Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify in Australia: what we can confirm and what to check

A customer paid by instalments and wants out. They have not gone to their bank. They have gone to the buy now, pay later provider. That is a different dispute, with different clocks. Here is what we can confirm, and what you must check.

Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify run through the buy now, pay later provider, so check its clocks, not just Shopify's card chargeback ones. Processor documentation we found gives Afterpay shoppers 120 days and merchants 13 days to defend, and Zip 6 months and 10 business days to respond. Confirm your own terms.

This guide to Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify is for you if:

• You offer Afterpay or Zip at checkout and a customer has raised a problem with the provider.
• You want to know how these disputes differ from card chargebacks, and what is still unconfirmed.
• You want records ready so you can answer a provider quickly.

Last updated: 10 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 10 October 2026.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

• We found no Shopify help page that explains buy now, pay later disputes for Afterpay or Zip. Shopify's chargeback pages describe card disputes, with a response window of usually 7 to 21 days and a bank decision up to 75 days after you submit.
• Adyen's documentation for Afterpay gives the shopper 120 days to dispute, the merchant 13 days to defend and Afterpay 30 days to decide. That is a payment processor's page, and we could not confirm it applies to Shopify.
• PPRO's documentation for Zip gives 6 months for the customer and 10 business days for the merchant to respond. The page does not state a region, so we cannot say it applies in Australia. We have not used older Zip policy figures.
• The ACCC says a major problem means a full refund to the original payment form, and that a "no refunds" sign cannot deny consumer rights. Payment method does not change that.
• The common thread is evidence: proof of delivery, your policies as shown at checkout, and your messages with the customer, saved with dates.
• Ask each provider, and Shopify Support, for the current dispute process and deadlines in writing.

Quick note: This is the most uncertain topic in our series. The provider timelines above come from processor documentation, not from Shopify, Afterpay or Zip's merchant terms, and they may differ for your account. Nothing here states a fee, a settlement time or a rule that we could not source. Where we do not know, we say so.

Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify at a glance

Question	Short answer	Source
Does Shopify explain these disputes?	Not on the pages we found	Our research
Afterpay shopper window	120 days, per processor documentation	Adyen documentation
Afterpay merchant response	13 days to defend	Adyen documentation
Afterpay decision time	30 days	Adyen documentation
Zip customer window	6 months, region unstated	PPRO documentation
Zip merchant response	10 business days	PPRO documentation
Do consumer guarantees apply?	Yes, whatever the payment method	ACCC

How are Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify different from card chargebacks?

A card chargeback is a request from the cardholder's bank, handled through the card scheme, and Shopify's pages describe it step by step. An Afterpay or Zip dispute is raised with the buy now, pay later provider, which runs its own process and its own clocks. The two should not be mixed up.

For card disputes, Shopify's pages say the bank takes the amount and a fee at once, the response window is usually 7 to 21 days, the bank decides up to 75 days after you submit and there is no appeal. They do not describe buy now, pay later disputes, and we found no Shopify page that does. Our post on how chargebacks work in Australia explains the card process, and our guide to debit vs credit card chargebacks covers the schemes.

Feature	Card chargeback	Afterpay or Zip dispute
Who the customer contacts	Their bank	The provider
Who decides	The bank and card scheme	The provider
Where the clocks are documented	Shopify and the schemes	The provider's merchant terms
Is the process confirmed for Australia?	Yes, from Shopify's pages and NAB's guide	No, processor documentation only

Why does the payment method matter for a dispute?

Because the rules, the deadlines and the person deciding all change. A card dispute gives you a due date in Shopify's dispute page and a form to fill in. A provider dispute may reach you by email or through the provider's portal, with its own deadline. If you only watch Shopify's dispute page, you can miss it. Check each provider's merchant portal and your owner email, and ask each provider in writing how they notify you.

Are Afterpay and Zip disputes common?

We found no Australian figure on how often these disputes occur, so we do not give one. Track your own: record every provider dispute with its date, reason, amount and outcome, in the same sheet as your card disputes.

What do the processor timelines say about Afterpay disputes?

Adyen's documentation for Afterpay says the shopper has 120 days to raise a dispute, the merchant has 13 days to defend it, and Afterpay has 30 days to decide. This is a payment processor's page, not Shopify's, and it is not confirmed for Shopify. Treat it as a guide to the order of magnitude, and ask Afterpay for your own terms.

