Global fund recovery service provider MyChargeBack has opened an office in SA, and has named former Absa dispute resolution veteran Dawn Minnaar as its country manager.
Founded in 2016, MyChargeBack works with financial institutions to provide an online service that assists fraud victims to recover card-not-present funds stolen from bank accounts. The New York-headquartered fintech firm says it has worked with over 750 banks worldwide to retrieve millions of dollars for clients in more than 150 countries.
The company, owned and operated by dispute resolution consultancy Cactil Partners, says it is extending its penetration in the South African financial services sector, having already established strong relations with SA’s major banks.
The new office is located in Sandton, Johannesburg.
"We decided to open a representative office in SA due to the steady rise in the number of inquiries we receive from consumers there, who have been unable to obtain refunds from merchants from whom they purchased goods and services that were not provided as agreed," explains Michael Cohen, VP of operations at MyChargeBack.
"Banks can be hesitant, if not unreceptive, to cardholder requests to raise these types of disputes, making chargebacks difficult to obtain."
Rather than continuing to service South African clients and engage their local banks from global locations around the world, the company felt it would be most effective to interact with them locally, adds Cohen.
MyChargeBack says it has worked extensively with victims of cyber criminals posing as online trading platforms, binary option or forex trading consultants, but in reality, end up fraudulently swindling people out of their funds.
The company also specialises in cases typically involving authorised card-not-present transactions for goods or services that were not delivered as contracted, after funds were paid.
Using advanced technologies, financial and legal expertise, the company says it provides holders of credit cards and debit cards with proven strategies that enable them to raise disputes and recover lost funds.
Using the chargeback dispute process, MyChargeBack also provides an opportunity for victims of financial fraud to professionally dispute charges on their credit or debit card accounts.
By leveraging rights guaranteed to consumers and clarifying to the banks the fraudulent nature of the transactions, they stand a much better chance of being reversed. Once the banks agree that a true violation occurred at the expense of the client, the funds are returned to his or her account within a short period of time.
Once the chargeback is granted, the bank credits the client's account. MyChargeBack then invoices the client for a percentage of the money that is recovered.
Local expertise
Newly appointed MyChargeBack SA country manager Minnaar is considered an expert in the field of credit card dispute resolution. She comes to MyChargeBack from Absa Group, where she held a series of senior chargeback-related positions and most recently worked as a subject matter expert at Absa’s issuing and acquiring chargebacks division.
She was also a principal member of the Chargebacks Sub-Committee that met monthly at the Payments Association of South Africa to discuss, with all the country's leading banks, topics pertaining to domestic and international chargebacks and disputes, according to MyChargeBack.
"With a wealth of experience not only in SA but also in Ghana, Uganda, the Seychelles, Zambia and Tanzania, she is one of Africa's leading experts in Visa and Mastercard chargeback rules and regulations,” notes Cohen.
“She also has wide experience in fraud investigation and identification, and bank back-office processes, in addition to chargeback issuance and acquisition."
MyChargeBack says its team comprises professionals with the relevant financial, legal and regulatory backgrounds required to successfully assist victims of online fraud to retrieve their money after having been scammed.
"I am excited to have this opportunity to establish a local office of a true industry pioneer. My message to South Africans burdened with complex dispute resolution cases is that professional chargeback assistance is now available, right here in our own country," says Minnaar.
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