The levels that matter
| Level | How it's measured | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Industry standard | Disputes received this month ÷ successful payments this month | Above 0.75% |
| Visa VAMP "Excessive" | (Disputes + fraud reports) ÷ captured payments, same month | 1.5% and 1,500 a month (2.2% and 150 in CEMEA) |
| Mastercard Excessive Chargeback Merchant | Chargebacks this month ÷ payments last month | 1.5% and 100 chargebacks |
Disputes count whether you win or lose them, and refunds don't remove them. Visa also counts early fraud warnings, even when no dispute follows. Stripe may contact you before you reach a network level, for example after a sudden spike.
How to bring it down
- A statement descriptor customers recognise: your product or website name.
- Your refund and cancellation policy shown, and agreed, at checkout.
- Renewal reminders before annual renewals, and an easy way to cancel.
- Cancelling the subscription behind a disputed payment, so the next renewal isn't disputed too.
Flatfight tracks your rate automatically from your Stripe data, every day, and emails you before you reach your level. Free on every plan.
Sources: Stripe's Measuring disputes and monitoring programs documentation, as of 14 October 2026. These are estimates; Stripe and the card networks calculate the official figures.