Visa's 1.5% dispute threshold is now live

📌 Visa's dispute tolerance just got tighter — 1.5% is the new line

As of April 1, 2026, Visa lowered its excessive-dispute threshold from 2.2% to 1.5% for US, Canadian, and EU merchants. Monitoring now kicks in at 1,500 disputes, and each dispute in the program carries an $8 fee on top of what you already lose.

✅ What to do: Pull your dispute ratio this month. If you're above 1%, treat every new dispute as urgent — respond within days, not weeks.

📌 Mastercard's scam-merchant watch is live — and it counts refunds too

Mastercard's revised Scam Merchant Monitoring standards took effect July 24, 2026: acquirers must investigate any flagged merchant within 72 hours. The program counts refunds and chargebacks together, and it ends in termination — not fines. Legitimate stores with loose refund policies can get caught in the net.

✅ What to do: Track your refund ratio alongside chargebacks. If refunds are climbing, tighten your return policy and product-page accuracy now.

📌 Friendly fraud is 22% of all chargebacks — and climbing

Juniper Research projects friendly fraud — customers disputing purchases they actually made — will grow from 22% of global chargebacks in 2026 to 28% by 2031. Revenue lost to chargeback fraud will hit $23.3 billion this year. A top trigger: customers not recognizing the charge on their statement.

✅ What to do: Make sure your billing descriptor matches your store name, and save evidence (delivery confirmation, IP logs, terms acceptance) for every order.

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ChargeGuard uses AI to detect, respond to, and prevent chargebacks before they happen.