A chargeback is a forced reversal of a card payment, initiated by the buyer’s bank rather than by the merchant. When a cardholder disputes a transaction, the bank pulls the funds back out of the seller’s account and returns them to the buyer. The seller often loses the goods already shipped and pays a chargeback fee on top of the reversed amount.
How it works
The cardholder contacts their issuing bank and disputes a charge. The bank provisionally refunds the buyer and notifies the merchant’s payment processor. The merchant can accept the loss or contest it by submitting evidence (the order record, proof of delivery, communication, terms accepted). The card network then decides who keeps the money. The whole cycle can run for weeks or months.
Common reasons
Disputes fall into a few buckets: genuine fraud (a stolen card), “friendly fraud” (a real buyer who forgot or regrets the purchase), goods not received, or goods not as described. In B2B, disputes over “not as described” are common when what shipped did not match what the buyer thought they agreed to.
Why it matters for B2B quoting
Large B2B orders mean large chargebacks, so the paper trail matters more. When a quote is vague or agreed over scattered emails, you have little to show the bank. When the buyer reviews and accepts clear line items, quantities, and terms before paying, you have a documented record of what was agreed.
On Shopify, a quote that converts to a real order paid through native checkout keeps everything (the accepted quote, the order, the payment) in one connected trail, which is exactly what you submit when contesting a dispute. See the B2B quoting glossary for related terms.