Debit vs credit card chargebacks in Australia for sellers

Two customers pay for the same order, one by credit card and one by debit. Months later both dispute it. Do you face two processes, two deadlines, or one? Mostly one, with a few differences worth knowing.

Debit vs credit card chargebacks in Australia follow the same basic path for sellers: the customer's bank raises a dispute through the card scheme, the money comes out of your payout, and you respond with evidence. What differs is the scheme behind the card, the customer's own bank limits, and how fast they may act.

This guide to debit vs credit card chargebacks is for you if:

A dispute has come from a debit card and you are not sure the credit card rules apply.
You want to know how long debit and credit customers have to dispute.
You want to plan your records and cash around both, without guessing.

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

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

NAB's merchant chargebacks guide does not set separate rules for debit and credit. It sets them by scheme: Visa 120 days, Mastercard 120 days and eftpos 210 days for the cardholder, with Visa and Mastercard varying by reason code.

eftpos is Australia's local debit scheme. Most eftpos cards are co-badged with Mastercard, Visa or China UnionPay, according to Adyen's documentation.

Individual banks can set shorter customer windows for their own debit products. AMP lists 45 days from the statement date and no later than 90 days for Visa debit. That is one bank's figure.

For planning, assume the longest scheme limit, 210 days, applies to any card order.

Cash, transfers, cheques, direct debits and BPAY are generally outside the card dispute system, per Consumer Affairs Victoria.

The Shopify response is the same whichever card was used: respond within the due date, usually 7 to 21 days, with evidence matched to the reason.

Quick note: You usually cannot tell, and do not need to tell, whether a disputed payment came from a credit or debit card. Shopify's dispute pages are organised by reason, not card type. What matters to you is the scheme and the timing, and we found no Australian source that gives debit and credit different merchant responsibilities.

Debit vs credit card chargebacks at a glance

Question	Credit card	Debit card
Who raises the dispute?	The customer's bank	The customer's bank
What do you do?	Respond with evidence by the due date	The same
Scheme time limits (NAB)	Visa 120 days, Mastercard 120 days	Visa 120, Mastercard 120, eftpos 210 days
Can a bank set a shorter customer window?	Possibly	Yes, some do for debit products
Does Shopify treat them differently?	Not on the pages we opened	Not on the pages we opened
Money lost to the customer	Borrowed funds	The customer's own funds

What is the difference between debit vs credit card chargebacks in Australia?

The mechanism is the same: the customer disputes, their bank raises it through the scheme, and the amount comes out of your payout. The differences are in the scheme behind the card, the customer's own bank rules and how quickly the customer feels the loss. For debit vs credit card chargebacks, the safest planning assumption is the longest limit.

NAB's merchant chargebacks quick reference guide, which has no stated issue date but carries 2025 and 2026 copyright notices, says it does not distinguish between debit and credit cards. It sets limits by scheme instead. That is how most merchant-facing material works: the scheme, not the funding type, defines your obligations. Our post on how chargebacks work in Australia sets out the full sequence, and chargeback time limits in Australia lists the windows.

Where does the difference actually show up?

In three places. First, the scheme: a card may run on Visa, Mastercard or eftpos, and the limits differ. Second, the bank: banks write their own customer-facing rules and some are stricter for debit. Third, the customer: money from a debit card is the customer's own, so a disputed charge can hurt sooner, and some customers act faster. We have no Australian source that says debit customers dispute more or less often, so we do not claim it.

Where	What can differ
Scheme	Visa, Mastercard and eftpos have different limits
Issuing bank	Customer-facing windows and process steps
Customer	Whose money is affected and how soon they notice
Your side	Nothing in the Shopify response changes

What is eftpos, and why does it matter?

eftpos is Australia's local debit card scheme. Adyen's documentation describes it as used for both in-person and online payments, and says most eftpos cards are co-badged with Mastercard, Visa or China UnionPay. NAB's guide lists a 210 day cardholder window for eftpos, longer than the 120 days for Visa and Mastercard, and says older transactions cannot be disputed. So an eftpos card can be disputed for longer than a credit card, which is the opposite of what many sellers assume.

