Payments · Info Products9 min readUpdated November 2, 2026

Chargebacks for Info Product Businesses: Thresholds, Prevention and Alerts Setup

Visa and Mastercard chargeback limits in 2026 for course and coaching sellers, the disputes that hit info products, and the access evidence that wins.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 11 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

Visa and Mastercard both flag merchants at 1.5% in 2026. For courses and coaching, most disputes come from the promise (a buyer who expected an income), from long programs the buyer stopped using, and from forgotten memberships or payment plans. Terms accepted at checkout, logged access to every lesson and call, and fast refunds prevent most and win the rest.

Visa flags US merchants at 1.5% and 1,500 fraud reports plus disputes a month; Mastercard at 1.5% and 100 chargebacks (Stripe Docs, read November 2, 2026).
Visa's 13.5 "Misrepresentation" dispute covers "business opportunities in which the Merchant suggests that an income will be generated" (October 24, 2026 rules).
For a digital goods fraud dispute, Visa accepts IP address, device ID, profile and proof of access on or after the purchase date, two or more of them.
A "not received" dispute can come 120 days after the last expected service date, up to 540 days after the sale.
Visa forbids requiring a buyer "to waive the right to dispute a Transaction".

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On this page

This guide is part of our hub on info product payment processing. The general guide, for any business: chargebacks for merchants.

The thresholds in 2026

Both networks start at 1.5%, but they count differently. Visa adds fraud reports to disputes; Mastercard divides this month's chargebacks by last month's sales1.

	Visa (VAMP)	Mastercard (ECM)	Mastercard (HECM)
Counted	Disputes plus fraud reports1	Chargebacks	Chargebacks
Divided by	Captured payments, same month1	Captured payments, previous month1	Same
"Excessive" level (US)	1.5% and 1,500 cases1 2	1.5% to 2.99% and 100 to 2991	3% and 300 or more1
Excluded	Disputes resolved by a pre-dispute tool1 2	Nothing: refunded or won still counts1	Same

Mastercard's fines grow the longer you stay above the line: $1,000 in months two and three, $5,000 from month four, up to $100,000 a month from month 19 at the ECM level1.

1.5%

Visa and Mastercard Excessive level for US merchants in 2026

1,500

Visa fraud reports plus disputes a month at the Excessive level

100

Mastercard chargebacks a month at the ECM level

$100,000

Mastercard ECM fine a month from month 19

Watch out

A won dispute still counts. Stripe says monitoring programs "don't consider dispute outcomes"1. A launch that brings 20 disputes on 1,000 sales puts you at 2%, even if you win every one.

Where info product disputes come from

What you sell	Typical dispute	Visa category	First fix
Course sold on an income promise	"It's not what was promised"	13.5 Misrepresentation3	Sell the skill; typical results only
High-ticket coaching program	"Not received", buyer stopped attending	13.1 Not received3	Session records, attendance logs
Self-paced course	"I didn't buy this", friendly fraud	10.4 Fraud, card absent3	Access logs, recognizable descriptor
Membership or community	Forgotten renewal, cancelled but billed	13.2 Cancelled recurring3	Renewal notices, online cancellation
Low-price entry offer that rolls into billing	"I wasn't told about more charges"	13.5, trial or one-off purchase3	Express consent, 7-day notice

Fig. 1Five info product disputes, and the record that answers each

Course sold on an income promise13.5 Misrepresentation: "It's not what was promised"Sell the skill, typical results only; show the terms weren't misrepresented.
High-ticket coaching program13.1 Not received: the buyer stopped attendingSession records and attendance logs.
Self-paced course10.4 Fraud, card absent: "I didn't buy this"Access logs with IP and device, a recognizable descriptor.
Membership or community13.2 Cancelled recurring: forgotten renewalRenewal notices and online cancellation.
Low-price entry offer that rolls into billing13.5: "I wasn't told about more charges"Express consent and a notice at least 7 days before the charge.

Each offer has its own dispute, and its own proof.

