Mastercard brings its friendly-fraud program to European merchants
Merchants, small businesses included, gain a way to send purchase and delivery evidence to card issuers, with chargeback protection when it meets Mastercard’s new rules
- Launched: 2024, in the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia Pacific
- Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa: available from October 2026
- Rest of Europe: July 2027
- Open to: merchants, including small businesses
Once the program reaches the rest of Europe, the outcome of a friendly-fraud dispute will rest partly on records an online seller already keeps, such as delivery confirmation and authentication results. Merchants in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa get the evidence route and chargeback protection about nine months before sellers elsewhere in Europe.
“As digital commerce continues to grow, building trust across the ecosystem has never been more important.”Michele Centemero, executive vice-president, services, Europe, Mastercard
Mastercard is extending First-Party Trust, its program for card disputes in which the cardholder made the purchase, to merchants and card issuers across Europe, the company announced on 22 October. Mastercard forecasts global chargeback volume of 324 million transactions in 2028, up from its 2025 forecast of 261 million.
First-party fraud, often called ‘friendly’ fraud, covers cardholders who dispute a legitimate purchase, either on purpose or because they don’t recognize the charge on their statement. Mastercard says better access to evidence can reduce unnecessary chargebacks and the costs they carry for merchants and issuers.
At authorization, signals from Mastercard’s fraud models help issuers tell unauthorized use of card details apart from first-party fraud. Once a purchase is disputed, merchants can send evidence about the purchase, its delivery and how it was authenticated. New compelling-evidence rules set out what counts, and merchants receive chargeback protection on disputes where their evidence meets those requirements.
Michele Centemero, executive vice-president of services for Europe at Mastercard, said giving merchants and issuers access to the relevant transaction information could cut unnecessary disputes.
Sources
- Mastercard, “Mastercard expands First-Party Trust program to help European merchants from rising ‘friendly’ fraud”, press release, 22 October 2026. https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2026/mastercard-expands-first-party-trust-program-to-help-european-merchants-from-rising-friendly-fraud/
- Financial IT, “Mastercard Expands First-Party Trust Program to Help European Merchants From Rising ‘Friendly’ Fraud”, 22 October 2026. https://financialit.net/news/payments/mastercard-expands-first-party-trust-program-help-european-merchants-rising-friendly
- Electronic Payments International, “Mastercard to expand First-Party Trust across EMEA”, Aninda Chakraborty, 23 October 2026. https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/mastercard-to-expand-first-party-trust-across-emea/
