Shopify chargebacks: how to respond, what to send and when to accept

A Shopify chargeback happens when a cardholder disputes a charge with their bank and the bank takes the money back from you while it investigates. If you use Shopify Payments, the dispute appears on the order in your admin, Shopify adds some evidence for you, and you usually have 7 to 21 days to add your own before the response goes to the card company.

Holiday disputes can arrive weeks after the sale. This guide shows how to find open disputes, read what the bank is claiming, choose the evidence that answers it, and decide when to accept rather than fight.

It assumes Shopify Payments. Disputes from other providers, such as PayPal, follow their own process.

Chargeback or inquiry: check which one you have

A bank can open either a chargeback or an inquiry, and they behave differently, according to Shopify's guide to responding to chargebacks and inquiries:

• Chargeback: the disputed amount and a chargeback fee are taken from you right away. If you win, the disputed amount comes back, and Shopify's response guide says the fee does too. The fee is $15 USD for stores in the United States and £10 GBP in the United Kingdom, and Other countries are listed by Shopify.
• Inquiry: no money is taken while the bank investigates. If it closes in the customer's favour, it can escalate to a full chargeback.

This matters for refunds. During an inquiry, a full refund stops the cardholder from opening a chargeback, and a partial refund doesn't. Shopify calls this possible but not recommended, and you should still submit proof of the refund. Once a chargeback is open, you can't refund the order at all.

Shopify doesn't decide outcomes. The customer's bank and the card company rule on the evidence, and their decision is final, with no appeal.

Find every open dispute in your admin

Chargeback emails go to your store contact email, so first confirm that address under Settings > Store details. The Order dispute updates staff notification controls who else is emailed.

To see every dispute that hasn't been sent yet, go to Orders, click the search and filter button, click Add filter, choose Chargeback and inquiry status and select Open.

An open dispute can still take evidence. Submitted means the card company is reviewing it, and won or lost is the result. Resolved means it was settled automatically through a network dispute resolution program, with the customer reimbursed and no chance to respond.

The due date shows in your store's time zone. If no time is shown, the deadline is 11:59 PM on that date. After it passes, you can't add anything, with no exceptions.

Read the claim before you gather evidence

Open the order and check the chargeback details section for an issuer claim: when the card-issuing bank provides one, it explains why the shopper disputed the charge.

The dispute type tells you what the bank needs to see. Shopify lists these dispute reasons:

• Fraudulent: the cardholder says they didn't authorize the purchase.
• Unrecognized: the shopper doesn't recognise your name on their statement. Answer it like a fraud claim.
• Product not received: the order never arrived, or a digital product or service wasn't delivered.
• Product unacceptable: damaged, defective or different from your listing.
• Credit not processed: the shopper expected a refund that hasn't appeared.
• Duplicate: the shopper believes they were charged twice.
• Subscription canceled: charged after they thought they had canceled.
• General: amount, currency or processing disputes that fit nowhere else.

What evidence to add for each dispute type

With Shopify Payments, some evidence is added for you, including addresses, the IP address, tracking details, refunds and the customer's past orders. Your job is to add what only you have.

• Fraudulent: AVS and CVV results, any 3D Secure record, earlier orders from the same customer, delivery to the billing address, and messages where the shopper acknowledged the order.
• Product not received: carrier name, tracking number and delivered status, a delivery photo or signature, and proof it went to the address entered at checkout.
• Product unacceptable: your listing as it looked at the time of purchase, photos taken before shipping, the customer's messages and your offers to fix it, and your return policy.
• Credit not processed: the refund record, or your return policy and proof the item never came back.
• Duplicate: records showing separate orders, or proof a duplicate was refunded. If the shopper mistook an authorization hold for a charge, explain that holds aren't charges.
• Subscription canceled: the terms they accepted, your cancellation policy and renewal reminders.

Build and submit a response the bank can read

Banks handle many disputes, so lead with your strongest proof. Shopify recommends this order: direct proof (delivery confirmation, a refund record), then the customer's own acknowledgment, then the policy they agreed to, then supporting context such as order history.

To add evidence, go to Orders, open the disputed order and click Add evidence in the chargeback banner. Enter your explanation, upload files and click Save. Progress saves as you work. Follow the file rules in Shopify's chargeback admin guide:

• PDF, JPEG or PNG only, with PDFs that are PDF/A compliant and under 50 pages.
• Each file under 2 MB, and all files together under 4 MB.
• One file per type of evidence, so merge several screenshots into one.
• No audio, video, links to outside pages or requests to call you.

