An analysis conducted by ACI Worldwide has revealed that friendly fraud is projected to scale by 25% between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Occurring when legitimate customers dispute transactions after purchase, friendly fraud is a growing issue across the industry and cost retailers USD 103 billion in 2024.
According to a recent report by ACI Worldwide, which analysed billions of transactions of global ecommerce businesses, the average transaction value for a friendly fraud item during the 2025 holiday season is projected to reach USD 291. Compared to the same period of last year, this is USD 52 higher, representing a 21% YoY increase.
Mitigating friendly fraud for merchants
Talking about the findings, Erika Dietrich, VP Analytics & Optimisation Payments Intelligence, ACI Worldwide, stated that these numbers showcase the purchasing habits of consumers. Over the past years, refund abuse and friendly fraud have substantially increased, mostly driven by simplified ecommerce and amplified by social media.
She added that platforms now spread so-called refund hacks, which makes misuse socially acceptable. This negatively affects merchants, who have to bear the operational and financial responsibility.
Also, merchants still tend to use traditional methods to mitigate friendly fraud. However, these options cannot keep pace with the current fast-evolving digital landscape. Through ACI’s Payments Intelligence approach, the company intends to provide full journey protection, halting friendly fraud and chargeback abuse in real time. The solution merges technology with actionable insights to safeguard every transaction.
Among the capabilities of its platform, ACI Worldwide mentions:
- Utilising AI and machine learning for real-time detection and prevention;
- Leveraging digital identities and profiling to differentiate trusted customers from potential threats;
- Supporting secure data-sharing across merchant networks to identify bad actors;
- Implementing policies against repeat abusers through declined checkouts or fees;
- Developing evidence against false claims by reviewing transaction histories and digital identities.
For more information about ACI Worldwide, please check out their detailed profile in our dedicated, industry-specific Company Database.
