Dispute management is the process of handling payment disputes that occur when customers contest charges with their payment service provider (PSP) or bank. Understanding dispute management helps merchants respond effectively to customer challenges while protecting their business interests and maintaining compliance with payment processor requirements.
Effective dispute management involves monitoring dispute lifecycles, evaluating each case on its merits, and taking appropriate action in required timeframes. This process helps merchants maintain positive customer relationships while minimizing financial losses and protecting their reputation with payment processors.
Customers initiate a dispute as the first step in contesting a payment. When a customer creates a dispute, the merchant receives notification through the Dispute Created event, allowing them to track and respond to the challenge appropriately.
When merchants believe a dispute lacks merit, they can defend it by submitting evidence to support their position. The PSP or bank reviews the evidence and makes a decision based on the documentation provided.
You can upload evidence to a dispute using the Dispute Evidence Documents API. Calling Defend Dispute submits the evidence to the PSP or bank for review. Once submitted, evidence documents become completely immutable to maintain the integrity of the dispute process.
Another party, such as the PSP or bank, often updates a dispute status based on their review process or additional information received. Subscribe to the Dispute Updated event to receive notifications when these updates occur.
Merchants can resolve disputes by accepting them. Payment service providers (PSPs) and banks can resolve disputes by accepting or rejecting them after reviewing defended cases.
When a dispute resolves in favor of the customer (accepted), it's considered "lost" from the merchant's perspective. When a dispute resolves in favor of the merchant, it's considered "won".
Note: When you accept a dispute, Wix processes the refund automatically.
When merchants determine a dispute has merit, they can accept liability by calling Accept Dispute. This action resolves the dispute in favor of the customer and acknowledges the merchant's responsibility for the issue.
After dispute resolution, merchants can retrieve dispute history records using the Dispute History Records API. Maintaining dispute history records helps merchants track patterns, improve processes, and meet audit requirements.