Are A2A payments covered by chargebacks?

Not by card chargebacks. The payer authorizes the transfer in their banking app, so card scheme dispute rules do not apply. Consumer protection depends on the rules of each method, and refunds are sent as new transfers that the operator's platform has to track and reconcile.

No card, no chargeback

Chargebacks are a card scheme mechanism. An account-to-account payment is a bank transfer the payer authorizes in their own banking app, so card dispute rules do not apply. There is no reason code, no representment and no arbitration. That is a feature for merchants and a change of protection for customers.

What protects the customer instead

• The rules of each method: some schemes offer buyer protection or dispute processes, most do not.
• Payment services law, for unauthorized or incorrectly executed transfers.
• The merchant's own refund policy, which becomes the main recourse.

What the operator must handle

Refunds. With cards, a refund reverses the original transaction and is linked to it automatically. With A2A, a refund is a new transfer in the other direction, which the platform must initiate, link to the original payment and reconcile. Verification of Payee applies to that outgoing transfer. Operators adding A2A methods should make sure refunds are as simple for merchants as card refunds, and that reporting shows the refund against its original payment, or merchants will handle them by hand and reconciliation will drift.