Managing chargebacks on the Financial services page is available to merchants with Lightspeed Payments and users with access to Lightspeed Payments in the account.

Whether it's due to a misunderstanding, customer error, or a potential case of fraud, understanding chargebacks and knowing how to manage them is critical to protecting your business.

If a chargeback has been filed against your business, you'll receive an email alert from the Lightspeed Payments team with details and deadline information. You can navigate to the Financial services page in Retail POS to accept or dispute the chargeback.

Keeping your contact information updated in Retail POS and checking your email regularly is essential, as chargeback alerts will be sent to the email address on file.

Navigating the chargeback process

A chargeback process typically involves the following steps:

1. Customer files a dispute regarding the charge with their bank and the bank opens a chargeback with the merchant’s bank.
2. Merchant’s bank debits their account for the disputed amount and the non-refundable chargeback fee. Disputed funds are set aside to be awarded to the winner of the dispute.

3. Merchant’s bank notifies the Lightspeed Payments team of the chargeback and the team emails the merchant to notify them of the chargeback.

   

4. Merchant decides to accept or challenge the chargeback:

   • Accept: Customer is refunded the disputed amount and the case is closed.
   • Challenge: Merchant supplies evidence through the Financial services > Disputes tab in Retail POS to prove the charge is legitimate and the chargeback unjustified.

   If you choose to challenge a chargeback, evidence must be submitted by the given deadline or you will automatically forfeit the dispute.

5. Lightspeed Payments team shares the response and evidence with the merchant’s bank.
6. Merchant’s bank shares the response and evidence with the customer’s bank.
7. Merchant’s bank reviews the chargeback dispute and all supplied evidence to determine whether the customer or merchant won the dispute. Funds are awarded to whoever wins the dispute.

Receiving and managing chargebacks

You will be notified of any chargebacks filed against you by email and on the Financial services page in Retail POS. You can also view the status of past and current chargebacks on the Disputes tab.

1. Log in to Retail POS with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. Navigate to Financial Services.

3. Click the Disputes tab or View disputes in the notification on the Overview page.

   

Once a chargeback has been filed, you cannot issue a refund directly.

Viewing dispute details

From the Disputes tab, you can view the status of all current and past chargeback disputes, including the response deadline, current status, reason for the dispute, and total amount of the dispute.

You can search for specific transactions by filtering by status, organizing by date, or by searching for a transaction.

To view the chargeback amount, fee, response deadline, and other details of a specific dispute, click the Response deadline date (blue hyperlink) to open the Dispute details page. You can also accept or challenge the dispute from this page.

Challenging a chargeback

If the transaction is legitimate, you can challenge the chargeback. You must provide evidence supporting the transaction's legitimacy, like:

• Transaction details such as the payment amount, entry method, the cardholder's name, or the time and date of the transaction.
• Proof the transaction in dispute has already been refunded.
• Proof your policies and terms and conditions were conveyed to the customer or are listed clearly on the customer’s receipt.

To challenge a chargeback:

1. Navigate to the Financial services page > Disputes tab in Retail POS.

   

   You can also open the chargeback alert email from the Lightspeed Payments team and click Respond to dispute to access chargeback information on the Financial services page in Retail POS.

   Always verify information in an email, like the sender address, details in the email, links, and landing page URL addresses before entering information like login details.

2. Locate the dispute and click its Response deadline date (blue hyperlink) to view the dispute details.

3. Click Challenge dispute.

   

4. In the Challenge reason box, explain why you believe the dispute is invalid. In the Upload evidence section, drag and drop or select any relevant evidence you have and use the dropdowns to update the evidence type as needed.

   

   Details cannot be added or changed once submitted, so make sure you include all relevant details before finalizing your submission. Evidence must be submitted by the given deadline or you will automatically forfeit the dispute.

5. When all supporting documents have been uploaded, click Submit evidence. The evidence will be submitted to the appropriate parties on your behalf.

   Banks may take up to 3 months to review and return a decision on the dispute.

If the evidence proves the legitimacy of the charge, the chargeback will be overturned and funds will be returned to you. You’ll receive another email from Lightspeed with the details.

Resolving a chargeback with your customer

In the event you’ve been in contact with your customer and they’ve agreed to cancel the chargeback through their bank, it’s recommended to:

1. Request they provide a withdrawal letter from their credit card company confirming cancellation.
2. Follow the steps above to challenge the chargeback through the Financial services > Disputes tab in Retail POS.
3. Submit the withdrawal intent as evidence, including the withdrawal letter if possible.

If a dispute is successfully withdrawn or the transaction determined legitimate, the chargeback will be marked as Won in the Disputes tab in Retail POS.

Accepting a chargeback

Accepting a chargeback may sometimes be the best course of action, especially if the case is justified or the effort to dispute outweighs the return.

To accept a chargeback:

1. Navigate to the Financial services page > Disputes tab in Retail POS.

   

   You can also open the chargeback alert email from the Lightspeed Payments team and click Respond to dispute to access chargeback information on the Financial services page in Retail POS.

   Always verify information in an email, like the sender address, details in the email, links, and landing page URL addresses before entering information like login details.

2. Locate the dispute and click its Response deadline date (blue hyperlink) to view the dispute details.

3. Click Accept dispute.

   

Checking on the status of a dispute

To view the status of an active dispute, navigate to the Financial services > Disputes tab in Retail POS. You can also view the status of closed disputes from this page.

For more details on an active or closed dispute, click the Response deadline date (blue hyperlink) to open the Dispute details page.

Examples of chargeback situations

Chargebacks can happen for a variety of reasons. Here are a few example situations:

Challenging a chargeback: Mara receives a reminder email a few days before the renewal date of their monthly subscription delivery. The renewal is processed and the delivery is shipped. Mara hasn’t received shipping confirmation, so they decide to cancel the subscription. When Mara sees the charge, they contact their bank to file a chargeback. You successfully dispute the chargeback with evidence of the renewal reminder and proof the subscription wasn’t canceled before the deadline.

Resolving a chargeback with a customer: Steve orders products from your business but doesn’t recognize your legal business name, 12345 Canada Inc, on their credit card statement. Steve initiates a chargeback, thinking the transaction was fraudulent. You contact Steve to clarify the charge and provide details of the purchase, like the date, amount, and items purchased. Reassured that the charge was legitimate, Steve contacts his bank to cancel the chargeback and sends you the withdrawal letter from their bank. You challenge the chargeback in Retail POS and submit the withdrawal letter as evidence.

Accepting a chargeback: Cindy purchases items from your business. When looking at their credit card statement, they notice their card was charged twice for the same transaction. They contact their bank to initiate a chargeback for the second charge. When you consult your records, you realize Cindy was charged twice for the same purchase, so you accept the chargeback.

What's next?