With first-party fraud and friendly disputes eroding already thin retail margins, managing chargebacks requires far more than basic operational recovery. Here, Tim Tynan, CEO of Chargeback Gurus, discusses how local AI streamlines dispute documentation, why fighting invalid chargebacks won’t destroy legitimate customer relationships and how retailers must adapt their risk protocols for new protocols like Visa’s Trusted Agent and Google’s AP2.

Sourcing Journal: First-party fraud and chargebacks continue to erode thin merchant margins. What major forces—from evolving consumer behavior to shifting card network rules—are making chargeback management uniquely complex for merchants right now?

Tim Tynan: There are a few different things making chargeback management more complicated. Shopping is happening across more channels and payment methods, including emerging developments such as agentic payments. Consumers can dispute purchases more easily, and the overall volume of disputes is growing. Mastercard sponsored some research by Datos Insights that projects global chargeback volume will grow 24 percent by 2028. That puts additional pressure on merchants to find ways to manage chargebacks more efficiently.

SJ: Merchants often struggle to balance fraud mitigation with maintaining a seamless customer experience. How do unresolved chargebacks and aggressive dispute tactics risk damaging legitimate customer relationships and brand loyalty?

: A lot of merchants worry that fighting chargebacks is going to cost them customers, but that’s not an effect we typically see among our clients. Some people who file illegitimate disputes are simply looking to take advantage of the system and were never good customers to begin with.

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