Chargeback: Debit & Credit Card Purchase Disputes (2024)

FAQs

Do merchants ever win chargeback disputes? ›

Compelling evidence: If you have strong compelling evidence that shows the customer's dispute is unwarranted, then you have a good chance of winning the chargeback dispute and keeping the sales revenue (because the consumer won't receive the chargeback refund).

Credit and Debit Card Chargeback Reasons

Cardholder does not recognize the transaction. Cardholder did not authorize the charge (may be fraudulent). Processing errors were made during the transaction (e.g., duplicate Processing). The product or service was not received, or the quality was not as expected.

You might not always get a fair outcome when you dispute a chargeback, but you can increase your chances of winning by providing the right documents. Per our experience, if you do everything right, you can expect a 65% to 75% success rate.

An effective representment strategy typically results in a win rate between 65% and 75%, but some merchants would feel lucky to reach even half that. To help out, let's go over four basic tips merchants can use to get more chargeback reversals.

Can a Chargeback Be Denied? Yes. If the cardholder doesn't make a compelling enough case to their bank, or doesn't have a valid reason for filing a chargeback, the bank may refuse to open a dispute. Merchants can also provide evidence refuting a chargeback.

Yes, when done intentionally, chargeback fraud is illegal. When investigating chargeback fraud, it's important to keep in mind that there are legitimate reasons for chargebacks that do not constitute fraud. Let's explore those cases to understand the difference between chargeback fraud and legitimate chargebacks.

The reason for the dispute is false or inaccurate, or the dispute doesn't follow the card networks' rules. Examples of invalid chargebacks: The cardholder's bank didn't abide by time limitations and filed the chargeback 30 days after the deadline had passed.

The average merchant wins roughly 45% of the chargebacks they challenge through representment. However, when we look at net recovery rate, we see that the average merchant only wins 1 in every 8 chargebacks issued against them.

Who decides who wins a chargeback? ›

If the issuing bank rules that the merchant has not provided compelling evidence, they'll rule in favor of the cardholder and the chargeback stands. The provisional credit to the cardholder becomes permanent and temporary credit reversal takes place for the merchant.

You don't need to pay that charge while the dispute's in process. If you win, then the provisional credit becomes a full reversal of the charge. If you lose your dispute, then the charge goes back on your credit card bill. You'll be expected to pay it, just like any other transaction.

Only about 60% of merchants dispute their chargebacks because the win rate for the merchant is about 1 in 5.

Chargeback Win Rate

On average, merchants win approximately 32 out of every 100 chargebacks they decide to contest. This means that if you're a merchant dealing with 100 chargebacks, you can typically expect to successfully recover funds from around 32 of those disputes.

Win rate is a commonly referenced key performance indicator (KPI) for chargeback management. In-house teams with manual processes usually achieve a 20-40% win rate. Midigator's technology has an average win rate of 65-80%.

Merchants win chargeback disputes approximately 40% of the time, but the outcome may vary depending on factors such as evidence provided, documentation, and the reason for the chargeback.