Chargeback

Also called dispute, payment dispute

A forced reversal of a card payment, started by the player's bank when the cardholder disputes a charge, which takes the money back from the merchant and usually adds a fee.

A refund is the studio’s decision. A chargeback is the bank’s. The player tells their issuer a charge was unauthorized or the item never arrived, the issuer pulls the money back through the acquirer, and the merchant can contest it with evidence.

Every chargeback costs more than the sale. Published fees, as of September 2026: Stripe US charges $15 when a dispute arrives and another $15 if you contest it, returned only if you win. Paddle charges $20 and keeps it even when you win. Xsolla charges $10–20 per transaction “regardless of the result”. The process is slow as well. FastSpring says it “can take 60–75 days” (FastSpring).

The bigger risk is the count. Card networks watch each merchant’s dispute ratio, and Visa’s VAMP threshold fell to 1.5% in April 2026. With a PSP, every dispute lands on the studio’s own merchant account. With a merchant of record, it lands on the MoR’s. See chargebacks and fraud.