Dispute
Dispute is Rapid’s solution for automated chargeback defense. While Prevention answers the bank so the dispute is never filed and Alert warns you before it becomes a chargeback, Dispute acts afterwards: once the chargeback has been filed, Rapid builds and submits the defense (second presentment) within the card network’s deadline.
The defense is built from what you already send: the transaction, the recorded evidence and the signals captured at checkout. The more material, the better the chance of winning.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”- You send the transaction, with the charge id in the gateway, and the evidence of the sale
- Gateway records the chargeback when the cardholder opens the dispute
- Gateway → Rapid notifies Rapid right away, because your gateway account is connected to Rapid (see below)
- Rapid matches the dispute to your transaction by the charge id
- Rapid → You notifies you by webhook, if the reason is fraud, so you revoke the buyer’s access
- Rapid assesses the case, builds the dossier with the evidence and submits the defense
- Gateway → Rapid returns the outcome, which shows up in the dashboard
Your work is in steps 1 and 5, highlighted: the material you send before anything happens and the access revocation. The rest is up to Rapid.
What Rapid needs from you
Section titled “What Rapid needs from you”| What | Why | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Your payment gateway account connected to Rapid | it is how the dispute arrives; without the connection, no dispute shows up | Dashboard, under Settings › Integrations: just authorize, no code |
| The transaction, with the charge id in the gateway | without it the dispute arrives with no history and no evidence | Create transaction |
| Evidence that supports the sale | it is the content of the defense | Evidence and Capture |
| An endpoint for the access revocation | it is required by card network rules | Webhook |
The point that breaks integrations most often is the transaction. The dispute finds the transaction by the charge identifier in the gateway, so the transaction_id field (or external_source plus external_id) has to carry that value. A transaction that is not found means a defense without the authentication data, without attached evidence and without the order history.
Access revocation in fraud disputes
Section titled “Access revocation in fraud disputes”When the dispute is about fraud, the card networks require the merchant to try to revoke the product or service delivered and to have a process to prevent recurrence. For that, Rapid fires the dispute.fraud.revoke_access event to your webhook, with the required actions and the deadline.
It is the only point of Dispute where Rapid calls your system. Handle it automatically if possible: the faster the revocation, the smaller the loss. The format is in Webhook payload.
If the delivery fails, the pending item shows up in the dashboard for someone on your team to confirm manually.
Dispute states
Section titled “Dispute states”| State | What it means |
|---|---|
received | arrived and is being assessed |
submitted | defense sent to the gateway, waiting for the outcome |
won | dispute won |
lost | dispute lost |
accepted | the case was not contested |
needs_review | Rapid could not identify the seller, and the team is reviewing it |
Not every chargeback is contested. Rapid assesses each case: when card network rules give no right to contest, or when the available material does not support the defense, the case is marked as not contested instead of spending the deadline on a losing submission.
Setup requirements
Section titled “Setup requirements”- the Dispute product active for your company
- your payment gateway account connected in the dashboard, under Settings › Integrations
- an active webhook, if you want to receive the access revocation
The gateway connection is done in the dashboard, with no code: you create a restricted key on the payment platform, paste it in the dashboard and register the address the dashboard shows. Rapid support helps with this step.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”- Create transaction: what to send so the dispute finds the transaction
- Evidence overview: how to record evidence
- Capture overview: how to capture signals at checkout
- Webhook payload: the format of the access revocation