Chargebacks and disputes.

01What a dispute is

A dispute, or chargeback, happens when a cardholder asks their card issuer to reverse a payment. The issuer takes the funds back while the case is reviewed, and the seller can respond with evidence. Card network rules set the reasons, steps and deadlines.

On orders paid through a Zonipay checkout, [Company legal name] ("Zonipay", "we", "us") is the merchant of record, so disputes are raised against us. Card payments are processed by Stripe.

02For buyers

2.1 Contact us first

If something is wrong with an order, contact the store, then us at support@zonipay.com if it is not resolved. Most problems (an item that did not arrive, arrived damaged or is not what you ordered) are covered by our Refund Policy and are faster to fix directly than through your bank.

2.2 Recognizing the charge

Your statement shows ZONIPAY* STORENAME, where STORENAME is the store you bought from. If you do not recognize a charge, email us with the date, amount and the last four digits of the card, and we will tell you what the order was.

2.3 If you believe the charge is fraudulent

If you did not make the purchase, contact your card issuer immediately. Please also tell us, so we can stop any further orders on that card.

2.4 Your rights

Nothing in this policy limits your right to dispute a charge with your card issuer.

03For merchants: our role

When a dispute is opened, we:

• notify you by email and through a dispute.opened webhook if you use one, with the order, the reason given by the issuer and the deadline for your evidence;
• prepare and submit the response to the issuer, combining your evidence with the records we hold;
• attach the buyer's research-use attestation record, stored with the order at checkout;
• tell you the outcome and reflect it in your reporting.

We decide how to respond to each dispute. We may accept a dispute instead of contesting it where the evidence does not support a response or a refund has already been agreed.

04Evidence and deadline

Send your evidence within 5 business days of our request, by replying to the dispute email or to disputes@zonipay.com. Network deadlines are strict and we need time to assemble the response. If we do not receive evidence in time, we may respond with the records we hold or accept the dispute.

05What evidence helps

The right evidence depends on the reason code. In general, send what applies:

• Shipping and delivery: carrier, tracking number, proof of delivery and, where available, signature confirmation and delivery address;
• The order: invoice, items shipped and batch details, certificate of analysis for the batch;
• Communication: emails or messages with the buyer, including any acknowledgement of receipt;
• Account history: the buyer's login and prior orders with your store, where you hold them;
• Policies: the refund and shipping policies shown to the buyer at the time of purchase;
• Refunds: proof of any refund or replacement already given.

We add the records we hold: the transaction and authentication data (including 3-D Secure results where applied), the receipt we sent, and the attestation record with its date and time. Send only true and unaltered documents. Do not include full card numbers.

06Outcome and funds

The disputed amount is withdrawn by the issuer when the dispute opens and is deducted from your balance or reserve as set out in the merchant agreement. If the dispute is decided in our favor, the amount is returned to your balance. If it is lost, the deduction stands. Issuer decisions are final under network rules, and some reasons allow a further stage that we will tell you about if it applies.

If a buyer contacts us after opening a dispute, we will not refund the same order twice.

07Fees

Any dispute fee, and how it is charged, is stated in your merchant agreement before you sign. Fees, fines or assessments that a card network or our processor charges because of a merchant's dispute levels or breach of the rules may be passed on as the merchant agreement allows.

08Dispute monitoring

Card networks run monitoring programs that track the ratio of disputes, and of fraud, to transactions for sellers. Sellers whose ratios stay above the networks' levels can be placed in these programs, which can bring added fees, required remediation plans and, in the end, loss of the ability to accept cards. Because disputes on your store count against us as merchant of record, we watch each store's dispute and fraud ratios closely.

If a store's dispute ratio becomes excessive, or rises sharply, we may:

1. contact you to review causes and agree on fixes;
2. review your storefront, products, fulfilment and customer service;
3. apply or increase a reserve, or adjust your payout schedule, as the merchant agreement permits;
4. pause payments on the store;
5. terminate the account if the ratio does not come down.

We tell you what we see and why we are acting.

09Preventing disputes

• Ship promptly with tracking, and send the tracking number to the buyer.
• Answer buyer messages quickly and refund when the Refund Policy says you should.
• Keep product descriptions accurate and your store name clear, so buyers recognize the charge.
• Keep your contact page current.

More guidance is in Chargebacks for research suppliers.

10Contact

Buyers: support@zonipay.com. Merchants and dispute evidence: disputes@zonipay.com. Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 ET.