Chargebacks are already a major headache for merchants, eating into revenue and time. But what if the landscape becomes even more complicated to navigate?
Imagine a future where card networks or payment service providers (PSPs) introduce new fees — not just when a dispute is filed, but adding another fee just to fight back, or a penalty fee if you don’t respond fast enough. Well, actually, you don’t have to imagine it. Visa and Stripe have already announced new fee structures, and they’re unlikely to be the last to do it.
(Adyen, for instance, has notified merchants that it will reduce the timeframe to respond to transaction chargebacks in the U.S. and Canada in order to avoid additional Visa fees. For chargebacks received after July 21, the time to respond will be reduced to nine days from 18 days.)
These policy shifts are pushing merchants to rethink how they handle customer disputes.
Here’s what you need to know and how to prepare for the challenges ahead.
Why have Visa and Stripe introduced new fee structures?
Visa’s fee structure is changing to introduce tiered charges based on the timeliness of dispute acceptance and response.
According to Stripe, their new counter-dispute policy is intended to help offset the growing costs of managing disputes through card networks and banks.
While Stripe has not explicitly linked this policy to the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), it may reflect broader industry pressures. By discouraging the contesting of weak disputes, Stripe may be helping merchants maintain better dispute ratios.
What’s changing about Visa and Stripe’s fee structures?
Visa’s new fee structures for acquirers
Visa’s new fee structure, effective April 1, applies to acquirers in both the U.S. and Canada. The fees are designed to penalize delays in dispute responses, with increased charges for slower reactions as the timeline progresses.
Visa dispute acceptance fees |
||
| Time since dispute | Previous fee | New fee |
| 10 days or less | None | None |
| 11-15 days | None | 50 cents |
| 16-20 days | None | $1 |
| 21-25 days | 50 cents | $2 |
| 26-30 days | 75 cents | $3 |
| Expired: Chargeback | $1 | $7 |
| Expired: Pre-arbitration | $1 | $15 |
Visa dispute response fees |
||
| Time since dispute | Previous fee | New fee |
| 10 days or less | None | $1.05 |
| 11-15 days | None | $1.50 |
| 16-20 days | None | $2 |
| 20-25 days | $1.75 | $3 |
Stripe’s new counter-dispute fee
Right now, Stripe charges a standard dispute fee of $15 in the U.S. any time a chargeback is filed, regardless of whether the merchant wins or loses the case.
Starting June 17, a second $15 fee will be charged if a merchant contests a dispute and loses. That means a lost dispute will now cost $30 total, depending on the country. If the merchant wins the counter-dispute, Stripe will refund the new fee, but the original dispute fee remains non-refundable.
Stripe fee structure |
||
| Dispute period | Fee on notification of chargeback | Fee to respond |
| Before June 17th 2025 | $15 | None |
| After June 17th 2025 | $15 | *$15 |
| *Fee will be returned if the counter dispute is WON in the merchant’s favor. | ||
To help merchants navigate disputes more efficiently, Stripe offers a beta feature called Smart Disputes, an offering similar to Signifyd’s Chargeback Recovery solution. These types of solutions automate the evidence submission process. If merchants successfully challenge the chargeback through Smart Disputes, Stripe waives some of its fees. However, Stripe retains 30% of the recovered amount when the dispute is won using this feature, which may impact margins.
The new total costs of chargeback disputes
To better understand the financial impact of these new fees, let’s walk through a few real-world scenarios that illustrate how the updated Visa and Stripe fee structures can affect the direct costs of managing chargebacks,
Visa example
Let’s say you run an online store selling premium footwear. A customer buys a $120 pair of sneakers. The order clears your fraud checks, ships to the customer’s address and is delivered. Two weeks later, you’re hit with a chargeback — the customer claimed the sneakers’ design was not as described.
You respond and decide to contest the dispute 12 days later, providing product descriptions, product images, tracking details, delivery confirmation and customer communications. However, under Visa’s new fee structure, since you handled the issue within the 11-15 day window, you have to pay $1.50 to dispute the chargeback. If alternatively, you accepted the chargeback, Visa’s fee would be 50 cents.
Scenario A: You lose the dispute |
Scenario B: You win the dispute |
The cardholder’s bank sides with the customer:
Total cost: $121.50 |
The bank rules in your favor:
Total cost: $1.50 |
Stripe example
You run a high-end electronics store and a new customer purchases a $1,200 laptop. The order passes your fraud checks, ships to the billing address and is marked as successfully delivered. A few days later, the customer disputes the charge, claiming the transaction was unauthorized.
You contest the dispute, providing the customer order confirmation, tracking details, documentation that shows the AVS/CVV match, proof of delivery and all customer communications.
