Dive Brief:

• The software company behind Chargebacks911, which aids merchants in handling customer chargeback payments and fraud, said founder Monica Eaton will become CEO, taking over from her cofounder Gary Cardone, who will retire, according to an April 24 press release.
• Eaton, who was formerly chief operating officer, will now shape and implement the company’s international growth strategy, a spokesperson for the company said by email. “With the surge of first party fraud, expansion of alternative payment methods, and newly entitled frictionless demands, the evolution of technology and shift in consumer behavior inspires transformative change,” Eaton said in the release.
• Since its founding in 2011, Clearwater, Florida-based Chargebacks911 has grown to include about 200 employees in the U.S., the spokesperson said. Eaton and Cardone were formerly married and are now divorced, he confirmed.

Dive Insight:

Chargebacks911 is shaking up its C-suite as the company faces regulatory scrutiny over its approach to chargebacks, which are triggered for a merchant when consumers return goods or services. The company behind that brand, and its sister brand Fi911, is TK Unlimited, a division of Global e-Services, according to its website.

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Florida sued the company for allegedly imposing unfair hurdles for consumers who sought chargebacks in disputes over credit card charges, according to a joint press release from the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection and the Florida Attorney General’s office. That action identified the company as Global E-Trading and named Eaton and Cardone as defendants, too.

The regulators in their April 12 release cited the defendants for allegedly using “multiple unfair techniques to prevent consumers from successfully winning chargeback disputes.” They also alleged that the infractions had been occurring since “at least 2016.”

The company disputed the charges in a press release of its own two days later, calling the allegations “inaccurate.” “We have always followed all rules, laws and processes, and will aggressively defend the purpose of our business, the privacy of our clients, and our own corporate ethics and reputation against overreach by the government and its various policing bodies,” the release said.

Chargebacks911 also underscored that it doesn’t work directly with consumers. “At no time does a firm like ours have any say in whether a dispute is reversed or not; only the regulated financial institutions and the consumers themselves may decide to surrender the chargeback claim,” the company’s April 14 release said. 

The company also argued that the FTC was trying to make it responsible for transaction data accuracy, and that the case outcome could set a precedent that would negatively affect all software-as-service providers.

There was no update to provide regarding the litigation on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the company said.

In another recent executive appointment, the company named Pelwasha Faquiryan as its new chief growth officer in October, a role focused on managing customer experiences.