Overview:

A Chargeback is a card payment that has been processed and subsequently disputed by the cardholder. Regulation E of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act includes consumer protections for unauthorized activity, including the ability to dispute a transaction with their bank for up to 120 days after the original payment is completed. Chargebacks help protect the consumer, when a bad actor steals their debit card information. When building a product that includes debit card capabilities, Chargebacks can be a source of frustration, typically representing fraudulent activity from a bad actor.

Chargeback Dispute Process

Astra has advanced security controls that significantly reduce fraud by 100x better than legacy vendors. Even for the most sophisticated programs, Chargebacks will happen. In the event a chargeback is raised, we manage the entire process for you and communicate all of the updates surrounding the dispute. 

When a Chargeback occurs, Astra will receive a notification from the card networks. Astra then automatically suspends the User who made the transfer that resulted in a chargeback and submits documentation to dispute said chargeback. 

Astra programmatically relays to your team that a Chargeback has occurred via Chargeback Webhooks and that the User has been suspended via the User Webhooks. We highly recommend that you subscribe to Astra’s Webhooks. We also recommend that you freeze the User’s card in your system or at least the matching balance, just so the User doesn’t spend any additional funds, more than the chargeback amount. 

Astra’s win dispute rate for chargebacks is best-in-class. However, In the rare event we aren't able to dispute the chargeback, we'll submit an invoice for the lost balance on a biweekly basis.

Managing Chargebacks

If your Business has any Chargebacks via Astra’s services, you can leverage your Astra Dashboard to view them all in one place via the Chargeback table. Selecting a Chargeback in this list will bring you to a Transfer Detail page. From this page, you’ll be able to view the history and life cycle of the Chargeback, such as when the Chargeback occurred, when documentation to dispute it was submitted, when documentation was received by the Bank, and all other events. 

From the Chargeback table, you can filter Chargebacks by their dispute_status: 

Not Disputed: 

• The chargeback has not yet been disputed by Astra.

Open:

• The chargeback is currently being disputed by Astra.

Won:

• The chargeback dispute has been won by Astra.

Lost:

• The chargeback dispute has been lost by Astra.

Documentation References: 

• Chargeback Webhooks

• User Webhooks

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who is liable for a Chargeback if it isn’t successfully disputed? 

As stated in your contract with Astra, your business is liable for all Chargebacks that cannot be successfully disputed. 

This User was suspended for a Chargeback. Can we get them back into good standing? 

If a User is suspended due to a Chargeback, they’ll be permanently banned from using our services, unless they correct the Chargeback with their bank, provide documentation from their bank that the Chargeback dispute was removed, and Astra is credited the funds.