RunSignup reduces reserve requirement from 20% to 10%

RunSignup is pleased to announce that they are reducing the required refund reserve for races from 20% to 10%, with the overall payment account reserve requirement falling from 10% to 5%.

The refund reserve requirements were first implemented in mid-March as a response to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on endurance events and the mass movement to cancel, postpone, or transition events to virtual options. With event modifications and cancellations increasing the risk of chargebacks, the refund reserve ensures that races have funds held to cover their obligations to card holders. All reserves are released post-race.

In March, RunSignup set conservative holds at 20% (for a race), and 10% (for an overall payment account), based on chargeback data collected in normal circumstances. However, over the last month, RunSignup has been able to analyze their chargeback data to better understand how that risk has manifested in the current climate and is able to reduce their requirements to get race organizers payments faster.

RunSignup CEO and Founder Bob Bickel said “We’re happy to have good news for the industry: we are seeing chargeback rates that are lower than we first estimated they could be, and as a result, we are lowering the required reserve. While we will continue to monitor and asses the risk, we believe clear communication, flexible options, and opportunities to complete races virtually (and receive paid-for swag) have helped races to mitigate the impact of chargebacks on their events. We hope to have more good news in the industry soon.”

For more information, visit: https://runsignup.blog/2020/04/15/race-reserve-requirement-drops-from-20-to-10/.