Disputes Education Center
American Express has your back with information, insights and solutions to help you prevent disputes and stay focused on your business.
Disputes Education Center
American Express has your back with information, insights and solutions to help you prevent disputes and stay focused on your business.
Understanding Disputes
In 2023, less than 0.035% of US Card Member transactions turned into Disputes that reached merchants.1
And what’s more…
There was an increase in the number of transactions made by American Express® US Card Members, but a decrease in the percentage of disputes that reach a merchant.2
![Illustration for increased transactions and decreased disputes](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/Disputes_graphic.png)
Disputes 101
Learn about the types of disputes, tools and best practices to help you be ready if a dispute comes your way.
![Understanding Disputes PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/understanding_disputes_thumb-2x.png)
Understanding the Disputes Process
![Amex Disputes Solutions Explained PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/improve_dis_exp_thumb-2x.png)
Amex Disputes Solutions Explained
![Disputes Reference Guide PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/dis_ref_guide-2x.png)
Disputes Reference Guide
Videos
Understanding the Disputes Process
Common Dispute Prevention Tips
Fraud Prevention Tips
Webinars
B2B Disputes Management
» Watch Now
Disputes Summer Prevention
» Watch Now
Insights to Help Prevent Common Disputes
» Watch Now
Understanding the Disputes Process
» Watch Now
Dispute Prevention Tips
Additional one-page resources to help you prevent potential disputes during the sales process.
![Avoiding Dissatisfied/Not as Described Disputes thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/Dissatisfied-Not_As_Described_Factsheet_prop.png)
Avoiding Dissatisfied/Not as Described Disputes
![Preventing Disputes on Recurring Transactions PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/recurring_thumb-2x.png)
Preventing Disputes on Recurring Transactions
![Avoiding Card-Not-Present Disputes PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/cnp_thumb-2x.png)
Avoiding Card-Not-Present Disputes
![Presenting Compelling Evidence PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/comp_ev_thumb-2x.png)
Presenting Compelling Evidence
![Billing for Damages PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/damages_thumb-2x.png)
Billing for Damages
![Removing Signature at Checkout PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/remove_sig_thumb-2x.png)
Removing Signature at Checkout
![Estimating or Adjusting Authorizations PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/Amex_Auth_Cap_Factsheet_Page_1a.png)
Estimating or Adjusting Authorizations (Coming 2024)
*New! Industry-Specific Examples
AMEX Solutions
American Express is continually enhancing our policies and solutions to help you prevent and manage disputes.
Policy updates and enhancements
![Time](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/time_icon-2x.png)
Shorter Time for Filing Disputes – We have reduced the timeframe for processing a Chargeback to 120 days.3
![Limits on Redisputes](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/2x_icon-2x.png)
Limits on Redisputes – Disputes on the same transaction can only be raised twice.
Capabilities
![Accelerated Dispute Resolution PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/Amex_ADR_Factsheet.png)
Accelerated Dispute Resolution - Get added flexibility to resolve disputes.
![Authorization on Credit](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/auth_on_credit_thumb-2x.png)
Authorization on Credit
Capabilities Video
![Substitute Receipt illustration](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/sub_receipts_art-2x.png)
Substitute Receipts – American Express helped resolve 90.4% of disputes raised by US Card Members as a “does not recognize” transaction with our Substitute Receipt capability without needing to contact merchants for help resolving the dispute.4
![Digital Receipt illustration](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/dig_recpt_art-2x.png)
Digital Receipts – Merchants who implemented American Express Digital Receipts saw 15-20% fewer non-fraud disputes than merchants who did not implement Digital Receipts over the period from July 2020 to October 2021.5
Merchant Website
For an easy and convenient way to manage disputes, anytime, visit our Merchant website.
![Screenshot of a Dispute Case on the Merchant Website](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/merch_site_scrnsht.png)
![Ready for a consultation? Chat with us.](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/chat_info_box-2x-r2.png)
Not enrolled? Sign up today.
Industry & Policy Guides
From restaurants to hotels, different businesses have unique needs when it comes to processing transactions and helping prevent and manage disputes. Check out these industry and policy resources to help you protect your unique business.
![Guide For Retailers PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/retailer_thumb-2x.png)
For Retailers
![Guide For Restuarants PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/restaurant_thumb-2xa.png)
For Restaurants
![Guide For Hotels & Lodging PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/hotels_thumb-2x.png)
For Hotels & Lodging
![Guide For B2B Merchants PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/b2b_thumb-2x.png)
For B2B Merchants
![Guide For Card-Not-Present Transactions PDF Thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/card_not_pres_thumb-2x.png)
For Card-Not-Present Transactions (Coming 2024)
![Guide For B2B Construction Merchants PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/Amex_QT_B2B_Construction_Factsheet_P_Page_1.png)
For B2B Construction Merchants
![Guide For Online Merchants PDF thumbnail](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/disputes/online_thumb-2x-r2.png)
For Online Merchants
Additional Resources
Access offers on curated services to help support your business
Help make payments simple, smart, and secure
Webinars, articles, and more to help your business adapt
![Don't Do Business without it](/content/dam/amex/us/merchant/images/targeted-analysis-program/tagline_DoBusiness_white.png)
1 Internal American Express data comparing January – December 2023 vs January – December 2022.
2 Internal American Express data comparing January – December 2023 vs January – December 2022.
3 Except for these dispute categories: 1. Goods/services not received. 2. Goods/services returned/canceled. 3. Redisputes. In these instances, the timeframe can extend slightly.
4 Data based on the success results of 887,417 Substitute Receipts sent to US Card Members for ‘Does Not Recognize’ disputes between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. This capability is available for all American Express merchants.
5 Merchants who implemented Digital Receipts had an average 2021 net charge volume of $13B. Digital Receipts is only available on transactions of merchants who have enabled the capability.