Chargeback cost calculator
Most merchants think a chargeback costs them the transaction amount plus a fee. The real number is 2x to 3.4x the original sale. Enter your numbers to see what you're actually losing.
Where does the 3.4x number come from?
Mastercard's 2025 chargeback report found that a single chargeback can cost a merchant up to 3.4x the transaction value when you account for the reversed payment, lost merchandise, dispute fees, processing fees already paid, and operational time spent responding.
How do I reduce my chargeback rate?
The fastest fix is your billing descriptor. If customers don't recognize the charge on their statement, they call their bank instead of you. That one change can reduce chargebacks by 30-40%. Read the full playbook in our guide on how to win chargeback disputes.
What's the chargeback threshold before I get flagged?
Visa's VAMP program flags merchants at a 1.5% combined fraud and dispute ratio (as of April 2026). Mastercard's program kicks in at 100 chargebacks per month or a 1.5% ratio. Getting flagged means penalty fees on top of your normal costs and eventual account termination risk.