Chargebacks for online sellers: how they work across borders and how to win them

A customer in another country disputes a card payment, and the money leaves your balance before you hear about it. Here is how the chargeback process runs, what evidence wins, and how to prevent the disputes that cross-border sellers see most.

Rashidatou K.Payments editor

Published: 24 July 2026
Reading time: 2 min read

Card payments are the easiest way for a customer in another country to buy from you. They also carry a risk bank transfers do not: the customer's bank can pull the money back. When it does, the sale amount and a dispute fee leave your account, and you have a short window to argue.

How a chargeback runs

The cardholder contacts their bank and disputes the charge.
The issuing bank files the dispute under Visa or Mastercard rules, with a reason code.
Your processor takes the amount back from your balance and notifies you.
You accept, or submit evidence within the processor's deadline.
The issuing bank decides. Some cases go to a second round or to the card network.

The cardholder usually has up to 120 days to dispute. You often have only a couple of weeks to respond, so check your processor dashboard often.

Why cross-border sales see more disputes

Descriptors they do not recognize. A charge from "RVT*SERVICES LDN" on a statement in Brazil looks like fraud.
Currency confusion. The customer saw one price and their bank charged another after conversion and a foreign transaction fee.
Slow delivery. International shipping takes longer, and "item not received" disputes start before parcels arrive.
Higher real fraud. Stolen cards are more often used across borders.

The main reason codes

Group	Examples	What wins
Fraud	Card not present, unrecognized	3-D Secure authentication, matching IP and address, prior undisputed orders
Not received	Goods or services not received	Tracking showing delivery, login or usage logs for digital goods
Not as described	Defective, wrong item	Product description, photos, customer messages, return policy
Processing	Duplicate, wrong amount	Records showing one charge and the correct amount
Cancelled	Subscription cancelled	Terms accepted at checkout, cancellation records

Evidence that wins

Be specific to the reason code. A pile of generic documents loses. Include the order, the terms the customer accepted, proof of delivery or use, and every message with the customer. A short cover letter that maps each document to the reason code helps the reviewer.

Prevention

Use a clear billing descriptor with your brand name, and a support URL or phone.
Show prices in the customer's currency at checkout where you can.
Send a receipt immediately and shipping updates often.
Use 3-D Secure for higher-risk orders. In the EU and UK, strong customer authentication is required for most online card payments anyway.
Refund fast when a customer complains. A refund costs less than a chargeback and does not count against your ratio.

Card networks put merchants with high dispute ratios into monitoring programs with fines, so a few prevented disputes are worth more than a few won ones.

Where the money lands

Chargebacks are a processor matter. Once your processor pays out, you want the funds in an account in the same currency, so a refund or dispute does not cost two conversions. The Stripe and Shopify guide covers payouts. Rivet gives a company USD account details for processor payouts, with EUR and GBP on Growth. See Bank accounts.

Questions people ask

What is a chargeback?

A reversal of a card payment that the cardholder's bank starts on their behalf, under Visa or Mastercard rules. It differs from a refund, which the merchant chooses to give. Chargebacks carry a fee and count against the merchant's dispute ratio.

How long does a customer have to file a chargeback?

For most reasons, up to 120 days from the transaction or the expected delivery date under Visa and Mastercard rules, with some cases running longer. Your processor's own deadline for responding is much shorter.

What is friendly fraud?

A dispute filed by the real cardholder for a purchase they did make, either by mistake (they did not recognize the charge) or on purpose. Clear billing descriptors and receipts reduce the honest mistakes.

Do chargebacks apply to bank transfers?

No. Chargebacks are a card network process. Bank transfers have their own recall and return rules, which are narrower. That is one reason B2B sellers often prefer invoices paid by transfer.

Sources

Written by

Rashidatou K.

Payments editor

Rashidatou writes Rivet's guides to how money moves between countries: the payment rails, what each one costs, and the account details a company needs to get paid in another currency. Every figure in Rashidatou's articles is traced to the scheme rulebook, the regulator or the provider's published price list, and those sources are listed at the end.