Adyen's page also describes an eftpos dispute that can start as a request for information, with no funds deducted at that stage, before a chargeback. That is Adyen's flow, and we could not confirm that Shopify Payments handles eftpos the same way. It echoes Shopify's own inquiry stage, which our post on chargeback vs inquiry on Shopify Payments explains.

What time limits apply to debit and credit cards?

For the scheme, NAB lists Visa 120 days, Mastercard 120 days and eftpos 210 days, with Visa and Mastercard varying by reason code. Individual banks may set shorter windows for their own customers. Consumer Affairs Victoria says 45 to 120 days, depending on the provider, on a page last updated in 2023. Plan for the longest.

The bank-specific figures show why one number is never enough.

Source	Card type	Limit	Note
NAB merchant guide	Visa	120 days from transaction date	Varies by reason code; undated
NAB merchant guide	Mastercard	120 days from transaction date	Varies by reason code; undated
NAB merchant guide	eftpos	210 days	Older transactions cannot be disputed
AMP Bank	Visa debit	45 days from statement date, no later than 90 days	AMP's own process only
Consumer Affairs Victoria	Any provider	45 to 120 days	Page updated 12 October 2023

The AMP figure describes what one bank tells its own customers about lodging a dispute, while the NAB figures describe the scheme limits that apply between banks. A bank that tells its customers 45 days may still be able to raise a later dispute if the scheme allows it, depending on its process. We cannot say which applies to a given customer, so plan for the scheme limit. Do not confuse these lodging limits with how long a bank takes to resolve a dispute: Suncorp's page, for example, lists typical resolution times (Visa Debit typically within 45 days, EFTPOS and ATM typically up to 30 days) and says they may vary, which is a different question.

Why not trust the shortest number?

Because the shortest number is a single bank's policy, and your customers use many banks. If you cleared your records at 45 days because one bank says that is its limit, you would have no evidence when a customer at another bank disputes at day 100. NAB's guide says that if you miss the merchant response deadline the case is resolved in the cardholder's favour. Records are the one thing you control.

Illustration: the same A$140 order, two cards

An A$140 order costs you A$55 in goods and A$10 in postage. Processing at 1.7% plus 30 cents, per Shopify's Australian pricing page checked on 10 October 2026, is A$2.68 (1.7% of A$140 is A$2.38, plus 30 cents). The order is placed on Monday 2 November 2026. The reported A$25 fee applies, which we could not find on Shopify's Australian pages.

Milestone	Date	Source of the limit
Order placed	Monday 2 November 2026	n/a
45 days	Thursday 17 December 2026	AMP's first Visa debit limit, counted from the statement date
90 days	Sunday 31 January 2027	AMP's outer limit, counted from the statement date
120 days	Tuesday 2 March 2027	NAB's Visa and Mastercard limit
210 days	Monday 31 May 2027	NAB's eftpos limit

The dollars do not change with the card type.

Outcome	Calculation	Net result
Dispute lost	minus A$55, A$10, A$2.68 and A$25	minus A$92.68
Dispute won, fee returned	A$140 less A$55, A$10 and A$2.68	plus A$72.32
Refund, item not returned	minus A$55, A$10 and A$2.68	minus A$67.68

The same A$140 order has the same outcomes whether the card is debit or credit. What changes is how long the exposure lasts: a Visa debit customer at a strict bank may be out of time by 17 December 2026, while an eftpos customer could still dispute on Monday 31 May 2027. Keep records for the longer figure.

Does your Shopify response change for debit vs credit card chargebacks?

No. Shopify's dispute pages are organised by reason, not by whether the card was debit or credit. You get the same due date, usually 7 to 21 days, the same evidence rules and the same bank decision window of up to 75 days after you submit. Debit vs credit card chargebacks use the same response form.

Shopify's reasons page lists eight reasons, such as fraudulent, product not received and credit not processed, with evidence for each. None of them depends on the funding type. The files must be PDF, JPEG or PNG, up to 2 MB each and 4 MB in total, one file per evidence type, with no links, audio or video. The due date follows your store's timezone and is 11:59 PM if no time is shown. Our guide to responding to a Shopify Payments dispute in Australia covers each step, and chargeback response templates give the wording.