Visa Core Rules, October 24, 2026, tables 11-7 to 11-122.

Income promises: the 13.5 dispute

This is the dispute specific to your vertical. Visa lets the buyer dispute purchases of "business opportunities in which the Merchant suggests that an income will be generated or recommends that the Cardholder purchases additional items (for example: better sales leads) to generate more income"3. Visa adds that the condition "is based on the type of merchandise or services sold and not solely on the MCC"3.

It has limits that protect honest sellers3:

Not a quality complaint. A dispute "related solely to the quality of merchandise or services provided" is invalid under 13.5.
Capped amount. It's "limited to the unused portion of the cancelled service".
Contact first. The buyer must try to resolve it with you before the bank files. From October 23, 2027, the issuer must also give the date and contact details of that attempt.
Your defense. Prove "that the terms of sale were not misrepresented": the sales page, the terms accepted, what was delivered.

Stripe and the FTC target the same promises, so a 13.5 pattern rarely stays a dispute problem only. Rules on claims: info product merchant account compliance.

Proving delivery of a course

A course has no tracking number. Your evidence is access.

For a card-absent fraud dispute (10.4) on digital goods, Visa accepts "a description of the merchandise or services, the date merchandise or services were provided, and 2 or more of the following"3:

IP address
Device ID number
Purchaser's name and email linked to the customer profile you hold
Proof the buyer's profile was accessed and verified before the transaction date
Proof the buyer accessed your site or app for the goods "on or after the Transaction Date"
Proof the same device and card were used in an earlier undisputed transaction

PayPal uses the same logic for intangible goods: proof is "a system of record showing the date the item was sent" and that it was electronically sent, or "received or accessed by the recipient"8. PayPal excludes "Significantly Not as Described" claims from Seller Protection8.

Example

A buyer disputes a $997 course as fraud 60 days after purchase. You send the checkout record with IP and device, the accepted terms, and the access log: 14 logins from the same device, 22 lessons opened, the last one 9 days after purchase. That meets Visa's two-or-more requirement3.

Fig. 2The evidence file of a disputed course sale

Buyer · $997 courseDisputed as fraud (10.4), 60 days after purchase

Checkout: IP address and device recorded
Terms: Accepted at checkout, timestamped
Logins: 14, from the same device
Lessons opened: 22, the last one 9 days after purchase
Response: Meets Visa's two-or-more requirement

Illustrative record.

Two or more of these, plus the date of access, meet Visa's rule.

Illustrative example.

Keep for every buyer: account creation (date, IP, device), each login, lessons opened and downloads, coaching calls attended, and the timestamped acceptance of your terms and refund policy.

Long programs, plans and memberships

Long programs stay exposed longer. A "not received" dispute can be filed up to 120 days after "the last date that the Cardholder expected to receive the merchandise or services", capped at 540 days after the transaction3. A 12-month coaching program paid upfront can be disputed well over a year later. Keep session records until then.

Fig. 3How long a 12-month coaching program stays disputable

SaleProgram paid upfront
Sessions12 months of calls, logged
Last expected sessionThe 120-day window opens
Up to 120 days later"Not received" can still be filed
540 days after the saleHard cap

The clock starts at the last expected session, not at the sale.

Visa Core Rules, October 24, 2026, 13.1 Not received.

Entry offers and one-off purchases. If a low-price offer or a one-time purchase leads to more charges, 13.5 applies when the buyer "was not clearly advised of further Transactions"3. Your defense must prove the buyer "expressly agreed to future Transactions" and that you notified them "at least 7 days before the Transaction Date"3.

Payment plans. Visa requires the agreement (total price, schedule, cancellation and refund policy) to be shown "separately from the general purchase terms and conditions" before storing the card4. That separate acceptance is your best evidence when a student disputes installment three.

Trial rules in detail: trial offers for info product businesses.

Respond or refund?

Fight only the cases your records answer. Once a dispute is open, you can't refund outside it: you accept or respond5.

