in the payment lifecycle while reducing manual intervention. The collaboration is also intended to complement payabl.’s existing fraud monitoring capabilities, helping merchants manage both fraud prevention and post-purchase disputes through a more integrated system. The companies said the approach could help businesses reduce dispute volumes, improve efficiency and maintain customer relationships while limiting the financial impact of chargebacks.