Step	Credit card dispute	Debit card dispute
Notice in Shopify	Same	Same
Response window	Usually 7 to 21 days	Usually 7 to 21 days
Evidence required	By reason	By reason
Bank decision	Up to 75 days after you submit	Up to 75 days after you submit
Appeal	None	None
Counts toward your dispute rate	Yes	Yes

What does NAB's guide say about merchant deadlines?

NAB's guide gives merchant response windows for NAB merchants: 30 days for Visa and eftpos, and 45 days for Mastercard. It also says NAB debits the merchant if there is no response within 10 calendar days for fraud disputes or 24 calendar days for non-fraud disputes after the initial notification. These are NAB's own process for its own merchants. If you use Shopify Payments, your deadline is the one shown on the dispute in your admin. The NAB numbers are useful mainly as a picture of how short merchant windows are compared with cardholder windows.

Scheme	Cardholder window	Merchant response to NAB
Visa	120 days	30 days
Mastercard	120 days	45 days
eftpos	210 days	30 days

Why do debit and credit disputes feel different?

They feel different because of whose money is affected. With a credit card, the customer is disputing borrowed money. With a debit card, the money has already left their account. That can make a debit customer more likely to act quickly, but we found no Australian source that measures it, so treat it as a possibility and not a fact.

What we can say from sources is narrower. Banks write their own customer rules, and some set shorter windows for debit products. AMP's Visa debit process asks customers to lodge within 45 days of the statement date and no later than 90 days, to try the merchant first, and says it aims to resolve in 35 days. It also says disputes are not available for eftpos transactions on savings or cheque accounts. That is one bank, so do not generalise it. Our post on friendly fraud in Australia covers why customers dispute for honest reasons too.

Factor	Credit	Debit
Funds affected	Credit line	The customer's own balance
Customer urgency	Varies	May be higher; no source measures it
Bank lodging windows	Set by each bank	Some banks set shorter windows
Scheme windows	Visa and Mastercard 120 days per NAB	Same, plus eftpos 210 days per NAB
What you can control	Evidence and speed	Evidence and speed

Does a customer have to contact you first?

AFCA's chargebacks factsheet says cardholders should contact the merchant first and ask for a refund or a reasonable alternative, and that their bank may ask how they tried to resolve it. AMP's process says the same in its own words. So whichever card was used, a prompt reply to a complaint helps. See customer threatens a chargeback: what to say for scripts.

Which matters more for debit and credit card chargebacks: the card type or the reason?

The reason matters more. NAB's guide groups disputes by reason: fraud or no authorisation, merchandise or services not received, not as described or defective, credit not processed, cancelled merchandise or services, duplicate processing, cancelled recurring transactions, counterfeit merchandise and misrepresentation of terms. Your evidence follows the reason on both debit and credit cards.

Shopify's own list of eight reasons maps onto those categories closely, which our post on chargeback response templates uses to give you wording for each. NAB's guide adds two points about fraud. It says 3D Secure shifts liability for fraud chargebacks to the card issuer when authentication succeeds, and that manual key entry is treated as card-not-present, with liability for fraud-related chargebacks falling on the merchant. We could not confirm from a current Shopify page how 3D Secure applies on Australian stores, so check with Shopify Support before relying on it.

NAB category	Closest Shopify reason	Lead evidence
Fraud or no cardholder authorisation	Fraudulent or unrecognized	Billing match, IP and country, delivery proof
Services not provided or merchandise not received	Product not received	Tracking, delivery photo or signature
Not as described or defective	Product unacceptable	Listing capture, packing photo, remedy messages
Credit not processed	Credit not processed	Refund confirmation or policy as shown
Duplicate processing	Duplicate	Both receipts and an explanation
Cancelled recurring transaction	Subscription canceled	Terms, notices, activity log

So when a dispute lands, read the reason first and the card second. A "product not received" dispute on a debit card and on a credit card both turn on the same delivery proof. Our post on item not received disputes with Australia Post shows what that proof looks like.

Which payments are outside the card dispute system?

