What are the stages of a card dispute?
A card dispute has up to four stages. First, the issuer files the dispute with a reason code and the merchant is debited. Second, the merchant responds with evidence, a step called representment. Third, issuer and acquirer can exchange again in pre-arbitration. Fourth, the card network rules in arbitration. Most disputes end at the first or second stage.
In detail
A card dispute follows a fixed path set by the card network. Each stage has a deadline, and missing it ends the case.
The four stages
- Dispute (chargeback). The cardholder complains to the issuer. The issuer files the dispute with a reason code. The amount is taken back from the acquirer, then from the merchant.
- Representment. The merchant contests through its acquirer and sends evidence. Visa calls this a dispute response, Mastercard a second presentment.
- Pre-arbitration. If the issuer rejects the response, or new information appears, the parties exchange once more.
- Arbitration. One party asks the network to decide. The loser pays the amount and the filing fees.
What happens before and after
A pre-dispute phase can come first: the issuer’s inquiry is answered or refunded before any dispute is filed. After the final stage, there is no appeal within the network.
In Visa’s allocation workflow, used for fraud and authorization disputes, liability is assigned from transaction data at the start, and the merchant’s first answer is already a pre-arbitration.
See the card dispute lifecycle for the full comparison between networks and chargeback for the first stage. Operators follow open cases and deadlines in platform supervision tools.