Chargebacks

A chargeback is a payment that the payer's bank takes back, because the payer disputed it. It goes through the card scheme and your acquirer, not through you or gjold.

Last reviewed 2 November 2026.

How it happens

1. The payer tells their bank that a payment is wrong: they did not make it, they did not get what they paid for, or it was not as described.
2. The bank opens a dispute under the card scheme's rules, which give the payer months to do so, typically up to 120 days after the payment or the expected delivery.
3. Your acquirer takes the amount back from your payouts, often with a fee, and tells you, usually by email or in its own portal.
4. You can answer with evidence, such as proof of delivery, the terms the payer accepted, or the 3-D Secure authentication, within the time your acquirer gives you. If the issuer accepts it, you get the money back.

gjold does not report chargebacks, and they do not change a transaction in the API: your acquirer handles them with you.

Why payers dispute

• Fraud. The cardholder did not make the payment, because their card details were stolen.
• Not received. The goods never arrived, or the service was never given.
• Not as described. What arrived was not what was sold.
• Cancelled. The payer cancelled a subscription, and was charged again.
• Processing. The payer was charged twice, or the capture came too late after the authorization, or for more than was authorized.

How to avoid them

• Use a shop name that the payer recognizes on their statement.
• Capture when you ship, not before, and never more than the order.
• Refund a returned order promptly: a payer who gets their money back has nothing to dispute.
• For subscriptions, tell the payer before a charge that they might not expect, and make cancelling easy. See Stored credentials.
• Keep what proves an order: what was ordered, when it shipped, and where to.

3-D Secure and liability

When the payer authenticated a payment with 3-D Secure, a dispute for fraud is usually the issuer's loss, not yours: the liability for it shifts to the issuer. That covers only fraud, not goods that were not delivered, and charges of subscribers, which the payer is not there to authenticate, are not covered.