How to prevent disputes on Stripe
- Set a recognizable descriptor5 to 22 Latin characters reflecting the name customers know, with a dynamic suffix per charge if you want one.
- Turn on fraud screeningChoose the Radar plan that fits your risk, and review payments it flags.
- Ask for 3-D Secure on risky paymentsA successfully authenticated payment typically shifts fraud liability to the issuer.
- Act on early fraud warningsRefund mainly the ones on charges at or below roughly your dispute fee, as Stripe suggests.
- Answer inquiries fastAmerican Express and Discover use them most; a full refund or evidence closes one without a dispute fee.
Stripe's own tools
- Statement descriptor: 5 to 22 Latin characters that reflect your business name, with an optional dynamic suffix per charge.
- Radar: screens payment attempts for fraud in real time. Its Standard, Plus and Pro plans charge a fee for each screened transaction, and custom rules and manual reviews come with Plus and Pro.
- 3-D Secure: a successfully authenticated payment typically shifts liability for a fraud chargeback to the issuer.
- Early fraud warnings: Stripe says about 40% of Visa and Mastercard warnings become fraud disputes if not refunded, and that refunding is usually worthwhile only on charges at or below roughly your dispute fee.
What Stripe's tools can't prevent
Radar and 3-D Secure target fraud. Disputes for not received, not as described or a refund that never arrived come from what happens after the payment, so tracking emails, accurate product pages and refunds paid quickly are what prevent them. Every dispute counts toward your dispute rate, won or lost.
Example: two early fraud warnings
A US store gets two early fraud warnings on orders it hasn't shipped: one for $14 and one for $240. Following Stripe's guidance, it refunds the $14 order, which is below its $15 dispute fee, and holds the $240 order while it checks with the customer before deciding whether to refund or ship.
Reason codes this answer covers
- Visa 10.4: Other Fraud: Card-Absent Environment: sometimes winnable
More questions
Does refunding a payment stop a Stripe dispute?
Before a dispute, a refund can prevent one. Once a dispute is open, Stripe doesn't let you refund outside the dispute process. A refund also doesn't remove an early fraud warning unless it is processed as a reversal, which usually happens within 2 hours of capture.
Do I need Radar if I use Verdikx?
They do different jobs. Radar screens Stripe payment attempts as they happen; Verdikx screens Shopify orders after they're placed and before they ship, and answers Shopify Payments and Stripe disputes with evidence from your store's records.
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Sources
- Stripe Docs: Statement descriptors (checked October 5, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: How Radar works (checked October 16, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Authenticate with 3D Secure (Disputes and liability shift) (checked October 5, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: How disputes work (inquiries, timing, unchallengeable disputes) (checked October 5, 2026)
Last reviewed by Verdikx Research.