Finextra schedules chargeback collaboration webinar with Mastercard

Finextra has scheduled an online webinar, Closing the Dispute Gap: How Closer Collaboration Can Reduce Chargebacks, for November 19, 2026 at 15:00 GMT. The session, presented with ChargebackHelp and Mastercard, will examine whether earlier transaction information can help merchants, acquirers and card issuers address questions before they turn into formal disputes.

The listing gives 16:00 CET and 10:00 EST as alternative start times. A separate version of the event page says the event was not live at the time it was viewed, so the material does not establish that attendance or registration is currently available.

How could collaboration reduce chargebacks?

The proposed model concerns the point at which a cardholder asks their issuing bank about a transaction they do not recognise. Finextra says merchants can be excluded from that first exchange when consumers go directly to their issuer, leaving less opportunity to clarify the purchase or resolve a concern before a chargeback is initiated.

Richer transaction details shared at that stage could help an issuer explain a purchase to the cardholder, according to the event listing. That may include information that makes a transaction easier to identify. The listing presents this as a potential means of preventing or resolving disputes, rather than evidence of a measured reduction in chargebacks.

A chargeback is a reversal of a card transaction following a cardholder dispute. The causes can differ: some cases involve unauthorised payment fraud, while others concern transactions that may be valid but are unfamiliar to the customer. Merchant or processing errors can also lead to disputes, including duplicate billing, incorrect amounts, missed refunds or charges after a cancellation, according to payments company Slash.

Prevention begins before a cardholder contacts an issuer

Bank of America recommends that merchants make billing descriptors recognisable, provide accessible contact channels, explain cancellation and return terms clearly, and resolve customer issues promptly. It also advises retaining billing, delivery and other records that may support a response when a dispute cannot be avoided.

The webinar’s agenda includes Mastercard-sponsored research titled Chargebacks: The Case for Coordination, friction in the present dispute process, friendly fraud and planned developments for 2027. Finextra provides no detail in the listing on those prospective developments, their implementation dates or their likely effects.

For disputes that reach the chargeback stage, Bank of America says merchants may make case-by-case decisions on whether to challenge them, weighing the value of the claim, the evidence available, fees and the relevant response deadline. The available material offers no universal threshold for that decision.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.