How to write a chargeback reduction plan
- Show your numbersDisputes, fraud reports and transactions per month, per processor, and per card network where you have them.
- Name the causesThe top reason codes and how many disputes each caused. The reason code lookup explains each one.
- Give a fix per causeFor example order screening for fraud codes, tracking emails for not-received, clearer product pages for not-as-described, reminders and easy cancellation for subscriptions.
- Add dates and ownersWhen each fix went live and who checks it.
- Say how you'll measure itA weekly ratio from the chargeback ratio calculator and the threshold you're working to.
Who asks for one, and why
Visa's VAMP fact sheet requires entities above its thresholds to put risk-mitigation measures in place, and acquirers carry portfolio thresholds of their own that start at 0.5%. So when a merchant's disputes drive those numbers, the acquirer asks what changed and when. Stripe, for example, publishes a remediation template for merchants in a monitoring program. A plan that names causes and dates answers that question before it becomes a reserve or a termination.
Example: a store at 1.4%
A store at 1.4% finds that most of its disputes are Visa 10.4 fraud and the rest mostly 13.1 not received. Its plan: hold first-time orders over $300 for review, ask for 3-D Secure on high-risk payments, send a shipped email with tracking for every parcel, and change the statement descriptor from the legal entity to the store name, with a weekly ratio check against a target under 0.75%.
Where Verdikx fits
Verdikx's Results page breaks disputes down by card network and dispute type and shows a daily 30-day dispute-to-order ratio per processor, on every plan. On Growth and up, reports for any date range export as PDF or CSV, and order screening with holds is a fix you can date; Pro adds custom risk rules.
Reason codes this answer covers
- Visa 10.4: Other Fraud: Card-Absent Environment: sometimes winnable
- Visa 13.1: Merchandise/Services Not Received: often winnable
More questions
Who asks for a chargeback reduction plan?
Usually your acquirer or payment processor, once your dispute or fraud levels approach a card network program. Visa's VAMP fact sheet requires entities above the thresholds to put risk-mitigation measures in place, and acquirers pass that on to the merchants driving their numbers.
How long does a chargeback reduction plan take to work?
Plan for a few months. Disputes arrive weeks after the orders they are about, so a fix made in October shows up in later months' numbers. Mastercard, for example, removes a merchant from its program after 3 consecutive months below the threshold.
See it on your own orders.
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Sources
- Visa: Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program fact sheet (2025) (checked October 5, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Dispute and fraud card monitoring programs (checked October 5, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Terminated merchant files (MATCH and VMSS) (checked October 5, 2026)
Last reviewed by Verdikx Research.