Scenario A: You lose the dispute |
Scenario B: You win the dispute |
Even with documentation, the cardholder’s bank sides with the customer:
Total cost: $1,230 |
The bank reviews your documentation, ruling in your favor and returns the funds:
Total cost: $15 |
Even when you’ve taken all the right steps, there’s still a chance the dispute won’t go your way since the final decision ultimately rests with the cardholder’s bank.
With these added costs on the line, now is the time for merchants to reassess their chargeback strategy — starting with how and when they choose to fight disputes.
How can merchants prepare for the new chargeback fees?
While estimates vary widely, chargebacks already are costing merchants a staggering amount. The Merchant Fraud Journal estimate puts the cost of chargebacks in 2023 at $100 billion.
And whatever the exact number, it could certainly climb higher with these new fees. To stay ahead of these added costs, now is the time to tighten fraud controls, refine your dispute strategy and make smarter, data-informed decisions about which cases to fight and which to let go.
Treat disputes like a data problem, not just a customer service issue
Don’t just react. Analyze your data first. Disputes can reveal a lot about underlying issues in your transaction flow. Review patterns across SKUs, marketing channels, customer segments and issuing banks.
Quickly respond to disputes
With new deadlines that promote fast responses or face financial penalties, speed — not just compelling evidence — becomes a critical component. How can you stay on top?
- Immediate triage: Set up instant notifications for new chargebacks. Designate a specific person or team responsible for immediate review, the moment a notification arrives.
- Establish your workflow: Use your payment provider’s dashboard tools effectively. Consider a dedicated chargeback management solution that flags deadlines and centralizes evidence.
Set clear rules for tough decisions
With new upfront fees, you can’t afford to fight every chargeback. You need clear rules based on data:
- Know your numbers: What’s your historical win rate for different chargeback reason codes? What’s the true cost (staff time + potential fees) of fighting?
- Set clear thresholds: Define your battleground. For instance, you can decide you’ll only dispute chargebacks above a certain value where the potential recovery outweighs the costs and risks. Or focus only on specific reason codes where your evidence is typically strong. This data-driven approach stops you from wasting resources on lost causes.
Tighten up your evidence collection
You need to build a detailed document with concise, credible evidence before you open a dispute case. Make sure your document includes the following elements:
- Proof of delivery
- AVS/CVV match results
- Device fingerprints
- Timestamps
- Customer communications
Present this evidence in a clear, structured format that makes it easy for the issuing bank to quickly understand and evaluate your case.
Strengthen your front-end fraud defenses
Many disputes are preventable. A surge in chargebacks often indicates gaps in fraud prevention. Revisit your risk rules and manual review procedures.
Get ahead of first-party fraud
First-party fraud (also known as friendly fraud or first-party misuse) is one of the most difficult types of fraud to prevent. The good news: Many of these disputes can be avoided with the right communication and customer experience.
Start by taking proactive measures, like:
- Ensure your product descriptions and images are accurate and detailed to avoid customer disappointment upon delivery.
- Use clear, recognizable billing descriptors that customers will associate with your brand.
- Maintain timely post-purchase communication with tracking updates and support availability.
- Make sure your return and refund policies are easy to find and clearly explained on your site.
These simple changes can reduce confusion, improve customer trust and decrease the chances of a chargeback being filed.
Future-proof your chargeback strategy
Navigating tighter deadlines, complex rules and potentially higher costs is a significant burden, especially when you’re focused on running and growing your business. This is where expert help becomes invaluable.
If you’re ready to future-proof your chargeback strategy, consider partnering with a third-party fraud prevention platform. Signifyd’s Commerce Protection Platform provides a full suite of tools to help you reduce chargebacks, recover revenue and protect your bottom line. Here’s how:
- Guaranteed Fraud Protection separates legitimate from fraudulent orders in real time, maximizing approval rates while minimizing risk. It includes a financial guarantee on any approved order — even covering Stripe’s new counter dispute fee if a chargeback occurs.
- Complete Chargeback Protection helps manage one of the most elusive threats: first-party fraud. This solution covers the costs of chargebacks on approved orders, so you’re protected whether you win or lose the dispute.
- Chargeback Recovery fully automates the payout process for chargeback fraud. This solution streamlines the review and representment process for all types of chargebacks. Powered by machine learning and expert review it highlights signs of foul play and contests abusive chargebacks automatically
- Instant refunds supports a personalized approach to post-purchase experiences. For low-risk, high-value customers, refunds can be issued immediately before the return even arrives. For higher-risk cases, refunds can be delayed until after inspection. This targeted flexibility helps prevent refund-related disputes and keeps customers satisfied without opening the door to abuse.
With stronger communication and the right technology, you can prevent many first-party fraud disputes before they happen — and protect your business from added costs when they do.
Photo by Getty Images
Want to better manage changing chargeback fees? We can help.