Step	Timeline per Adyen documentation	What it means for you
Shopper raises a dispute	Up to 120 days	An order can be challenged for months
Merchant defends	13 days	Much shorter than many card windows
Afterpay decides	30 days	You may wait about a month for an answer

Illustration: an Afterpay dispute with dates, if these timelines apply. A customer orders on Monday 2 November 2026 for A$280.00 (A$265.00 plus A$15.00 shipping). On Monday 14 December 2026 they raise a dispute for an item not received, and you are notified the same day. Thirteen days later is Sunday 27 December 2026, in the Christmas break, so the practical deadline is earlier. You defend on Friday 18 December. Thirty days after that is Sunday 17 January 2027.

Date	Event	Notes
Mon 2 Nov 2026	Order placed, A$280.00	Keep the checkout and policy screenshots
Mon 14 Dec 2026	Dispute raised and notified	The 13 days start here, if the timeline applies
Fri 18 Dec 2026	You send your defence	Do not wait for the last day over Christmas
Fri 25 Dec 2026	Christmas Day	Offices and portals may be slow
Sun 27 Dec 2026	Day 13	Deadline if counted in calendar days
Sun 17 Jan 2027	Day 30 after you defend	Latest decision on this timeline

The sums for the order are the goods at A$120.00 and postage at A$15.00, so A$135.00 has left your business. If you lose the dispute, the outcome is A$280.00 less A$280.00 less A$135.00, which is minus A$135.00. If you win, it is A$280.00 less A$135.00, which is A$145.00. We do not know whether a provider dispute carries a fee, or what the provider's own fees are, so these figures exclude them. A card dispute on the same order would add the reported A$25.00 fee to a loss.

Does your own deadline differ from the provider's?

It can. The provider's merchant terms set the real deadline, and they may count calendar days or business days, and from the notice date or the dispute date. Ask. Then put the earlier of any two dates in your calendar. If the deadline falls over a public holiday, plan to respond at least a few days earlier.

What do the processor timelines say about Zip disputes?

PPRO's documentation for Zip gives the customer 6 months to dispute and the merchant 10 business days to respond. The page does not state a region, so we cannot say it applies in Australia, and we have deliberately not used older Zip policy figures from 2019, which are out of date.

Illustration: a Zip dispute with dates, if these timelines apply. A customer orders on Monday 2 November 2026. On Monday 9 November 2026 a dispute is notified. Ten business days later, counting Monday to Friday and ignoring public holidays, is Monday 23 November 2026 (day 1 is Tuesday 10 November, day 5 is Monday 16 November, day 10 is Monday 23 November). Six months from the order date is about Sunday 2 May 2027, so the customer's window stays open long after your response is due.

Date	Event	Notes
Mon 2 Nov 2026	Order placed	Policy and delivery estimate screenshots
Mon 9 Nov 2026	Dispute notified	The 10 business days start here, if the timeline applies
Mon 23 Nov 2026	Day 10	Deadline on this timeline, ignoring public holidays
Sun 2 May 2027	End of six months from the order	Customer window, approximately

Should you assume the Zip timeline is right for you?

No. Treat it as a prompt to ask. The page we found is a processor's, the region is unstated and the terms for your account may differ. Write to Zip and to Shopify Support and ask for the dispute process, the response deadline, the evidence they accept and any fees, in writing. Keep the replies with your dispute records.

What evidence helps with Afterpay and Zip disputes?

The same things that help with card disputes: proof of what was sold, proof it was delivered, proof of what the customer was told and a record of how you handled their complaint. We could not confirm the file formats, size limits or fields that Afterpay or Zip accept, so ask each provider before you build a response. Shopify's card limits (PDF, JPEG or PNG, 2 MB per file, 4 MB in total, no links) apply to Shopify's form, not necessarily to theirs.

Evidence	What it shows	Save it when
Order and payment record	What was bought and how it was paid	At checkout
Policy screenshot	Returns, refunds and delivery terms as shown	The day you publish or change it
Tracking and proof of delivery	The parcel was delivered, where and when	At delivery
Customer messages	The complaint and your replies	As they happen
Refund record	Any refund, with date, amount and method	When you refund
Product listing	What was promised	The day the order is placed

Our guides to evidence to save at fulfilment and the chargeback evidence checklist give a fuller list, and the chargeback response templates show how to word the response. Keep the tone neutral, and do not accuse the customer of anything.

