Dispute / chargeback ratio

The share of processed transactions that turn into chargebacks over a given period, typically measured per scheme.

When this matters

You are close to scheme monitoring thresholds.
You are onboarding into higher-risk verticals or new geographies.
You are negotiating risk terms with providers.

Operator tips

Understand how each scheme calculates ratios (by count vs by value, and over which window).
Watch early indicators like refund spikes and support contact reasons alongside chargebacks.
Document which flows (trial, marketplace, BNPL) contribute most to dispute exposure.

How to use this term

Use this definition when you are aligning stakeholders across product, engineering, finance, and operations. Shared vocabulary makes it much easier to argue about tradeoffs without talking past each other.

For deeper context, pair this term with the free assessment and providers/methods directories. They give you a concrete view of how concepts show up in real stacks.