Situation	Best move	Why
Alert received before a dispute	Refund	Excluded from Visa's count1 2
10.4 fraud, with IP, device and access logs	Respond	Meets Visa's digital goods evidence3
13.5, your sales page made no income claim and terms were accepted	Respond	Show the terms weren't misrepresented3
13.5, your page did promise income	Accept, rewrite the page	You'd lose, and the pattern matters more
13.1 on a coaching program, sessions attended and logged	Respond	Proof the service was provided
Renewal after a cancellation you can't disprove	Accept, fix the flow	You'd lose, and pay the fee twice

Alerts: the step before the chargeback

Alerts warn you that a buyer is disputing before it becomes a chargeback, so you can refund first. Disputes resolved through Verifi RDR or Ethoca Alerts don't count in your dispute rate at Stripe6, and Visa leaves pre-dispute resolutions out of its VAMP ratio2.

For info products, auto-refund alerts on low-ticket courses and memberships. Send alerts on high-ticket coaching to a manual review: the buyer may have attended every session. Setup and costs: chargeback alerts for info product businesses.

What never to do

Don't ask buyers to waive their dispute rights
Visa: "A Merchant must not require a Cardholder to waive the right to dispute a Transaction"4. Use a refund policy accepted with a checkbox instead.
Don't spread volume across accounts
To stay under a threshold. Stripe lists evading card network monitoring programs among prohibited uses7.
Don't promise income
In ads, webinars or sales pages: it's a 13.5 dispute reason3 before it's an FTC issue.
Don't recharge a disputed payment
Or a cancelled plan.

Stolen cards on first purchases are a separate fight: fraud prevention and 3D Secure for info product businesses.

How Tagada helps

Fewer disputes, from sales page to last lesson

"If you sell something real, we will get you paid." TagadaPay lists "Info products", "Coaching" and "Online courses" among its industries, with "enhanced review for regulated verticals"11. "Live in 24h. You own your vault."11

"Native 3DS2, device intelligence, and rules engine: approve real customers, block the rest."11
Block rules by IP, email, BIN, card, customer or payment, temporary or permanent, for buyers who dispute after using the course9.
A customer portal where members skip, pause, change frequency or cancel, with retention offers by cancellation reason10. Fewer members call their bank to stop a charge.
Subscriptions with trials, billing cycles, retries and automatic recovery.
No lock-in: "Switch processors without re-onboarding customers."11
"24/7 human support on Slack Connect"11.

Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments.

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Fewer disputes, from sales page to last lesson

Updated on November 2, 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

Can a customer file a chargeback after completing my online course?

Yes, but you can win it. Under Visa's fraud rules, proof that the buyer accessed your course after the purchase date, with IP, device or profile data, is accepted evidence. A misrepresentation dispute only about quality is invalid. What loses is a sales page that promised an income.

What chargeback ratio is too high for a course business?

Stay well below 1.5%. In 2026, Visa flags US merchants at 1.5% and 1,500 fraud reports plus disputes a month, and Mastercard at 1.5% and 100 chargebacks. Your processor may act earlier with a reserve or a review, so treat 1% as your warning line.

Can I make coaching clients sign a no-chargeback agreement?

No. Visa rules state that a merchant "must not require a Cardholder to waive the right to dispute a Transaction". Have buyers accept your refund and cancellation policy with a checkbox before payment, and keep a timestamped record. That acceptance is evidence when you respond.

How long after buying can a student dispute a coaching program?

For "not received", up to 120 days after the last date the buyer expected the service, with a cap of 540 days after the transaction. For misrepresentation, 120 days from the transaction or from when the service was received, also capped at 540 days. Keep session records that long.

Do refunds count toward my chargeback ratio?

A refund issued before any dispute keeps the case out. Once the dispute is filed, it counts, even if you win. Disputes resolved through RDR or Ethoca before they become chargebacks don't count at Stripe, and Visa excludes pre-dispute resolutions from VAMP.