# Chargeback on your Nigerian online store? The 16-hour Paystack window and the evidence that counts > A chargeback lets a customer's bank pull money back from your sales, and on Paystack a seller must answer within 16 hours or the dispute is accepted automatically. Business · Binatec Pulse · David Banjo · Published 2026-11-10T01:16:00.000Z · Updated 2026-11-09T23:57:16Z Canonical: https://pulse.binatecagency.com/business/paystack-chargeback-response-nigeria-online-sellers ## Key points - A chargeback is a dispute raised through the customer's bank; if you accept or miss the deadline, the full amount is deducted from your payouts. - Paystack says businesses must respond within 16 hours or the chargeback is auto-accepted, down from 24 hours. - Evidence must show you delivered value: customer name, amount, first six and last four card digits, payment date and a description of the goods or services. - Text messages and emails about customer conversations are not sufficient evidence, according to Paystack. - Upload all evidence at once; reopening a dispute is not guaranteed. If you sell online in Nigeria, a customer can ask their bank to reverse a card payment. That reversal is a chargeback, and it can reach you with very little warning. The practical question is how fast you must respond and what proof works. Paystack's merchant help page says that [businesses must respond to a chargeback within 16 hours, or the chargeback will be auto-accepted](https://support.paystack.com/en/articles/2125698). This guide walks through what happens and what to do, as of 9 November 2026. Everything below about the process comes from Paystack's published help article, which applies to Paystack merchants. Other payment providers set their own rules, so check yours before relying on these numbers. ## What is a chargeback, and how is it different from a refund? A refund is something you choose to give a customer. A chargeback is a dispute the customer raises with their own bank, which then asks the payment provider to return the money. Paystack says that if you accept a chargeback, [the full transaction amount is deducted from your payouts and reversed to the customer](https://support.paystack.com/en/articles/2125698), with no penalty applied. ## How long do you have to respond to a chargeback? Paystack states the response window was previously 24 hours, excluding weekends and public holidays, and is now 16 hours, after a regulation from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The article does not give the date of that regulation. It also says reminders are sent every four hours until the dispute is answered or auto-accepted, and that funds from an auto-accepted chargeback cannot be recovered from the customer's account. Paystack explains that the CBN's 72-hour maximum applies to banks, and that banks give the payment provider a shorter deadline. That fits Nairametrics' 2020 report that the CBN set [72 hours for disputed or failed online transfers and POS transactions](https://nairametrics.com/2020/05/31/just-in-cbn-revises-timelines-for-resolution-of-dispense-errors-refund-complaints). The practical point for sellers: the clock that matters to you is the one in your dashboard, not the one the bank has. ## Step by step: how do you respond? - Open the Disputes page of your Paystack dashboard, or the dispute email, as soon as it arrives. - Decide honestly whether you delivered what the customer paid for. - To accept, click "Resolve dispute" and accept. The amount is deducted from your payouts. - To decline, upload evidence that you delivered value. If the evidence is insufficient, the chargeback is automatically accepted. - Wait for the customer's bank to decide. It may accept your evidence, ask for revalidation or move the case to pre-arbitration. ## What evidence will actually count? Paystack's help article lists the details to include: [the customer's name, the disputed amount, the first six and last four digits of the card, the payment date and a description of the goods or services](https://support.paystack.com/en/articles/2125698). It also warns that text messages and emails about customer conversations are not sufficient evidence on their own. Think proof of delivery: a courier waybill, a signed delivery note, an access log showing a digital product was downloaded, or a service completion record. Keep the file clear and cropped so it shows only the disputed transaction, because Paystack advises removing data from other transactions. Upload everything at once, as reopening a dispute is not guaranteed. ## How can a small seller reduce chargebacks? Nothing in the sources we reviewed promises a way to avoid them, but the process above points to sensible habits. Keep delivery records for every order. Describe products clearly so customers do not dispute what they received. Reply quickly to complaints, since a refund you control costs less than a dispute you may lose. Sellers handling many orders can use Paystack's API endpoint to respond to disputes automatically. A final caution: do not decline a chargeback without real evidence. Paystack says insufficient evidence leads to automatic acceptance, so a rushed rejection gains nothing and wastes the short window you have. ## What should you do before a dispute ever arrives? Set up alerts so a dispute email reaches someone who can act on it within hours, not the next working day. Because Paystack sends reminders every four hours, a shared inbox that more than one person checks is safer than a single personal address. Decide in advance who in the business owns disputes, where delivery proofs are stored and how they can be found by order number. A seller who can pull a waybill in minutes has a real chance inside a 16-hour window; one who has to search chat history does not. Finally, keep a simple log of every chargeback: date received, amount, decision, evidence uploaded and outcome. After a few months the pattern will show whether disputes cluster around one product, one delivery partner or one type of customer message, and that is where a fix will save the most money. ## Does the rule apply to every payment provider? Not necessarily. The article we used is Paystack's own, and it speaks about Paystack merchants. Other providers may use different windows and evidence forms, so read your provider's dispute page the day you open an account rather than the day a dispute lands. ## Questions people are asking ### How long do I have to respond to a chargeback on Paystack? Paystack says 16 hours; if you do not respond, the chargeback is auto-accepted. It was 24 hours before the change. ### What happens if I accept a chargeback? The full transaction amount is deducted from your payouts and reversed to the customer, with no penalty, according to Paystack. ### What evidence should I upload? Customer name, disputed amount, first six and last four card digits, payment date and a description of the goods or services, showing you delivered value. Messages and emails alone are not enough. ### Can I get money back after a chargeback is auto-accepted? Paystack says funds from an auto-accepted chargeback cannot be recovered from the customer's account. ## Sources 1. [How to resolve chargebacks](https://support.paystack.com/en/articles/2125698), Paystack Support 2. [CBN revises timelines for resolution of dispense errors, refund complaints](https://nairametrics.com/2020/05/31/just-in-cbn-revises-timelines-for-resolution-of-dispense-errors-refund-complaints), Nairametrics