Consumer Affairs Victoria says chargebacks are generally not available for cash payments, money transfers, cheques, direct debits and BPAY. For a seller, that matters in two ways. If you accept bank transfer, those payments are not card chargebacks. And if you refund a card payment by bank transfer, you can create a double payment risk.

NAB's guide is direct about this. It says a refund to the original card can resolve the dispute, while a refund to a bank account makes the dispute harder to win, and you may face a double refund and an unnecessary A$25 fee. That fee is NAB's own merchant fee, and it is separate from any Shopify fee.

Illustration: refunding by transfer instead of the card

A customer paid A$200 by card for an order that cost you A$80 in goods and A$12 in postage. Processing was A$3.70 (1.7% of A$200 is A$3.40, plus 30 cents). The customer wants a refund and you send A$200 by bank transfer outside Shopify. The customer also disputes the card payment. The fee used is the reported A$25.

Path	What happens	Net result
Refund to the original card	Customer repaid once	minus A$95.70 (A$80, A$12 and A$3.70)
Refund by bank transfer, then the dispute is lost	Customer repaid A$200 by you and A$200 by the bank, plus the fee	minus A$320.70

The difference is A$225.00, which is the second A$200 plus the A$25 fee. This is why Shopify's refund tools matter: a refund through Shopify goes back to the original payment method and is visible to the bank. Our post on refunding a customer who opened a dispute shows how to refund at each stage.

How do you plan your records for debit and credit card chargebacks?

Plan for the longest scheme limit and keep a single routine for debit and credit card chargebacks. Because you cannot control which card a customer uses, treat every card order as open to dispute for up to 210 days, plus the response and decision periods. Keep records for at least 12 months from the sale.

Record	Keep for	Why
Order and payment details	12 months	Covers 210 days plus the response and decision periods
Tracking and delivery proof	12 months	Proves delivery for product not received
Customer messages	12 months	Shows contact before any dispute
Refund confirmations	12 months	Proves a refund if a dispute follows
Policy pages as shown	12 months	Shows what the customer agreed to

Use this checklist.

DEBIT AND CREDIT DISPUTE PLANNING CHECKLIST

[ ] Keep records for 12 months, whatever the card type
[ ] Note the sale date; the scheme limit may run from it
[ ] Note the promised delivery date; a late order can stay
    open longer
[ ] Refund to the original payment method only (through Shopify)
[ ] Never refund a card payment by bank transfer
[ ] Reply to complaints within one business day
[ ] When a dispute arrives, check if it is an inquiry or chargeback
[ ] Respond by the due date in your store timezone
[ ] Keep evidence after a win in case the bank re-disputes

The refund method matters most. Shopify says refunds go to the customer's account over time and a full refund on an inquiry means the cardholder cannot start a chargeback. A transfer outside Shopify gives the bank nothing to see.

What should you do the day a debit or credit dispute arrives?

Treat both the same way: open the dispute, record the reason and the due date, check the sale and delivery dates, and decide whether to fight, refund early or accept. Do not spend time trying to work out whether the card was debit or credit. Spend it on the evidence for the stated reason.

Shopify says your response is submitted on the due date even if you add nothing, so the first job is the date. Then confirm the stage, because an inquiry can be ended by a full refund while a chargeback cannot be refunded. Our post on Shopify chargeback email: what to do in the first 24 hours covers the first day in detail, and accepting or fighting a Shopify dispute covers the decision.

DISPUTE TRIAGE NOTE (same for debit and credit)

Order: #[NUMBER]    Amount: A$[AMOUNT]    Sale date: [DATE]
Promised delivery: [DATE]    Delivered: [DATE]
Dispute opened: [DATE]    Days since sale: [NUMBER]
Stage: [INQUIRY / CHARGEBACK]    Reason: [SHOPIFY REASON]
Response due: [DATE, TIME, STORE TIMEZONE]
Card brand shown (if any): [VISA / MASTERCARD / EFTPOS / UNKNOWN]
Evidence on hand: [LIST]
Gaps: [LIST]
Decision: [FIGHT / REFUND (INQUIRY ONLY) / ACCEPT / SETTLE]
Decision date: [DATE]    Decided by: [NAME]

Illustration: a debit dispute on day 154

A customer paid A$140 by debit on Monday 2 November 2026. They dispute on Monday 5 April 2027, which is 154 days after the sale. That is beyond the 120 days NAB lists for Visa and Mastercard, but inside the 210 days NAB lists for eftpos. If the card is an eftpos card, the dispute is in time. You cannot tell from the dispute alone, so you respond anyway.

