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Playbooks

TL;DR
  • Step-by-step actions, not explanations. Use these when something is on fire, you're shipping a project, or you want a quick win
  • Each playbook lists what you need before you start, then walks the steps in order
  • Want the foundations instead? The Guide is 15 lessons, about 105 minutes
Playbooks illustration 10 min read

Something's on fire, or you're shipping a project, or you want a quick win. Follow these.

Want the full picture?

Playbooks solve immediate problems. The Guide teaches you the foundations: 15 lessons covering payments, chargebacks, fraud, operations, and costs (~105 min total).

If You Only Have 2 Hours This Week

If nothing is actively on fire:

  1. Pick one metric that's been bugging you (auth rate, chargeback ratio, fraud rate)
  2. Form a hypothesis about why it's off
  3. Design one small test to validate or invalidate that hypothesis
  4. Run it for a week

That's how you make progress without getting lost in optimization theater.

First Week Setup

Just got approved? Do these before your first live transaction.

⚡
Stripe First Week
Day-by-day checklist: descriptor, fraud rules, RDR, webhooks
▪️
Square First Week
POS setup, item library, staff training, prevent keyed-in waste
🛒
Shopify First Week
Avoid third-party fees, enable fraud analysis, optimize checkout
Crisis Playbooks

Use these when you don't have time to think.

🔥
Reduce Chargebacks Fast
Ratio above 0.7% and climbing, or you're already in a monitoring program
🚨
Survive a Fraud Attack
Velocity spike, BIN attack, or coordinated fraud in progress
🛡️
Breach Response
Suspected or confirmed card data breach - first 72 hours
📉
Fix Declining Auth Rates
Auth rate dropped suddenly and you need to diagnose fast
Quick Wins (2 Weeks or Less)

High-impact improvements you can ship fast.

🔔
Set Up Dispute Alerts

1-2 weeks
Prevent 20-40% of chargebacks before they hit

🔒
First-Time 3DS Setup

1-2 weeks
Liability shift without killing conversion

📱
Onboard Digital Wallets

2-4 weeks
Higher auth rates, lower fraud, better mobile

💳
Handle a Refund Request

Same day
Step-by-step from request to resolution

Optimization Playbooks

For when nothing's broken and you just want the numbers better.

📈
Increase Auth Rates
Auth approval rate dropping or below benchmark
⚙️
Auth Optimization
Deep dive on retry logic, network tokens, issuer work
🧪
Payments Experimentation
Testing fraud rules and checkout changes safely
Project Playbooks

These ones need planning.

🌍
Launch New Country
Expanding to a new market
🔄
Processor Switch Checklist
Migrating processors without losing transactions
For Larger Operations

Over $1M/month? These cover what changes.

📈
Scaling Milestones
What changes at each volume tier: tools, staffing, and negotiation leverage
🏦
Processor Management
Multi-processor strategy, rate negotiation, and relationship management
🌍
Launch New Country
Local acquiring, regional payment methods, and compliance by market
Popular
🔥
Reduce Chargebacks Fast Popular
Crisis playbook for ratio above 0.7%
🔔
Set Up Dispute Alerts
Prevent 20-40% of chargebacks (1-2 week project)
🔒
First-Time 3DS Setup
Liability shift without killing conversion
📈
Increase Auth Rates
Systematic auth rate improvement

How Playbooks Work​

Each playbook has:

  1. Trigger criteria - How to know you need this playbook
  2. Steps - Do these in order
  3. Checkpoints - How to know each step worked
  4. Success criteria - How to know you're done

Playbooks are for doing, not understanding. They're hypothesis-test-learn cycles, not checklists to follow blindly. If you want the concepts, the main sections have them.

The Experimental Mindset​

Throwing tools at a problem you haven't diagnosed is expensive guessing. Every playbook should get you to:

  1. Understand why (talk to customers, look at data)
  2. Form a hypothesis (we think it's X because of Y)
  3. Test (change one thing, measure for 2 weeks)
  4. Learn (did it work? why or why not?)

Even in a crisis, you're running experiments. They're just faster and higher-stakes.

Next Steps​

In a crisis right now?
  1. Reduce Chargebacks Fast - Ratio spiking
  2. Survive Fraud Attack - Fraud in progress
  3. Breach Response - Data breach suspected
  4. Fix Auth Rates - Sudden auth drop
Want a quick win?
  1. Set Up Dispute Alerts - Prevent chargebacks
  2. First-Time 3DS - Liability shift
  3. Digital Wallets - Mobile conversion
Need background first?
  1. Fraud Fundamentals - Understand concepts
  2. Chargeback Basics - How disputes work
  3. Benchmarks - What "good" looks like

See Also​

🔍 Fraud Detection💰 Chargebacks⚙️ Operations📊 Benchmarks
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