The more effectively you can pinpoint fraudulent behaviour \u2013 and separate it from legitimate sales \u2013 the better you can protect your organisation from losing revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what should arts, theatre, and event leaders be looking out for? The answer lies in two key metrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Chargeback rates<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Authorisation rates<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Track these two metrics regularly, and \u2013 unless there\u2019s any change \u2013 you can rest easy. You don\u2019t need to monitor anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Change might be sudden, as strict fraud protection tools block high numbers of transactions, or gradual, as lenient mitigation measures lead to an increase in chargebacks. We recommend glancing at your metrics weekly, and monitoring more closely if you do spot any fluctuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you already use Spektrix Payments<\/a>, the heavy lifting is done for you. The Spektrix team continually monitors for suspicious activity and uses machine learning to block suspicious transactions. If the team spots a new or increasing concern, they\u2019ll reach out to let you know and work with you to agree next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The goal is always to minimise the impact of fraud, without adding friction for legitimate audience members<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have a payment fraud problem?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are many different types of payment fraud<\/a>, as well as wider fraudulent activity in ticketing that doesn\u2019t relate to payment processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you aim to reduce every type of fraud to zero, your first problem is not with fraud \u2013 it\u2019s with expectation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will never increase your authorisation rate to 100%.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Anything up to about 5% of failed transactions reflects a mixture of honest mistakes \u2013 genuine customers entering their details incorrectly, or failing to top up their account before buying \u2013 and your tools working correctly to block fake transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are unlikely to reduce your chargeback rate to 0.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sadly, a handful of chargebacks are to be expected, representing a mixture of friendly fraud and malicious actors. If you do reach chargeback-zero, it\u2019s almost certain that your authorisation rate will drop significantly, and the lost income will outweigh the costs and effort of fighting chargebacks.
For wider advice on spotting and avoiding ticket scams around live events, see national guidance on ticket fraud from Action Fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPayment fraud benchmarks for live events and culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To know what good or bad means for your organisation, it\u2019s helpful to understand what normal looks like for other theatres, performing arts centres, or attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s where the scale of the Spektrix community can help. In 2025, Spektrix processed 5.2m transactions including tickets, memberships, subscriptions, donations, and more, on behalf of 461 organisations across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. The number of organisations using Spektrix Payments, combined with years of experience supporting the arts and culture sector, means Spektrix is well positioned to share industry-specific benchmarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When should I worry about chargebacks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.spektrix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ticketing-payment-fraud-chargeback-rate-benchmarks-1024x545.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Reach out to your payment provider to learn how you can monitor your own chargeback rate. If you\u2019re using Spektrix Payments, relax \u2013 monitoring is continuous on your behalf, and the team will reach out if they identify any concerns.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The average chargeback rate for Spektrix Payments users in the US and Canada is 0.07%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAcceptable\u201d limits for chargeback rates are defined by card issuers like Visa. In 2025, Visa launched the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Programme (VAMP) to provide a unified programme to monitor and limit high-risk activity \u2013 replacing previous, separate dispute and fraud programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2026, VAMP is lowering the \u201cacceptable\u201d chargeback rate to 0.5%. While that\u2019s technically the rate it quotes for acquirers like Adyen or WorldPay, those acquirers may pass any fines imposed by Visa on to merchants, for example, you. While direct fines for merchants only start at 1.5%, it\u2019s therefore sensible to aim for a chargeback rate below 0.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember that chargebacks can be filed at any time up to 120 days after the initial transaction. That means chargeback reduction is a long game \u2013 if you make adjustments to your fraud mitigation strategy, allow time for those changes to influence your data, and don\u2019t worry if there\u2019s a tiny spike that lasts only a day or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to do with this information<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- If your chargeback rate is above 0.5%<\/strong>, contact your payment provider for advice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If your chargeback rate is increasing<\/strong>, consider implementing additional payment fraud mitigation options, and contact your payment provider for advice so you can decide on the right next steps together. Look for unusual purchase patterns over recent months which might explain the change \u2013 for example, high-value purchases made by new international customers \u2013 as these can help you identify the most relevant mitigation steps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If your chargeback rate is below 0.5%<\/strong> and stable or decreasing, you may well have the right balance between risk and friction. If you\u2019re still concerned, try implementing some low-friction mitigation options like introducing Apple Pay \u2013 but be careful to set realistic expectations for your stakeholders. For a broader look at that tradeoff, see payment fraud risk management in ticketing<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
When should I worry about authorisation rate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.spektrix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tickeitng-payment-fraud-authorization-rate-benchmarks-1024x544.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Reach out to your payment provider to learn how you can monitor your own authorisation rate. If you\u2019re using Spektrix Payments, relax \u2013 monitoring is continuous on your behalf, and the team will reach out if they identify any concerns.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The average authorisation rate for Spektrix Payments users is 95%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorisation rates aren\u2019t managed centrally by a programme like VAMP. This ticketing fraud detection measure is more about understanding why some transactions will always be blocked, and what \u201cnormal\u201d looks like for your organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s a significant reduction in authorisation rates, the good news is that it will appear in your metrics right away \u2013 giving you the heads up you need to investigate and adjust your fraud mitigation options if you find they\u2019re too restrictive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to do with this information<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- If your authorisation rate reduces suddenly<\/strong>, contact your payment provider for advice. Look for additional measures to explain and help address the change, like multiple failed transactions using different card numbers, but the same billing address. These should appear in your metrics immediately.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If your authorisation rate is below 90%<\/strong>, we recommend easing some of your fraud mitigation steps \u2013 especially if authorisation rates are stable, and chargebacks remain low.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If your authorisation rate is below 95%<\/strong>, you may consider easing some of your fraud protections \u2013 but there\u2019s no urgency to do so, if you\u2019re not hearing customer complaints.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If your authorisation rate is at or above 95%<\/strong>, it\u2019s likely you\u2019ve got things right. That last 5% is likely to represent a mixture of:\n
- \n
- Human error, as people mistype their card or address details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Transactions blocked by audience members\u2019 own banks, either because of insufficient funds or security concerns on their part.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Your mitigation measures doing what they should, by blocking a small number of fake transactions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Still not sure what to do for the best?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Get in touch. Whether or not you\u2019re using Spektrix today, the team is happy to share its experience of supporting hundreds of arts, culture, live experience organisations to monitor and reduce payment fraud. Find out more about Spektrix Payments services, and reach out to learn how we could help you balance risk and friction in your own ticketing fraud detection approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- If your authorisation rate is below 90%<\/strong>, we recommend easing some of your fraud mitigation steps \u2013 especially if authorisation rates are stable, and chargebacks remain low.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If your chargeback rate is increasing<\/strong>, consider implementing additional payment fraud mitigation options, and contact your payment provider for advice so you can decide on the right next steps together. Look for unusual purchase patterns over recent months which might explain the change \u2013 for example, high-value purchases made by new international customers \u2013 as these can help you identify the most relevant mitigation steps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Authorisation rates<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n