How to Handle Chargebacks Against Your Shopify Store in 2025
Many shopify stores have been increasingly reporting chargebacks since the start of 2025, this sharp, upward trend started as early as 2023 and is deemed to be a result of recent economic downturn. Luís Felipe Tomazini, Payments Risk Analytics Manager at Coinbase reported that they identified a 19% rise overall concluded to be a mix of merchant error, true fraud, and first-party fraud.
In this post we've collected a few methods you can use to defend against fraudulent chargebacks in 2025. To ensure this information is up to date, the case studies are derived from real stores that have successfully been able to win a chargeback case within the last 2 years.
Quick Resolution Methods
1. Contact the Customer First
Although a significant number of chargebacks are fraud, it's entirely possible that there's a misunderstanding and this is a genuine customer. Common misunderstandings include your store's statement descriptor not matching your store name, or the customer simply forgetting they placed an order. Here's what you should do if you're unsure whether it's fraud or a genuine chargeback:
- Call or email the customer immediately
- If customer agrees to drop the chargeback, they must contact their bank to cancel
- Request a chargeback withdrawal letter from their bank
- Submit this letter as evidence in the Chargeback response form
2. Submit Strong Evidence
When a cardholder's bank initiates a chargeback, you have a limited window to prove the charge was valid. The time frame depends on the credit card company and chargeback reason—typically between 7-21 days. The evidence you submit should directly address the specific reason for the chargeback:
- Proof of customer authorization
- Service provided documentation
- Item delivery confirmation (Even if you did not post with a tracked service reach out to the delivery company as they can sometimes provide some form of evidence - however this can take a while to process so you must do this early in the process to submit your case before the chargeback is sided with the claimant)
- Terms of service and refund policy
Some stores have reported success by providing full tracking of the customers session on their website. Using a tool such as microsoft clarity, or hotjar, you can visibily see the entire journey the customer went through when they interacted with your store - providing this can sometimes help prove that the customer visited your website, intentionally browsed the store and finally made a purchase.
We provide more details on this and a strategy you can follow later in this blog.
Evidence formatting tips:
- Use clear, high-contrast documents that print well in black and white
- Get straight to the point - do not provide overly contextual information that could cause your core defence to get missed, all that matters is the facts - avoid mentioning emotions or economic impacts.
- Avoid external links as evidence - provide a screenshot or the data alongside any external links.
3. Accept When Justified
Sometimes you'll receive chargebacks that are legitimate. Recognizing when to accept a chargeback saves time and preserves customer relationships. You have several options when a chargeback is valid:
- Accept by not submitting evidence OR
- Issue a full refund to end an inquiry (partial refunds still risk full chargebacks)
- Submit evidence of your refund action
Winning Strategy Example
If the order value is quite low - sometimes the time is not worth the effort to fight the chargeback, and it may be best to take it as a learning experience. However, if the order value is substantial, you can spend the time to collate the following information to have the best chance at fighting your chargeback:
- Document customer journey:
- Show communication attempts:
- Submit comprehensive defense:
Third-Party Providers
If you did not use Shop Pay - You'll need to contact your payment provider directly for their specific evidence submission process. Different payment providers may have specific requirements.
Chargebacks against Closed/Paused Stores
If your store has been closed or is currently paused - Shopify will normally email you directly and provide a link where you can reactivate your store and provide evidence directly within the Shopify Platform. Follow the chargeback email link to reopen your store and submit evidence.
If you choose not to reopen your store and complete the full form, only basic transaction information is submitted and you are highly likely to lose your claim.
Offset your losses against chargebacks with Mage
Chargebacks suck, and is a pain for any Shopify store to deal with. It can be a sign that you're performing will enough that fraudsters are targeting you - as they likely avoid smaller stores that have more time to fight their case.
Consider offsetting your losses by growing your customer lifetime value & spend with Mage, which helps to build stronger customer relationships by rewarding your largest spenders. Our Shopify app provides a complete points, VIP Tier & rewards system that has been shown to:
- Increase customer retention by up to 30%
- Boost average order value among repeat customers
- Create powerful word-of-mouth marketing through social rewards
- Increase brand loyalty & community engagement
We offer a generous free tier which you never need to pay for - or you can trial the upgraded version completely free.
