How a second chargeback worked
Mastercard's Chargeback Guide of 13 December 2018 set out three cycles: the first chargeback, the acquirer's second presentment, and the arbitration chargeback. The issuer could process the third when it believed the second presentment did not meet the rules of the reason code, or when it could address what the acquirer had provided.
The arbitration chargeback was a clearing message like the first, for the second presentment amount or less. Once the cycles were complete, a member could ask Mastercard to rule through an arbitration case.
What replaced the second chargeback
The Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition, of 13 May 2025 has two cycles, the chargeback and the second presentment. After them the issuer continues through pre-arbitration and arbitration case filing, and the funds of a pre-arbitration case move when the acquirer accepts it or lets 30 calendar days pass.
Visa has no second chargeback either. The Visa Core Rules of 18 April 2026 bar an issuer from disputing the same transaction more than once, with one exception tied to a monitoring programme, and give the issuer a pre-arbitration attempt after the acquirer's response.
Why the term still matters
Processors' reports, older contracts and fee schedules still say second chargeback, and usually mean the pre-arbitration step. For a merchant the point is the same under either name: winning a representment is not final, the money can be claimed again, and a further fee may apply. Revenue from a won dispute is safe only once the issuer's time to continue has run out.
Second chargeback, pre-arbitration or arbitration?
- First chargeback
- The issuer's original dispute, raised under a reason code after the cardholder's claim.
- Pre-arbitration
- The current form of the second round: a case exchanged between issuer and acquirer, not a second clearing message.
- Arbitration
- The scheme rules on the case. A second chargeback was still a step between the two members.
Where a second chargeback shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- Fraud & riskReal-time fraud scoring, limits and case management, with the risk engines you already trust.
- BackofficeOne console to run the platform: customers, money, risk, content and staff permissions.
Platforms that need it
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- Mastercard, Chargeback Guide, 13 December 2018
- Mastercard, Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition, 13 May 2025
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, 18 April 2026: section 11.2.1
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.