42% of Issuers Say Fraud and Disputes Are Driving Up Costs

Fraud used to sit in the back office. Now it has a front-row seat in the issuer growth strategy. Every blocked purchase, failed dispute or scam that slips through can weaken the cardholder relationship. That makes fraud prevention more than a risk-control function. It’s now one of the clearest ways for card issuers to protect trust, reduce churn and build stronger customer lifetime value.

“The Issuer Risk Playbook: Building Trust, Fueling Growth” examines how U.S. card issuers are rethinking fraud prevention, risk management and security as strategic growth tools.

The findings show a market under pressure. Fraud and disputes now rank among the largest platform operating costs for card issuers. Cybersecurity concerns are rising. Existing fraud systems are being pushed harder, especially by high-performing issuers seeking to protect valuable cardholder relationships at scale. At the same time, agentic commerce is adding a new layer of urgency. As AI systems begin to help consumers search, choose and buy, issuers will need stronger fraud and scam controls to know which transactions to trust.

The report shows a clear split between issuers that treat fraud prevention as a cost center and those that see it as part of the customer experience. High CLTV issuers are more likely to connect fraud defense with churn analytics, retention strategies, operational automation and future-ready AI tools.

Download the Report The Issuer Risk Playbook: Building Trust, Fueling Growth

In “The Issuer Risk Playbook: Building Trust, Fueling Growth,” learn how:

Cybersecurity and network threats are rising. Thirty-six percent of issuers cite them as a pain point, up from 30% one year ago.

High CLTV issuers use data to protect relationships. Fifty-one percent use analytics to predict churn, compared with 35% of low-CLTV issuers.

Top issuers are moving faster on scam prevention. Forty-five percent of high CLTV issuers plan to invest in scam detection and prevention over the next 12 months.

Download the report to see how leading issuers are turning stronger fraud defense into stronger cardholder relationships.

Inside the Report

“The Issuer Risk Playbook: Building Trust, Fueling Growth,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report in collaboration with Visa DPS, examines how card issuers approach fraud prevention, risk management, and security within their issuing platforms. The analysis draws on insights from a survey of 500 executives who fill head of payment roles at U.S.-based bank and non-bank card issuers, fielded from December 16, 2025, to January 14, 2026.

This research was independently designed, fielded, analyzed, and written by PYMNTS Intelligence. Research partners provided funding support but exercised no control over methodology, data collection, findings, or conclusions.