Managing Chargebacks with Maxio Payments

Manage chargebacks in Maxio Payments by reviewing dispute details, choosing whether to accept or defend the dispute, and submitting evidence before the response deadline. Use dispute statuses, notifications, and reconciliation details to track outcomes and keep your payment records accurate.

What happens when you receive a chargeback

In most cases, cardholders have between 120 and 180 days from the transaction date to file a dispute. When a chargeback occurs, the issuing bank requests additional information from the cardholder to validate the claim, then passes the dispute reason back to you, the merchant, reflected in your Maxio Payments dashboard.

Once received, the disputed amount is temporarily deducted from your daily deposits until the case is resolved.

How Maxio Payments simplifies chargeback management

Maxio Payments gives you visibility, context, and reconciliation tools throughout the dispute lifecycle.

Centralized dispute visibility

Track every dispute from one place:

• See all dispute statuses at a glance: Needs Response, In Review, Won, Lost
• Smart filtering and search by transaction ID, customer name, or reason
• Time-sensitive alerts and countdown timers so you never miss a response deadline

Deep transaction intelligence

Each chargeback record includes:

• A complete transaction timeline from initial payment to resolution
• Easy-to-read reason code explanations
• Full cardholder and transaction details for stronger evidence gathering

Automated billing and reconciliation

Unlike third-party gateways, Maxio automatically:

• Creates refund records in your billing system
• Flags disputed invoices with clear visual indicators
• Updates accounting objects to reflect dispute status
• Consolidates all payments, chargebacks, and fees into a single deposit report for effortless reconciliation

Responding to a chargeback in Maxio Payments

When you receive a chargeback, you have two options:

1. Accept the dispute. Allow the credit to the customer.
2. Defend the dispute. Submit evidence within the response window to attempt recovery.

To respond to a chargeback

1. Go to the Disputes section in your Maxio Payments dashboard.

2. Review details including transaction date, reason code, and customer information.

   

3. Collect supporting documentation (invoice, proof of delivery, service usage, customer communication).

4. Upload each required document in PDF, JPG, or TIFF format.

   

5. Submit your response to the issuing bank through Maxio.

Once submitted, responses cannot be edited, so ensure all documents are included.

Evidence examples by category

The specific evidence required depends on your defense reason, but these are common examples by category:

Merchandise

• Proof customer agreed to cancellation/return policy at time of purchase
• Proof merchandise was delivered and not returned
• Notice of upcoming billing sent at least 10 days prior to transaction
• Proof of no cancellation attempt by customer

Digital Goods

• Proof policy was presented and acknowledged
• Proof of product download/usage
• Notice of upcoming billing sent at least 10 days prior
• Proof no cancellation request was made

Services

• Proof customer agreed to service terms and policy
• Proof services were used during the billing cycle
• Proof of requested cancellation date and service provided up to that date
• Proof customer did not attempt cancellation through available channels

Meeting evidence requirements does not guarantee a win. The issuing bank determines the final outcomes in accordance with the card brand's regulations.

Chargeback flow stages

A chargeback moves through the following stages:

• Open. Dispute amount withdrawn from account.

• Pending. Defense submitted, awaiting issuer review.

• Won. Funds returned; issuer accepted defense or response window expired. (Note: chargebacks may reoccur even after being won.)

• Lost. Funds permanently debited; issuer rejected defense.

• Lost (after Won). A secondary dispute was raised after the initial dispute was won. Second disputes are final and cannot be contested by the merchant. When this occurs, Maxio Payments updates the dispute status and sends a Second Dispute notification to users who have enabled this notification.

  Maxio Payments identifies second chargebacks in the dispute record and sends an email notification to the merchant when the second chargeback is finalized. Review the dispute timeline for the original dispute history and the date and time the second chargeback was filed.

Some disputes are automatically defended (e.g., when a refund was already issued). In these cases, you don't need to do anything.

Second Dispute notifications

A second dispute, sometimes called a second chargeback, can occur after a merchant successfully defends the original chargeback and the cardholder or issuing bank reopens the dispute.

Second disputes are final and cannot be contested by the merchant. When a second dispute is opened or closed, Maxio Payments automatically updates the dispute status and sends a Second Dispute email notification to users who have enabled this notification.

The notification includes dispute details such as the Dispute ID, original transaction information, and reason code details. Use this information to update your internal records and reconcile the final dispute outcome.

Best practices to reduce chargebacks

Enable AVS (Address Verification System) and CVV checks for fraud prevention, and send clear notices of recurring billing to your customers before you charge them. For a fuller set of chargeback-prevention practices that apply beyond Maxio Payments, see Understand Credit Card Chargebacks.

Chargeback email notifications

Maxio Payments automatically sends branded email notifications to help you stay informed about every stage of a dispute. These notifications ensure that you and your team can take quick action before response deadlines.

Email alerts are triggered for the following dispute status changes:

• Open

• Pending Review

• Won

• Lost

  Some card networks, such as American Express, do not always send a "lost" update.

• Second Dispute Sent when a second dispute is opened or closed. Second disputes are final and cannot be contested by the merchant.

  Maxio Payments also sends a notification when a second chargeback is finalized. Because second chargebacks cannot be defended again, use this notification to confirm the final outcome and avoid preparing unnecessary rebuttal documentation.

Each notification includes clear dispute details and a direct link to the record in the Maxio Payments Portal.

Enable Second Dispute notifications

Turn on Second Dispute notifications so you're alerted whenever a second dispute is opened or closed.

To enable Second Dispute notifications

1. In Maxio Payments, open your My Profile page.
2. Locate the Second Dispute notification setting.
3. Turn the notification On.