“Soft descriptor” is another word for dynamic descriptor.  When you look at your credit card statement, each purchase has a description.  Historically those descriptions were fixed for each transaction – set permanently as the name of the business.

Now, some gateway / processor combinations allow a business to include extra information which shows up along with the business name on the customer’s credit card statement. For example, you could include the name of your product or the location of your store.

Failure by the customer to recognize a transaction on his/her bill is one of the most common reasons for chargebacks. Using soft descriptors can help customers recognize transactions by providing more information and thereby reduce the incidence of chargebacks.

FeeFighters’ auction process is the easiest way to find a processor that supports soft descriptors.