Overview
The Dispute Guidance for Ant International Merchants provides guidance on dispute management and resolution, and outlines procedures and operational requirements to manage and resolve disputes received from different payment methods. The guidance is designed in line with the resolution principles of multiple disputes, following the Alipay+ Core rules, Card Schemes rules, and other applicable laws and regulations.
Terms and definition
The following table shows the terms and corresponding definitions that appear in this guide.
Term | Definition | |
Alipay+ Core | Alipay+ Core (or "Alipay+") is a collaborative initiative with all Partners, that enables them to provide more open, digitalized, and inclusive payment services to worldwide consumers and merchants. | |
Alipay+ Wallet | Alipay+ Wallet is an e-wallet entity that signs an agreement with the user, and processes transactions through Alipay+, including TrueMoney Wallet, GCash, BPI, CIMB, AlipayHK, KakaoPay, DANA, Akulaku, Rabbit LINE Pay, Touch’n Go eWallet, Boost, Doku, etc. | |
Alternative Payment Method | Alternative Payment Method (APM) refers to a payment method other than credit/debit cards and Alipay+ Wallet, which is a general term for an interbank transfer payment method. | |
Issuer | Issuer is an entity who enters into an agreement with a user to process a transaction for a user via a payment network. In this Guidance, the Issuer is also the service provider of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs). | |
Card Schemes | International Card Organization, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, JCB, Diners. | |
Retrieval Request | A request is initiated by an issuer to the merchant for providing information or documents when the user has concerns about the transaction within 360 natural days after the transaction. | |
Escalation | A process is initiated by an issuer to the merchant for a refund when the user has concerns about the transaction within 360 natural days after the transaction. | |
Chargeback | A chargeback occurs when a payer disputes a payment, typically due to reasons such as fraud, non-receipt of items, receiving defective items, or duplicate deductions. The payer contacts the issuer to request for funds back from a merchant. | |
Table 1: Definitions of terms
Before you begin
When a chargeback occurs, Alipay will notify you of chargeback information through a notification. Before you can receive the information, you must Configure an address for receiving an NoC.
Understand disputes
Before you handle disputes, familiarize yourself with the following topics:
Handle chargebacks
When a dispute occurs, perform the following steps:
- Check the chargeback reason code to understand the chargeback type.
- Handle the chargeback.
- Follow the time limits for each phase of the chargeback.
- Decide whether to accept or defend the chargeback.
- If you decide to defend the chargeback, submit defense documents as required.
Prevent chargebacks
However, regardless of whether you win the chargeback defense, mounting chargebacks account for your chargeback ratio. A high chargeback ratio can lead to monthly fines or worse. Therefore, to prevent being labeled as a "high-risk merchant", you must learn the card scheme's dispute monitoring program.
Overall, preventing chargebacks is more important than defending against them. To this end, follow best practices to minimize chargebacks.
Apart from the above, Alipay helps you to reduce fraudulent cases. For more information, see Alipay's assistance in fraud control.