If a chargeback has been filed against your business, you will be contacted by our Lightspeed Payments team, who will guide you through the process. 

How is a chargeback filed?

To help you understand the typical chargeback process, let's start by recognizing and explaining  the key players:

• Cardholder: The owner of the credit card (your customer).
• Merchant: The owner of the business that processed the credit card (you).
• Issuer: The bank that issued the credit card to the cardholder (your customer).
• Acquirer: The bank that acquires payments for the merchant (you).
• Credit card network: The credit card brands (Visa, Master, Amex, Discover) that determine the guidelines of their chargeback process.
• Lightspeed Payments team: The Lightspeed Support agents responsible for facilitating chargeback communications between the merchant and the acquirer.

Understanding the typical chargeback process

Now that you know the key players, let's break down the steps in a typical chargeback process. We use the term typical chargeback process because the process can vary depending on the banks involved. In any case, you can lean on our Lightspeed Payments team to guide you through the process.

1. The cardholder files a dispute regarding the charge with their issuer. 
2. The cardholder’s issuer opens a chargeback case with your acquirer.
3. The acquirer automatically debits you, the merchant, for the disputed amount plus a chargeback fee. The funds are set aside to be awarded to the winner of the chargeback case. The chargeback fee is non-refundable.
4. The acquirer communicates the chargeback to our Lightspeed Payments team.
5. The Lightspeed Payments team will reach out via email to you, the merchant, to advise you of the chargeback and next steps.
6. You may choose to accept or dispute the chargeback. If you accept the chargeback, the cardholder is refunded the disputed amount and the case is closed. If you choose to dispute the chargeback, you will work in conjunction with our team to supply evidence that the funds should not be awarded to the cardholder.
7. The Lightspeed Payments team communicates your response to the acquirer and shares any evidence gathered.
8. The acquirer communicates your response to the issuer and shares any evidence gathered.
9. The issuer reviews the chargeback dispute and all supplied evidence to determine whether the cardholder or merchant has won the chargeback dispute. If you, the merchant, have won the dispute, you will be refunded for the disputed amount. If the issuer rules in favor of the cardholder, you will not be refunded for the disputed amount.

This overview of the chargeback process is provided for your information, but rest assured that the Lightspeed Payments Team will be with you every step of the way for any chargebacks you incur. Please don't hesitate to contact them should you have any questions.

Disputing a chargeback

When faced with a chargeback, you have options. We advise resolving disputes directly with your customer whenever possible. If an agreement is reached, written evidence (such as an email) of the resolution is required as evidence for closing the case. 

If direct resolution isn't possible, disputing the chargeback is an option. You must provide evidence supporting the transaction's legitimacy. If the evidence proves the legitimacy of the charge, the chargeback will be overturned, and funds will be returned to you. 

The type of evidence required will vary depending on the reason the chargeback was filed. Our Lightspeed Payments team will guide you on what evidence will best support your case, depending on the reason for the chargeback. Chargebacks typically fall into these categories:

• Authorization: A transaction was completed without proper authorization. In these cases, an authorization may not have been obtained, or an authorization request received a Decline or Pickup response and the transaction was completed anyway.
• Consumer Dispute: The cardholder disputes the charge due to service/product issues. These may include failed delivery of services or a defective product received.
• Fraud: The transaction was fraudulent. These may include cases of credit card theft or stolen identity.
• Processing errors: Disputes in this category include duplicate or incorrect charges.

The Lightspeed Payments support team will guide you with recommendations on what kind of evidence to supply for your circumstances, but some common examples include:

• Transaction details such as the payment amount, entry method, the cardholder's name, or the time and date of the transaction. These details can usually be found in your Lightspeed Payments reporting.
• Proof that the transaction in dispute has already been refunded.
• Proof that your policies and terms and conditions were conveyed to the customer or are listed clearly on the customer’s receipt.

Any evidence you gather to dispute the chargeback must be submitted by the given deadline or you will automatically forfeit the dispute. You must supply your evidence to the Lightspeed Payments support team, who will submit the evidence to the appropriate parties on your behalf.

If the chargeback is successfully overturned, the funds under dispute will be returned to you and the chargeback will not be counted against your chargeback rate.

Accepting a chargeback

If you possess strong evidence supporting the legitimacy of the charge, disputing a chargeback is advisable. However, you may encounter situations where contesting a chargeback proves challenging, or when the disputed amount doesn't justify the time and effort needed to fight the chargeback.

In these situations, you can choose to accept the chargeback and absorb the cost of the disputed funds. If you choose to forfeit the funds, simply notify the Lightspeed Payments support agent that you would prefer not to contest the chargeback, and they will convey your decision to the relevant parties. The funds will be awarded to the cardholder, and the case will be ruled in their favor.