What should you ask the provider in writing?

Ask for the current dispute process, the deadlines, how you are notified, what evidence they accept, whether any fee applies and what happens to the money while a dispute is open. Keep the reply. The request below can be adapted for Afterpay, Zip or Shopify Support.

Subject: Dispute process for [Afterpay / Zip] orders, store [your-store.myshopify.com]

Hello,

I run an online store on Shopify and offer [Afterpay / Zip] at checkout.
Please confirm in writing, for my Australian account:

1. How I am notified of a customer dispute, and to which email or portal.
2. The deadline to respond, in calendar or business days, and from which date.
3. The evidence you accept, the file formats and any size limits.
4. How long you take to decide, and whether the decision can be appealed.
5. Whether any fee applies to a dispute, and its amount in A$.
6. What happens to the order amount while the dispute is open, and if I win
   or lose.
7. How a refund I issue interacts with an open dispute.

Regards,
[Full name], store owner

What should the response say?

Short, dated and factual. State what was ordered and when, what you delivered and when, how the customer was kept informed and what resolution you offered. Attach the proof, labelled by type and date. Do not guess at the customer's motives, and do not copy a card chargeback template that mentions bank procedures.

Response to [Afterpay / Zip], order #[number]

The customer ordered on [date] for A$[amount], including A$[shipping]
shipping. The order was dispatched on [date] and tracking shows delivery
on [date] to the address on the order.

On [date] the customer reported [issue]. We replied on [date] and offered
[solution]. [The customer did not respond / the customer declined].

Attached: order record, policy as shown at checkout, tracking and delivery
proof, message thread. We ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

How do refunds and consumer law work for buy now, pay later orders?

The same as for any other payment. The ACCC says a major problem means a full refund to the original payment form, and for a minor problem the seller chooses repair, replace or refund. Change of mind gives no right unless your policy offers one, and a "no refunds" sign cannot deny these rights. For a buy now, pay later order, the original payment form is that provider's.

Case	Position	Source
Major problem	Full refund to the original payment form	ACCC
Minor problem	Seller chooses repair, replace or refund	ACCC
Change of mind	No right unless your policy offers one	ACCC
"No refunds" sign	Cannot deny consumer rights	ACCC
Return costs for a confirmed problem	Reimbursed	ACCC

How a refund on a buy now, pay later order is processed in Shopify, and how it interacts with an open provider dispute, is not described on the pages we read. Ask. Do not send the money by another route, because the point of refunding to the original payment form is that the provider sees it. NAB's guide makes the same point about cards: a refund to the original card resolves a dispute, while a refund to a bank account risks a double refund. Our guides to refunding a customer who opened a dispute and to a customer who still disputes after a refund explain the card sequence, which may differ for providers.

Can you refund while an Afterpay or Zip dispute is open?

We do not know. For cards, Shopify says no refund is possible while a chargeback is open, and the cardholder must drop it first. We could not find an equivalent rule for Afterpay or Zip, so ask the provider before you refund, and keep their answer. If you refund and the provider also resolves the dispute in the customer's favour, you could pay twice.

What if the customer wants to cancel before dispatch?

Cancel and refund to the original payment form before you ship, and tell them in writing. That is almost always cheaper than a dispute, and the ACCC says businesses should offer a solution when they cannot supply on time. Save the cancellation message with its date. Our posts on change of mind refunds and major vs minor failures set out when you must refund.

How do you keep Afterpay and Zip disputes manageable in a busy season?

Add them to your dispute sheet, check the provider portals weekly and respond early. Sales and Christmas compress deadlines, and a short provider window over a public holiday is easy to miss. In 2026, Click Frenzy is on 12 November, Black Friday on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November, with Christmas Day on Friday 25 December.

Habit	Why it helps
One sheet for card and provider disputes	You see all deadlines together
Weekly check of each provider portal and the owner email	Notices are not missed
Respond several days before the deadline	Holidays and portals can be slow
Save screenshots of the checkout showing the provider	Shows what the customer chose
Keep delivery proof for every order	The core evidence for non-delivery

Our guides to Click Frenzy and Black Friday chargebacks and Christmas delivery cut-offs and disputes cover the seasonal pressure. For flagged orders, see fraud prevention on Shopify, and remember that Shopify says fraud analysis does not cover bank charge reversals, which are card disputes.

