Representment

Representment is when a merchant challenges a chargeback by sending evidence to the cardholder's bank that the charge was valid. The name means presenting the charge again. If it works, the merchant gets the money back.

How representment works

1. A cardholder disputes a charge, and the issuer pulls the payment back. Stripe opens a dispute.
2. The merchant submits dispute evidence before the deadline. This submission is the representment.
3. The issuer reviews the evidence and decides for the merchant or the cardholder.
4. If the merchant wins, the funds come back. If the merchant loses, the chargeback stands.

Card networks also call this the second presentment. In Stripe, you submit evidence on the Dispute object. The result arrives as a charge.dispute.closed event with a status of won or lost.

What to know

• If you miss the response deadline, you lose the dispute by default.
• Evidence that matches the dispute reason wins more often than a generic package.
• Winning often does not refund the dispute fee, so a win reduces the loss without erasing it.
• Representment wins most often against friendly fraud, where delivery and usage records show the buyer got what they paid for.

For small amounts, the time spent can cost more than you recover. Many teams only fight disputes above a set amount or when they have strong evidence.