First-Party Misuse Essentials

The First-Party Misuse Essentials course provides an accessible, entry-level introduction to one of the most widespread and costly types of chargeback abuse in the payments ecosystem. Often misunderstood, first-party misuse occurs when a legitimate cardholder initiates a chargeback—either intentionally or unintentionally—on a valid purchase, resulting in financial losses for merchants and added costs for issuers.

This course equips learners with a clear understanding of what constitutes first-party misuse, the different types (hostile, confused, and unaware), how to measure its prevalence using compelling evidence, and strategies to mitigate its impact. From improving transaction transparency to deploying representment and fraud alert tools, participants will walk away with actionable best practices for managing and reducing first-party misuse

Who Should Enroll?

• Customer Support and Fraud Operations Staff who review disputes and work with cardholders
• eCommerce and Subscription Merchants who experience high chargeback volumes
• Payment Professionals seeking to reduce preventable chargebacks and strengthen defenses
• Analysts and Risk Managers looking to identify and quantify first-party misuse behavior

Learning Objectives

• Define First-Party Misuse.
• Recognize why first-party misuse is an issue that needs to be addressed.
• Identify cardholder motivations for submitting first-party misuse disputes.
• Differentiate types of first-party misuse.
• Classify evidence criteria needed to measure first-party misuse.
• Calculate the percentage of chargebacks coded as fraud that are the result of first-party misuse.
• Outline best practice strategies for merchants, issuers, and card networks to prevent first-party misuse.

Program Details

• Program Level: Basic
• Program Field of Study: Specialized Knowledge
• Program Delivery Method: QAS Self Study
• CPE Credits: 1.0
• Advanced Preparation and/or Pre-requisites: None
• Pricing: USD $150 (plus applicable taxes) | MRC Members receive a 50% discount on all eLearning courses.

Please allow 2-3 hours to complete this course. The course culminates with a comprehensive final assessment to evaluate the user's comprehension of the material. Upon successfully completing the final assessment, participants will be awarded a certificate of completion representing their proficiency in the subject matter.

CPE credits can be applied toward industry certifications such as the Certified Payments and Fraud Prevention Professional (CPFPP) and the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE)