Overview

A dispute arises when a customer disagrees with a transaction and raises it with either their bank or Cashfree Payments. Customers may also report fraudulent transactions to cybercells, and banks often initiate disputes over suspicious transactions directly. We will notify you over email whenever a new dispute is created, changes state or there is a new update from Cashfree.

Get real time notification for a dispute raised by a customer by configuring your email on the dashboard Payment Gateway Dashboard > Settings > Email Notifications > Dispute Emails

Chargeback Types

State	Description	Response Time	Resolution Time
Dispute	Initial complaints from customers or fraud alerts from banks/authorities	3 days (1 day for fraud cases)	• Customer complaints: 5-7 business days • Fraud cases: Up to several months • Wallet/Netbanking: ~30 days
Retrieval	Preliminary query raised by customer with their bank	3 days	• If contested: 30-45 days waiting period • If accepted: ~10 days
Chargeback	Customer formally disputes transaction after retrieval	3 days	• Cards: 30-45 days • UPI: 15-20 days
Pre-arbitration	Second level dispute if customer disagrees with evidence	2 days	• Cards: 30-45 days • UPI: 15-20 days
Arbitration	Final stage where card networks/NPCI makes decision	1 day	~15 days for final verdict

• Your customer can raise a pre-arbitration or an arbitration even for a dispute that is Closed (Merchant Won).
• Response Time: Maximum days allowed to respond to the dispute
• Resolution Time: Typical time taken to reach a final decision
• Arbitration involves additional fees for the losing party
• Timelines may vary based on payment method and case complexity

Chargeback Process States

Manage Chargebacks

Learn in detail about the various scenarios involved in disputes.

Scenario 1: You accept the dispute

If you accept a dispute and agree that it was a valid dispute raised by the customer, the amount will be refunded back to the customer’s account. This is sometimes the most appropriate option.

Scenario 2: You contests the dispute

Keep the following points in mind before you decide to contest the dispute:

Have the complete set of documents available with you before you upload the documents. Click here to learn more about the documents that are necessary during the upload process. All the documents are reviewed by the issuing bank, so ensure you upload valid documents. It is not necessary that you contest every dispute. As in some cases like pre-arbitration and arbitration, there is a high penalty involved. The entire dispute may take around 3 months time to conclude. If you don’t provide any response you will lose the dispute and your customer will be refunded.

Webhooks

You can subscribe to the following asynchronous webhook events for disputes. Read more here.

• DISPUTE_CREATED
• DISPUTE_UPDATED
• DISPUTE_CLOSED