Chargebacks911, a global leader in dispute prevention and remediation, announced Tuesday their strategic partnership with cside, an advanced client-side Intelligence provider. Together, the companies will help their merchants reduce chargebacks, prevent fraud, shore up website vulnerabilities and comply with ever-evolving industry requirements in real time, improving merchants’ overall customer experience.

Details of This Exciting New Partnership

The partnership combines Chargebacks911’s 14 years of expertise in chargeback prevention and remediation with cside’s award-winning client-side security platform, which monitors user login locations, provides device identification data and analyzes web usage patterns. By combining Chargebacks911’s expertise in dispute management with cside’s advanced monitoring capabilities, merchant clients of both companies will benefit from proactive solutions that manage and prevent disputes, recover revenue, and provide details on web users that can be used for compelling evidence, particularly with Visa’s Compelling Evidence 3.0 and Mastercard First-Party Trust Program.

According to Chargebacks911, the partnership will help merchants capture better payments flow data and device fingerprinting to maximize the effectiveness and coverage of the services they currently provide for merchants.

“Evolving fraud tactics, emerging technology, and shifts in consumer behavior are colliding to create a perfect storm for merchants,” said Monica Eaton, CEO of Chargebacks911. “By joining forces with cside, we’re delivering cutting-edge solutions that address the real-world issues merchants struggle with daily—from friendly fraud and false claims to hidden browser-side risks that compromise customer trust.”

By merging data and insights from both companies, merchants gain layered protection against threats like friendly fraud, operational inefficiencies, browser-based supply chain attacks and fraudulent activity triggered through compromised third-party scripts. Additionally, merchants gain the added benefit of ensuring industry compliance with the latest payment rules and regulations—including real-time enumeration attack identification and prevention to protect merchants from card testing attacks, a metric under higher scrutiny through the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP).

“Merchants shouldn’t have to choose between protecting their customers and protecting their revenue,” said Simon Wijckmans, CEO at cside. “This partnership brings together the best of both worlds, chargeback expertise and advanced web security, so businesses can operate with confidence, knowing they’re covered on both fronts.”

Fraudsters are Raising the Stakes. Merchants Need to Respond in Kind.

Traditionally thought of as a cost of doing business, the cardholder protection mechanism known as chargebacks has grown into a debilitating issue for merchants. A Mastercard report found found that nearly 1 in 5 small businesses impacted by chargeback fraud had to file for bankruptcy, with another 17% closing their doors permanently. Additionally, Visa estimates that to 75% of all chargebacks are instances of abuse or misuse, but merchants only have a net recovery rate of 18%, according to a study by Chargebacks911.

Client-side script-based attacks, previously referred to as “Magecart attacks,” are considered a leading form of web or digital skimming. They have become a highly prevalent and dangerous threat to online businesses and are difficult to detect without specialized tools. In these attacks, malicious code is injected into third-party scripts, resulting in the theft of credit card data and other personally identifiable information, which can lead to financial losses, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and significant business disruptions.    

The British Airways hack is one of the most notorious client-side attacks to date, where in 2018, malicious JavaScript was injected into the airline’s website and app to capture payment details in real time. The breach exposed data from about 429,612 customers, including credit card information, and went undetected for more than two weeks. Disguised under a domain resembling “baways.com,” the attack caused major financial and reputational damage and led to a fine initially set at £183.4 million ($238 million) but later during COVID reduced to £20 million ($26 million) from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.

In June 2024, Polyfill.io, a widely used open-source library designed to improve website compatibility, was acquired by a malicious actor, ultimately affecting more than 490,000 websites. For more than four months, attackers maintained access to sensitive traffic on major websites before shifting tactics to a more visible campaign that redirected visitors, under certain conditions, to online betting sites. Because most organizations lack visibility into client-side activity, it remains unclear what actions may have been taken during the months preceding this overt but relatively ineffective attack.

With chargeback fraud and client-side web attacks both on the rise, merchants need proactive, layered solutions that protect revenue, ensure compliance, and safeguard customer trust. According to both companies, the partnership between Chargebacks911 and cside delivers exactly that—helping businesses navigate today’s most pressing payment and security challenges.