Business Leaders Lose a Month to Fraud Each Year, as Demand for Better Payments Tech Surges

WHY THIS MATTERS: This finding fundamentally redefines the true cost of digital fraud, shifting the narrative from raw financial losses to a devastating drain on organizational bandwidth. The revelation that retail leadership is spending over a month annually on scams, claims, and disputes highlights a profound operational challenge that traditional systems cannot handle. This administrative burden provides a compelling impetus for the accelerating trend of investing in integrated AI-powered fraud prevention. Merchants are recognizing that the human cost, particularly the erosion of customer loyalty and severe reputational damage, is often greater than the transactional loss itself. Consequently, retailers are now actively seeking sophisticated, frictionless solutions from fintechs to automate detection and dispute resolution. This is a clear mandate for payment providers to step up their game in e-commerce risk management, making advanced security features a core component of the payment stack, rather than an add-on, to protect both capital and critical executive time.1

Retail leaders are spending a full working month each year dealing with the ongoing fight against fraud, new research finds.

The results from leading European financial technology provider payabl. show that business leaders and their teams spend an average of 166 hours a year tackling scams and dealing with fraudulent claims, returns and disputes – equivalent to 22 days or a full working month.* On a monthly basis, leaders and their teams are spending 14 hours of their time, or nearly two working days, dealing directly with fraud. 

The research, part of payabl.’s latest ‘Fraud in Europe’ report, finds 87% of retailers now believe effective fraud prevention is vital to their long-term success. However, a similar proportion (84%) say better technology to support them in the fight against fraud is needed, with three-quarters (76%) actively planning to increase investment in fraud prevention tools over the next year, underlining the strategic role fintechs and payment providers can now play in safeguarding commerce.

Across all businesses surveyed, nearly nine in ten (85%) say they have encountered or been targeted by fraud or scam attempts in the last 12 months, with the impact wide-ranging. More than half of businesses (52%) say it has led to reputational damage for their brand, with the figure rising to two-thirds (67%) of larger businesses (250+ employees), while one in five (21%) leaders say fraud has resulted in a drop in customer loyalty.

The most common types of fraud that businesses have encountered or experienced in the last 12 months include:

• Fake or fraudulent returns and refunds (44%)
• Fraudulent purchases using stolen payment details (36%)
• Chargeback or ‘friendly’ fraud (31%)

Oleg Stefanets, Chief Risk Officer at payabl., said: “Business leaders are spending so much of their valuable time dealing with the growing reach of fraud. This is creating significant administrative burdens – pressures that only intensify during the busy shopping periods where leaders and their teams are often stretched to the max.

“The findings are a timely reminder that fraud is much more than just a financial setback. It’s a drain on resources and a hit to reputations, which many businesses struggle to recover from. The severe reputational damage it can cause means many customers perceive fraud as a breach in trust that won’t be quickly forgotten – or forgiven.”

Fraud has become particularly challenging for e-commerce businesses. In 2024, the global e-commerce sector lost $44 billion to fraud, with the total expected to surpass $100 billion by 2029**. In the UK alone, total fraud losses were £1.17 billion in 2024, with losses on card transactions made online (card-not-present) rising 11% year-on-year to hit £225 million***.

The research also highlights a pressing need for greater collaboration across the entire ecosystem. Most business leaders (88%) think banks need to do more to intercept fraudulent payments and shut down scammer accounts, and 84% say the government should be more proactive in making it clear who is responsible for fraud.

“Ultimately, reducing fraud requires much closer collaboration between all stakeholders across a growing ecosystem,” added Stefanets. “By sharing data and examples of best practice, designing and then implementing the right compliance measures, and leveraging AI and other emerging technologies, we can come together to ease the administrative burden for businesses while reducing the risk of reputational damage and loss of custom.”

To better help customers to stay safe from fraud, payabl., last year, announced its partnership with Sift, an AI-powered fraud prevention platform, giving merchants a seamless way to combat fraud, cut chargeback rates and improve approval rates, without adding friction to the customer journey.

The full report “Fraud in Europe: Counting the cost for retailers and shoppers” is available at: https://payabl.com/fraud-report 

FF NEWS TAKE: Quantifying the executive time lost—a full working month—is a powerful metric that moves the digital trust conversation beyond chargeback rates. This report emphasizes that the solution requires more than just technology; it necessitates systemic, collaborative change between banks, governments, and retailers. The industry should now pivot to watch for legislative and banking efforts to clarify liability and foster cross-ecosystem data sharing. The next critical step is ensuring the planned investment in AI-powered fraud prevention is swift and focused, allowing leaders to reclaim those lost 166 hours and refocus on growth initiatives.