Chargeback fees in credit card processing services can cost any business a significant amount of money. This fee is charged when the buyer contests a charge on his or her credit card. Of course, mistakes happen. Chargeback is an unavoidable part of the business, but when it happens too often, it becomes a business risk. Because credit associations penalize financial institutions when they continue to cover the merchant account of a business with high chargeback occurrences, it could cost you your merchant account.

Still, even without the risk of losing your merchant account, chargeback can cut into your profits. Here are ways to reduce credit card processing chargeback fees for online stores:

• Be wary of late night orders. In online businesses, fraud happens mostly at night. This means you are more likely to experience a chargeback for transactions done during the night time. It's not exactly wise to open an online store operation only during the day. Still, be cautious of late night purchasers and verify those with extremely suspicious accounts.

• Encourage consumers to go directly to you in case of service or purchase problems. This way, your customer would not go to his or her credit card issuer, so preventing a credit card processing chargeback fee. Have a flexible return policy works so you and the card issuer would not have to do refunds.

• Setting a credit limit. Identity thieves usually order large amounts of an item at go. Therefore, it would be a great security procedure to set a credit limit on your store. When the purchaser exceeds it, do an independent verification. Call the cardholder to make sure he is indeed making the purchase.

• Do a follow-up after every purchase. Send an e-mail asking if the item purchased was to the customer's liking.

• Be wary of purchases from foreign countries. Check out trading news to know what country frauds and thieves use as their base. This changes constantly, so be aware. Also, make an independent verification when the credit card of a US cardholder is used from another country-and whatever country.

• Make a database. Record the credit card details, together with phone numbers and addresses of customers that caused a chargeback more than once.