A Merchant's Guide to Chargeback Time Limits

For many merchants, chargebacks are a common source of frustration and confusion. Part of this comes from the fact that every card network sets its own rules for the chargeback process. While many of the basics tend to be similar from one network to another, one area in which the networks differ significantly is when it comes to the time limits and deadlines involved.

Sometimes, these differing time limits can cause a merchant to miss a deadline they thought was still weeks away. When that happens, the merchant loses the opportunity to fight the chargeback, and they may even be charged an additional fee for failing to respond in time.

Businesses that understand the applicable deadlines can prioritize cases more effectively, preserve the documentation needed to support a defense, and avoid losing disputes because an internal process took too long. They can also recognize when a dispute has exceeded the network's filing requirements and should no longer be valid.

Let's take a look at the chargeback time limits established by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.

Table of Contents

1. What’s the Time Limit for Filing a Chargeback?
2. How Long Do Merchants Have to Respond to a Chargeback?
3. What Are Visa's Chargeback Time Limits?
4. How Long Do Merchants Have to Respond to Visa Chargebacks?
5. What Are Mastercard's Chargeback Time Limits?
6. How Long Do Merchants Have to Respond to Mastercard Chargebacks?
7. What Are American Express's Chargeback Time Limits?
8. How Long Do Merchants Have to Respond to American Express Chargebacks?
9. What Are Discover's Chargeback Time Limits?
10. How Long Do Merchants Have to Respond to Discover Chargebacks?
11. Put Dispute Time Back on Your Side

Some types of disputes may not start the 120-day count until later in the process. For example, cardholders can dispute a charge for goods that were never delivered up to 120 days after the expected delivery date. For some less common types of chargebacks, a shorter window may apply depending on the card network.

Cardholders have 120 days to file a chargeback for issues related to:

• Fraud
• An incorrect transaction code, currency, account number, or amount
• Duplicate transaction processing
• Merchandise that has not been received
• Damaged or defective merchandise
• A recurring transaction that had been canceled
• A refund or credit that was not received

A deadline of 75 days applies for chargebacks related to:

• A card recovery bulletin (for stolen, lost, past due, or counterfeit cards)
• Declined authorization, no authorization, late presentment, or invalid data

These are the key time limits to be aware of:

• The merchant has 30 days to fight a chargeback by submitting representment
• The issuing bank has 30 days to initiate a pre-arbitration chargeback after receiving representment
• The merchant has 30 days to initiate a pre-arbitration response after receiving a pre-arbitration.
• The issuer has 10 days to pursue arbitration after the pre-arbitration response occurs

Each time a chargeback moves to a new stage of the process, the issuing bank has five days to provide documentation to both the merchant and the cardholder that explains the reasoning behind the decision they made.

Even within these limits, Visa applies time-based dispute fees depending on whether the merchant accepts the dispute or responds with evidence. Both fee schedules are based on how much time has passed since the dispute date, and both become more expensive the longer the merchant waits. These fees are officially assessed to acquirers in the U.S. and Canada, but acquirers typically pass them through to merchants.

Visa dispute response fees

• 10 days or less: $1.05

• 11–15 days: $1.50

• 16–20 days: $2.00

• 21–25 days: $3.00

• 26–30 days: $4.00

Visa dispute acceptance fees

• 10 days or less: $0.00

• 11–15 days: $0.50

• 16–20 days: $1.00

• 21–25 days: $2.00

• 26–30 days: $3.00

• Expired dispute: $7.00

• Expired pre-arbitration: $15.00

Cardholders have 120 days to file a chargeback for issues related to:

• A discrepancy in the transaction amount
• No cardholder authorization
• Fraudulent processing of transactions
• Canceled recurring transaction
• Late presentment
• An incorrect currency code
• Questionable client activity
• Credit posted as a purchase
• Product not as described
• Goods or services not provided
• ATM dispute
• Credit not processed
• Chip or PIN liability shift
• Any other unclassified cardholder dispute

The time limit for Mastercard chargebacks is just 45 days for:

• A warning bulletin file
• Account number not on file

Before processing chargebacks arising from the “Credit Not Processed” reason code, banks must wait 15 days after the date on the credit document, the date merchandise was returned, or the date services were terminated.

These are the time limits for each step of the typical process:

• The merchant has 45 days to fight a chargeback by initiating representment. (or second presentment, as Mastercard often refers to it.)
• Once the merchant has initiated representment, there is an 8-day window to submit documentation.
• The issuer has 30 days from when representment was initiated to open a pre-arbitration case.
• Merchants have 30 days to accept or reject a pre-arbitration case.
• The issuer has 15 days to escalate a rejected pre-arbitration case to arbitration.

For products or services that weren't received at all, cardholders have 120 days from the day they expected to receive the product or service or from the day they became aware that they would not receive it, whichever came first.

Since American Express typically acts and both the card network and the issuing bank, its process is a bit different. Cardholder disputes may begin with an inquiry to the merchant, in which case the merchant has 20 days to respond.

If the response to an inquiry doesn't resolve the issue, or if American Express decides to skip the inquiry altogether, a chargeback will be filed. Merchants also have 20 days to respond to a chargeback. There's no arbitration process for American Express chargebacks.

Put Dispute Time Back on Your Side

In order to successfully get a chargeback reversed and recover the lost revenue, the merchant must put together a representment package that includes compelling evidence proving that the chargeback is illegitimate and a rebuttal letter summarizing their case and the evidence that supports it. 

The best way to make sure you're not losing revenue is to have the support of a dedicated chargeback management company with the resources and the know-how to submit a compelling case on your behalf on time, every time.