Use high-contrast, clearly labelled screenshots, because some banks still receive evidence by fax.

For card disputes, Shopify also writes a defense with AI and adds it by default. To leave it out, deselect Include Shopify-generated insights to strengthen case (recommended) in the form.

You can click Submit now, or let Shopify send the response on the due date. If you submit early, you can't edit it afterwards, so only do that when your file is complete. The card company can take up to 75 days to decide after you submit.

When to accept a chargeback instead

Some disputes are fair, such as a refund you promised and forgot. To accept, click Accept chargeback in the chargeback banner, or in the response form, then confirm. The customer keeps the disputed amount and you don't get the fee back.

If the shopper agrees the dispute was a mistake, only they can cancel it with their bank. Ask for an official withdrawal letter on bank letterhead with the case number, charge date and amount, your business name, and confirmation the chargeback is canceled, the funds were re-debited from their account and returned to you. A screenshot of their statement isn't enough. Submit the letter as evidence before the deadline. If you agreed to refund them, wait until the chargeback is resolved, then refund. See Shopify's guide to resolving a chargeback for the full requirements.

A worked example

Say you sell ceramic mugs and a gift order shipped during Black Friday week. In late December a chargeback arrives: product not received. This is a hypothetical case.

Before: you don't open it, and Shopify sends the automatic evidence on the due date, including addresses, the tracking number and the tracking PDF.

After: you read the issuer claim, which says the parcel never came. You add the carrier's delivered status at the shipping address, the shipping email, and a note that the gift went to a different address than billing, as the customer chose at checkout. You lead with the delivery proof.

Neither guarantees a win, but the second answers the actual claim.

Prevent the next one

Shopify's advice on preventing chargebacks comes down to a few habits:

• Make the charge recognisable. Go to Settings > Payments, click Manage under Shopify Payments, and in Customer billing statement set a statement name shoppers will recognise and a phone number. Shopify's setup guide lists the name rules.
• Review suspicious orders before you ship. Our guide to Shopify high risk orders covers the checks.
• Keep shoppers informed about shipping, and use tracking and delivery confirmation.
• Make policies and contact details easy to find, and refund quickly when you've agreed to. Our return policy guide helps here.

To watch your rate, go to Settings > Payments and review Chargeback monitoring, or search Analytics > Reports for Rolling 90-day chargeback rate (NDRP). Winning a dispute doesn't remove it from your rate, which counts disputes filed, not outcomes. A high rate can affect your Shopify Payments account.

Where Atomato fits

Shopify's prevention advice includes keeping shoppers informed about shipping and your policies. Atomato's NotiFeed adds a feed shoppers open from a bell in your header, where a message can carry your current holiday delivery estimate with a button link to your shipping policy or contact page. The free Starter plan includes one active NotiFeed campaign with one message. Atomato doesn't show on Shopify checkout or the thank-you page and doesn't send emails, so order updates still come from your Shopify notifications.

What this won't fix

• Missed deadlines. Once the due date passes, you can't add evidence.
• Weak fraud cases. If the real cardholder didn't order, evidence may not help.
• Edited orders. If you edited an order and it created a separate charge, each transaction can be disputed on its own.

Chargeback response checklist

1. Filter Orders by Chargeback and inquiry status: Open, and note each due date.
2. Read the issuer claim and the dispute type.
3. Check what Shopify added automatically.
4. Add the evidence that answers the claim, strongest first, labelled, within the file limits.
5. Decide on the AI-written defense, then submit, or let it send on the due date.
6. Accept fair disputes, and ask for a withdrawal letter when the shopper agrees to cancel.
7. Check your chargeback rate.

Common questions

How long do I have to respond to a chargeback on Shopify?

Usually 7 to 21 days after the chargeback is filed. The exact due date is on the order in your admin.

Can I refund an order that has a chargeback?

Not while the chargeback is open. The shopper has to cancel it with their bank first, and you submit their withdrawal letter as evidence, then wait for it to resolve before you refund.

Do I get the chargeback fee back if I win?

Usually. Shopify says a win returns the disputed amount and the fee in your next payout, though its overview notes fee refunds can depend on your country or region.

What happens if I don't respond to a chargeback?

On Shopify Payments, the automatic evidence is still sent on the due date. You lose the chance to add your own proof, which is often what answers the claim.

Next step

Filter your Orders list by Chargeback and inquiry status, put every open due date in your calendar, then check your customer billing statement name before holiday orders peak.

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