Chargebacks & fraud8 min readUpdated October 14, 2026

How Long Does a Chargeback Take?

A chargeback usually takes 2 to 3 months from filing to decision. Each stage, the deadlines at Stripe and Shopify, and the customer's side of the clock.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 4 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

Usually 2 to 3 months from the day the chargeback is filed to the bank's final decision. Customers can usually dispute up to 120 days after the payment. You then have about 7 to 21 days to respond, and the bank takes about 60 to 75 days to decide.

Up to 120 days for the customer to dispute, counted from the payment or, for future events, from the event date.
7 to 21 days for you to respond, depending on the card network. Your processor shows the exact deadline.
60 to 75 days for the bank to decide once you've responded.
The disputed amount stays held the whole time, and the only way to end it faster is to accept the chargeback.
In the US, the law gives card issuers up to 90 days to resolve a billing-error complaint.

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On this page

Usually 2 to 3 months, from the day the chargeback is filed to the bank's final decision. Before that, the customer had up to 120 days to file it. Here is what happens at each stage, the deadline that matters for you, and what the timeline looks like from the customer's side.

The chargeback timeline, stage by stage

Fig. 1From payment to final decision

PaymentDay 0
Dispute filedUsually up to day 120
Your response7 to 21 days after filing
Bank reviews60 to 75 days
DecisionFinal for both sides

the bank's clock, not yours

Source: Stripe Docs, How disputes work. Typical windows; they vary by card network.

Stage	Who acts	Typical time
Customer disputes the payment	The customer, with their bank	Up to 120 days after the payment
Funds taken and you're notified	Your processor	The day it's filed
You respond with evidence	You	7 to 21 days
The bank reviews	The customer's bank	60 to 75 days
Final decision	The customer's bank	2 to 3 months after filing, in total

Verdict

The deadline you can't miss is your response: a week or two. Everything after that is waiting.

Before the chargeback: inquiries and fraud warnings

Not every dispute starts as a chargeback. Two earlier signals have their own clocks.1

Bank inquiry
The bank asks you about a charge before filing a chargeback. Mostly American Express and Discover; Visa and Mastercard no longer use this stage. A full refund closes it with no dispute fee. At Stripe, an inquiry left open for 120 days without becoming a chargeback is closed.
Early fraud warning
The issuer flags a payment as likely fraud. It's not a dispute, and there's no deadline to answer. Stripe says about 40% of Visa and Mastercard warnings become fraud disputes if the payment isn't refunded.

Deadlines at Stripe and Shopify

Your processor's deadline is shorter than the card network's, because it needs time to forward your response to the bank. It's the one to follow.

Stripe
Usually 7 to 21 days to respond, depending on the network. If you don't respond in time, you lose the dispute automatically. The bank then takes up to about 3 months, and Stripe emails you the decision.
Shopify Payments
Respond before the deadline Shopify gives with the chargeback. After you respond, the bank's review can take up to 75 days.

Don't wait for the deadline

At Stripe you get one submission, and you can't add anything after it.3 Submit as soon as the evidence is complete, not on the last day. Build the file with our chargeback rebuttal letter template.

The customer's side of the timeline

Card network rules aren't the only clock. In the US, the law gives cardholders and card issuers their own deadlines for billing errors.4

60 days to complain. The cardholder's letter must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first bill showing the error was sent.
30 days to acknowledge. The issuer must acknowledge the complaint in writing within 30 days, unless it's already resolved.
90 days to resolve. The issuer must resolve the dispute within 90 days of receiving it.

Source: US Federal Trade Commission. These rules cover billing errors on credit cards; card network rules on chargebacks run alongside them.

For disputes about the quality of goods, the FTC lists conditions instead of a deadline, including a purchase above $5 and a first attempt to resolve it with the seller. That last condition is why a support inbox that answers fast prevents so many chargebacks.

What makes a chargeback take longer

The purchase was for a future eventThe 120 days start on the event date, not the payment dateKeep evidence until well after the event
The customer disputes several paymentsThe bank can group them into one dispute, or file new onesCheck each dispute's amount and reason before responding
The bank refiles with new informationA second dispute on the same payment, with its own deadlineRespond to each one separately
A compliance case under network rulesThe network itself decides if the parties don't agreeAt Stripe, contesting costs a $500 network fee, returned if you win

Stripe doesn't support the arbitration phase for ordinary disputes: the bank's decision is final.1 Rarely, an issuer corrects a decision outside the normal process, and Stripe records a "late win" with the funds returned.1

What makes it shorter

There's only one way: accept the chargeback. You can do it from your processor's dashboard. The case closes at once, the customer keeps the money, and the chargeback still counts in your dispute rate.

The faster route is to avoid the chargeback in the first place: a refund before the customer calls the bank closes the matter in days. See chargeback vs refund for when to refund, and chargeback fees for what a lost case costs.

How Tagada helps

Payments that follow the card network rules

Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments. TagadaPay runs native 3DS2, device intelligence and a rules engine, and payments route across Stripe, Adyen and TagadaPay with one logic. See pricing for plans.

Updated on October 14, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a chargeback take?

Usually 2 to 3 months from filing to the bank's final decision. You get about 7 to 21 days to respond, then the bank takes about 60 to 75 days to decide. Escalations add more time, but they are rare.

How long does a customer have to file a chargeback?

Usually 120 days from the payment under card network rules. For goods or services paid in advance, such as tickets, travel or appointments, the window usually starts on the event date instead. In the US, the law separately gives cardholders 60 days from the first statement showing a billing error to complain in writing.

How long do I have to respond to a chargeback?

Usually 7 to 21 days at Stripe, depending on the card network. Your processor shows the exact deadline on each dispute, and it's shorter than the network's own limit because the processor needs time to send your response. Miss it and you lose the dispute.

Does the money stay held during a chargeback?

Yes. The disputed amount is taken from your balance when the chargeback is filed and held until the bank decides. If you win, it comes back. If you lose, it goes to the customer.

Can I speed up a chargeback?

Only by accepting it. Submitting evidence early doesn't make the bank decide faster. Accepting closes the case right away, but the customer keeps the money and the chargeback counts in your dispute rate.

Can a lost chargeback be reversed later?

Rarely. The decision is final for both sides, though the customer can still withdraw a dispute after a loss. Stripe also reports rare late wins, when an issuer corrects a decision outside the normal process and the funds come back.