Do these disputes count toward your Shopify dispute rate?

We do not know. Shopify's monitoring page says the rate counts all customer-opened disputes, that winning does not remove one and that a high rate can lead to a notification, a reserve and monitoring. It does not say whether buy now, pay later disputes are included. Ask Shopify Support, and see chargeback rate and account health warnings.

What about payouts and settlement for these orders?

We could not confirm how Afterpay or Zip orders settle in Shopify for Australian stores, or how an open dispute affects the money. Shopify's payout timing page, which covers Shopify Payments, gives an Australian minimum of 2 business days, with no payouts on weekends or public holidays. Ask each provider and Shopify Support how these orders are paid and whether disputes affect the balance, and see Shopify payout held because of a chargeback.

How should you track Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify?

Add them to the same sheet as your card disputes, with a column for the payment method and the provider's deadline. Because the clocks differ, a single combined list sorted by due date is the safest way to avoid missing one. Review it every Monday and again on Friday during sale weeks.

Column	What to record	Why it helps
Order and date	Number, date, amount, provider	Links the dispute to the order
Notice received	Date, how it reached you	Starts your clock
Provider deadline	The date in the notice, in your calendar	The one that matters
Reason given	The customer's stated reason	Shapes the evidence
Evidence sent	What you attached and when	Your record of the response
Outcome and date	Won, lost, withdrawn	Shows what works
Fee or deduction	A$ amount, if any	Feeds your cash plan

WEEKLY ROUTINE FOR PROVIDER DISPUTES
[ ] Check the Afterpay and Zip merchant portals and the owner email
[ ] Add any new dispute to the sheet with its notice date and deadline
[ ] Sort the sheet by deadline and respond to the earliest first
[ ] Pull tracking and proof of delivery for each open dispute
[ ] Save the customer messages for each open dispute
[ ] Check upcoming public holidays against each deadline
[ ] Record outcomes and any amounts deducted

Should you keep offering a payment method while its dispute terms are unclear?

That is a business decision, and it depends on how much of your revenue uses it and how well your delivery and policies hold up. The terms are unclear to us, but they may be clear to you once you have asked the provider the questions in this guide. If the answers are poor, you can compare the cost of an occasional lost dispute with the sales the method brings.

Illustration: weighing a payment method. A store takes 200 orders a month averaging A$140.00, or A$28,000.00. A buy now, pay later method accounts for 60 of them, or A$8,400.00 (60 times A$140.00). Suppose 2 of those orders are lost in disputes each month. The goods cost A$60.00 and postage A$12.00 on each order, so each loss costs A$72.00 once the sale amount is reversed. Two losses cost A$144.00 (2 times A$72.00), which is about 1.7% of the A$8,400.00 (144 divided by 8,400 is 0.0171). The provider's own fees are unknown to us and are excluded. The point is to run the same sum with your real numbers and your provider's real fees.

What if a customer contacts the provider and not you?

Treat it as the start of a dispute even before a formal notice arrives. Reply to the customer's original message at once, offer a solution and record it. AFCA tells customers to contact the merchant first, and a prompt, polite reply can settle many problems before any provider is involved. Our guide to what to say when a customer threatens a chargeback has wording that works for providers too.

What should you tell customers about paying with a provider?

Tell them plainly where to go for what. The provider handles the payment plan and its own disputes, and you handle the goods, delivery and refunds. A short note in your order email and policy page reduces confusion, and confusion is what sends customers to the wrong place first.

Customer question	Who answers	What to say
Where is my order?	You	Give the tracking link and the expected date
I want to return it	You	Give your returns policy and the ACCC-compliant remedy
My payment plan or instalment dates	The provider	Point them to the provider's own app or support
I want a refund	You, back to the original payment form	Confirm the date and amount in writing
I have disputed it with the provider	You, and the provider	Reply at once, offer a solution and keep records

Keep each reply short, polite and dated. If the customer later disputes, your messages show that you helped, which is what AFCA says customers are expected to try first. Do not give advice about the provider's instalment terms, because those are the provider's to explain.

What's different for Australian merchants?

Consumer law applies to the goods whatever the payment method. The key differences for you are what we could not confirm. The provider timelines come from processor pages, the Zip page names no region and Shopify has no help page that we found for these disputes.

