A chargeback happens when a cardholder disputes a card payment with their card issuer. The issuer files a dispute on the card network, which reverses the payment right away. On Stripe, the disputed amount and a $15 dispute fee come out of your balance, and countering costs $15 more, returned if you win. Cardholders typically have 120 days from the payment to dispute, and you usually have 7 to 21 days to respond with evidence. On a payment plan, every installment is its own card payment, so each one can be disputed on its own.
What is a chargeback?
A chargeback is a card payment reversed by the cardholder's bank after the cardholder disputes it. Stripe uses "dispute" and "chargeback" for the same thing. The issuer creates a formal dispute on the card network, and the network reverses the payment at once. The money is held for the whole dispute.
Who starts a chargeback?
The cardholder, by contacting their card issuer. You don't get a say before the money moves. The issuing bank alone decides the outcome. Stripe passes on your evidence but has no influence over the decision.
Some networks send an inquiry first. Stripe says American Express and Discover use this phase most often, and Visa and Mastercard no longer do. Answering an inquiry, or refunding in full, can close it without a dispute fee.
What does a chargeback cost on Stripe?
On Stripe's standard US pricing:
- Dispute received: $15, taken from your balance with the disputed amount. It isn't returned, even if you win.
- Dispute countered: $15 more if you respond with evidence. It's returned if you win.
Accepting a dispute still costs the $15. Card networks count the disputes you receive, not the ones you win or lose.
How long does a cardholder have to dispute?
Card networks typically allow 120 days from the original payment, and their rules allow more in some cases. When someone pays in advance for a future service or event, the window generally starts on the service or event date, not the payment date.
How long do you have to respond, and how long does it take?
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Your response | 7 to 21 days, by card network |
| Issuer's decision after evidence | 60 to 75 days |
| Whole dispute | 2 to 3 months |
If you miss the deadline, you lose the dispute. You get one chance to submit evidence, so send everything at once: receipts, the signed agreement, the customer's acceptance of your terms and any messages with them.
How is a chargeback different on a payment plan?
- Each installment can be disputed on its own. A twelve-payment plan is twelve card payments, and each dispute carries its own fee.
- The clock restarts with each payment. The 120-day window runs from each installment, so disputes can arrive throughout the plan.
- Disputes can be bundled. Stripe notes that when a cardholder disputes several recurring payments, the bank sometimes files one dispute for the total against one of them.
- You can't refund during a dispute. While a dispute is open, you can't issue a refund outside the dispute process.
Example: a cardholder disputes one $1,108.33 installment. Stripe takes $1,108.33 plus the $15 fee from your balance. Countering costs another $15, which comes back only if you win.
How is a bank (ACH) dispute different?
ACH disputes follow different rules. A consumer can dispute a debit for up to 60 calendar days, and those disputes are final with no appeal. See ACH returns on payment plans.
- Stripe: Disputes
- Stripe: How disputes work
- Stripe: Respond to disputes
- Stripe: Dispute evidence best practices
- Stripe pricing
- Stripe Support: June 2025 pricing updates for disputes
- Stripe: ACH Direct Debit
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.