What are Chargebacks, and Why Do They Happen?

A chargeback occurs when a customer disputes a card transaction through their issuing bank instead of seeking a refund directly from the business. The bank temporarily reverses the transaction while the dispute is reviewed.

Chargebacks can happen for many reasons, including unrecognized charges, dissatisfaction with a product or service, delayed fulfillment, refund confusion, or suspected fraud. Not all chargebacks indicate wrongdoing by the merchant.

Chargebacks are governed by card network rules and are part of standard card processing operations.