• Consumer law. The ACCC's rules on refunds, major and minor problems and "no refunds" signs apply to buy now, pay later orders.
• Timelines. Treat Afterpay's 120, 13 and 30 days and Zip's 6 months and 10 business days as unconfirmed for your account.
• Cards. For card payments, NAB's guide gives cardholders 120 days for Visa and Mastercard (varying by reason code) and 210 days for eftpos. See chargeback time limits in Australia.
• Complaints. AFCA's chargebacks factsheet is about customers' banks and credit unions. We did not verify whether it covers buy now, pay later providers.
• PayPal. Another method with its own rules. See PayPal disputes on a Shopify store.

What are the most common mistakes with Afterpay and Zip disputes on Shopify?

Assuming card rules apply is the first. The second is missing a notice that goes to a provider portal, and the third is refunding by another route. After those come thin records and quoting timelines you have not confirmed.

1. Assuming Shopify's card clocks apply. The provider sets the deadline.
2. Missing the notice. It may go to a portal or an email you do not watch.
3. Refunding another way. Refund to the original payment form.
4. Waiting for the last day. A short window over a holiday is risky.
5. Reusing a card chargeback response. Bank procedures are not the point.
6. Having no delivery proof. It is the core evidence for non-delivery.
7. Quoting unconfirmed timelines to customers. Use your confirmed terms.
8. Not recording the dispute. Your sheet is the benchmark for next year.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a customer have to dispute an Afterpay order?

Adyen's documentation for Afterpay gives the shopper 120 days. That is a payment processor's page, not Shopify's, and we could not confirm it applies to Shopify in Australia. Ask Afterpay for your own merchant terms and keep the reply with your dispute records.

How long do I have to respond to an Afterpay dispute?

Adyen's documentation says the merchant has 13 days to defend and Afterpay has 30 days to decide. We could not confirm it for your account, or whether the days are calendar or business days. Ask in writing, and respond several days early, especially over public holidays.

How long does a customer have to dispute a Zip order?

PPRO's documentation for Zip gives the customer 6 months and the merchant 10 business days to respond. The page does not state a region, so we cannot say it applies in Australia. We have not used Zip's older 2019 figures. Ask Zip for your current terms.

Does Shopify handle Afterpay and Zip disputes like card chargebacks?

We found no Shopify page that says so. Shopify's chargeback pages describe card disputes: the amount and fee are taken at once, the response window is usually 7 to 21 days, and the bank decides up to 75 days after you submit. Ask Shopify Support how provider disputes appear to you.

Can I refund while a dispute is open?

For cards, Shopify says no refund is possible while a chargeback is open and the cardholder must drop it first. We found no equivalent rule for Afterpay or Zip, so ask the provider before you refund, and keep the answer. Refund to the original payment form so the provider sees it.

Does a no refunds policy protect me?

No. The ACCC says a "no refunds" sign cannot deny consumer rights. A major problem means a full refund to the original payment form, and for a minor problem the seller chooses repair, replace or refund. Change of mind gives no right unless your policy offers one, and the payment method does not change this.

What evidence should I send?

Proof of the order, the policy shown at checkout, tracking and proof of delivery, your messages and any refund record, saved with dates. We could not confirm the formats or limits that Afterpay or Zip accept, so ask before you build a response. Keep the tone neutral.

Will these disputes affect my Shopify account?

Shopify's monitoring page says the dispute rate counts all customer-opened disputes and that a high rate can lead to a notification, a reserve and monitoring. It does not say whether buy now, pay later disputes are included, so ask Shopify Support. Keep your records and your replies in order.

Is there a fee for an Afterpay or Zip dispute?

We could not find one. The processor pages we found give no merchant dispute fee, and we have not guessed. Ask each provider whether any fee applies in Australia and what it is in A$. The A$25 figure sometimes quoted for card disputes is a third-party number, not a provider fee.

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Sources

• Afterpay payment method documentation, Adyen
• Zip payment method documentation, PPRO
• Chargebacks and inquiries, Shopify Help Center
• Chargeback and dispute monitoring, Shopify Help Center
• Payout timing, Shopify Help Center
• Repair, replace, refund, cancel, ACCC
• Chargebacks factsheet, Australian Financial Complaints Authority
• Merchant chargebacks quick reference guide, NAB
• Dates for your ecommerce calendar, Australia Post