Guide
Chargebacks cost the sale, a fee and time, and too many can put a merchant account at risk. Most are preventable.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Short answer: Group the last year of chargebacks by reason, then fix each cause: use a billing descriptor customers recognize, send receipts and confirmations promptly, keep tracking, signatures and signed work orders, show clear refund policies before purchase and respond to every dispute within the processor's deadline.
Key facts
Related: Practical Business Funding Guides for Canadian Owners · Business Funding Requirements in Canada · Documents Needed for Business Funding in Canada · Business Funding Affordability Calculator (CAD) · Funding Readiness Score Canada: Free 30-Second Check
Chargebacks cost the sale, a fee and time, and too many can put a merchant account at risk. Most are preventable.
Chargebacks arise from fraud, customers not recognizing a charge, goods not received, goods not as described and processing errors. Each has a different fix.
Look at your last twelve months of chargebacks and group them by reason.
Use a billing descriptor that matches your business name as customers know it, and include a phone number where possible.
Send receipts and order confirmations promptly.
Use tracking for shipped goods and keep signatures for high-value items. For services, keep signed work orders and completion photos.
Clear refund and cancellation policies, shown before purchase, prevent many disputes.
Respond to every chargeback within the processor's deadline with clear evidence. Organized evidence wins disputes that would otherwise be lost.
Contact the customer directly when appropriate; many disputes resolve with a refund before escalating.
High chargeback rates show up in statements as reversals and can suggest customer or processing problems. Card-sales-based advances are especially sensitive to them.
Keeping chargebacks low protects revenue and keeps funding options open.
Guides like this one are general education written for Canadian owners. They are most useful when you turn them into a few concrete actions with dates, and revisit them when your numbers change. If funding is part of your plan, the same preparation that makes the plan work, clear numbers and a specific purpose, also makes an application faster and stronger.
Merchant Fund Express reviews Canadian businesses in every province and territory. If you would like a specific answer for your business rather than general guidance, send a signed application and your last four months of business bank statements, or call (305) 384-8391 first to ask a question.
Reviewed by the Merchant Fund Express team on October 12, 2026. Official pages checked as of that date.
It is general education. Your file and agreements are specific, so read them and ask questions.
Gather four months of statements and write what the money is for in one sentence.
Yes. Apply once and the file is matched to the structure that fits.
Educational information only. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
