Every chargeback on Shopify Payments arrives with a reason attached, and the reason decides what evidence is worth sending. This guide covers the reasons Shopify's help center lists, what each one means, and what Shopify recommends you submit.
Where the reason comes from
When a customer disputes a charge with their bank, the bank files the dispute under a reason. Shopify shows that reason on the chargeback, and its help center groups them into eight categories. Read the reason before you write anything, because a strong answer to the wrong question does not help you.
- Who decides: The cardholder's bank, not Shopify
- Time to respond: Usually 7 to 21 days, shown as a due date on the chargeback
- Shopify's advice: Contact the customer first, whatever the reason
The fraud reasons
Two reasons are about whether the cardholder made the purchase at all. Shopify recommends the same evidence for both.
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Fraudulent | The cardholder says they did not authorize the charge |
| Unrecognized | The customer does not recognize the merchant name or location on their statement |
- Evidence: Fulfillment date and time, the customer's billing information, the IP address and country used for the order, and shipping and tracking information
The product reasons
These reasons accept that the customer bought something. The dispute is about what happened afterwards.
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Product not received | The customer believes they did not receive what they paid for |
| Product unacceptable | The product arrived but was defective, damaged or not as described |
- Not received: Fulfillment date and time, billing information, and shipping and tracking information. For digital products, an activity log.
- Unacceptable: The same, plus descriptions or pictures showing the product matched your store listing. Say so if the customer never tried to return it, or if you sent a replacement.
The billing reasons
These are about the charge itself. For two of them, Shopify says to accept the chargeback if the customer is right.
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Duplicate | The customer believes they were charged twice for the same thing |
| Subscription canceled | The customer believes they were charged after a subscription should have been canceled |
| Credit not processed | The customer says they returned the product or canceled, and no refund arrived |
- Duplicate: An explanation of the two charges and receipts showing they were for different products or services
- Subscription canceled: Your cancellation policy, and when and where the customer was told about it
- Credit not processed: Your refund and return policies, and why the customer was not entitled to a refund
General
General is used when the chargeback does not fit any other category. Shopify suggests a broad set of evidence here: product details, fulfillment date and time, billing information, IP address and country, your communications with the customer, shipping or tracking confirmations, and proof of any earlier refund or replacement.
For how to submit a response and what happens after, see how to respond to a chargeback on Shopify. The full list of reasons is on Shopify's chargeback reasons page.
Doing this at scale
Fraudulent and unrecognized chargebacks are easier to answer when you recorded why you shipped the order. RiskClarity reviews each paid order, explains the risk in plain English with the fraud signals behind it, and logs every decision in an audit log you can export for chargeback disputes. See RiskClarity.