Refunds, Disputes, and Chargebacks

Understanding Refunds in Stash

When Stash acts as the Merchant of Record, it is responsible for handling all payment-related refunds.

Refunds may occur in different scenarios, including:

• Customer-initiated refund requests related to the purchase
• Fraud-related situations, such as the use of a stolen payment method

In most cases, Stash coordinates with the partner before issuing a refund.
However, Stash may proactively issue a refund in clear fraud scenarios where immediate action is required.

All refunds are reflected in partner financial reporting and are visible alongside other transaction activity.

What Is a Dispute vs. a Chargeback

A dispute and a chargeback are related but distinct concepts.

• A dispute is the process that begins when a customer challenges a transaction
• A chargeback occurs when the dispute is escalated through the customer’s bank

A chargeback can be understood as a formal process in which the merchant has the opportunity to provide evidence to support the validity of the transaction, similar to a court-style process managed by the payment ecosystem.

Regardless of the outcome of a chargeback, fees may be incurred as part of the process.
Specific fee amounts are not documented publicly and are handled through commercial agreements.

How Stash Manages Disputes End-to-End

As the Merchant of Record, Stash manages the entire dispute and chargeback lifecycle on behalf of partners.

This includes:

• Communicating with banks and payment networks
• Preparing and submitting evidence
• Managing timelines and responses required by the dispute process
• Handling the operational and financial impact of chargebacks

By covering this complexity, Stash removes the need for partners to build internal processes or allocate resources to dispute management.

Why Studios Should Not Handle Disputes Directly

Handling disputes and chargebacks in-house introduces significant operational burden and financial risk.

The dispute process involves:

• Strict timelines
• Detailed evidence requirements
• Ongoing communication with banks and payment providers

Many platforms manage this process centrally rather than passing it on to developers.
Stash follows this approach by fully covering disputes and chargebacks so that partners do not need to manage these workflows themselves.

What Partners See in Reporting

Disputes and chargebacks appear in partner financial reporting in the same way as other transactions.

Partners can see:

• Transactions that were disputed
• The resolution status of disputes
• The impact of refunds or chargebacks on monthly reports

This reporting provides visibility into dispute outcomes without requiring partners to take action or manage the process.