Date	Event
Monday 2 November 2026	Order placed; A$140 paid
Monday 5 April 2027	Dispute opened, 154 days after the sale
Friday 9 April 2027	You submit evidence
Monday 12 April to Monday 26 April 2027	Response window, 7 to 21 days
Wednesday 23 June 2027	Latest bank decision, 75 days after submission

The money outcomes are those in the earlier A$140 example: minus A$92.68 if lost, plus A$72.32 if won with the fee returned, and minus A$67.68 if you had refunded. The lesson is practical. A customer who looks out of time on a credit card basis can still be in time on a debit scheme, so do not refuse to respond because the dispute "feels" too late. Respond, with the sale date in your evidence, and let the bank apply its rules.

What's different for Australian merchants?

Australia has a local debit scheme, eftpos, with a longer cardholder window than Visa and Mastercard. Banks write their own customer rules, and the main merchant sources, such as NAB's guide, are undated. That makes the safe path a long retention period and a single routine for every card.

eftpos is local. Adyen's documentation says it is used for in-person and online payments and that most cards are co-badged with international schemes.
Scheme limits are published by acquirers. NAB lists Visa 120, Mastercard 120 and eftpos 210 days, and the document date is not stated.
Banks differ. AMP's Visa debit limits are 45 and 90 days, and other banks will vary.
Direct debit and BPAY are separate. Consumer Affairs Victoria says they are generally outside card disputes.
Customers should contact you first. AFCA says so, and banks may ask how they tried to resolve it.
AFCA is for the customer's complaint against their bank. It checks reasonable efforts and cannot review a scheme decision.
The fee is unconfirmed. Shopify's Australian pricing page lists no dispute fee. Third parties report A$25, and NAB charges its own merchants A$25.
Other methods are separate. Afterpay and PayPal run their own disputes. See Afterpay and Zip disputes and PayPal disputes.

What mistakes do sellers make with debit vs credit card chargebacks?

The most common mistake is assuming debit disputes follow shorter or different rules and clearing records too soon. The others are refunding outside Shopify, trusting one bank's window, and treating a non-card payment as a card dispute.

Assuming debit has the shorter window. NAB lists eftpos at 210 days, the longest.
Using one bank's figure for everyone. AMP's limits are its own.
Deleting records at 45 or 90 days. Scheme limits can be 120 or 210 days.
Refunding by bank transfer. NAB's guide warns of a double refund and a needless fee.
Confusing resolution time with lodging time. A bank's typical resolution time is not the customer's deadline.
Treating BPAY or direct debit as chargeable. Consumer Affairs Victoria says they are generally not.
Missing the due date. Shopify Payments submits what it has on the due date, which weakens the case.
Quoting a dispute limit to a customer. Customers often have longer than you say.

Frequently asked questions

Are debit and credit card chargebacks the same for merchants?

Largely, yes. NAB's merchant guide does not set separate rules for debit and credit. It sets limits by scheme. On Shopify, the response form, due date and bank decision window are the same whichever card was used. What differs is the scheme behind the card and the customer's own bank rules.

How long can a customer dispute a debit card payment?

It depends on the scheme and the bank. NAB lists 120 days for Visa and Mastercard and 210 days for eftpos. AMP asks its Visa debit customers to lodge within 45 days of the statement date and no later than 90 days. Plan for the longest, and confirm your own processor's rules.

Is a debit card chargeback harder to win?

We found no Australian source that says so. The evidence rules are the same, matched to the dispute reason. Your chances depend on the proof you hold. A debit customer may act sooner because their own money left their account, but that is not a measured fact, so we do not rely on it.

What is eftpos, and can it be charged back?

eftpos is Australia's local debit scheme, and most cards are co-badged with Mastercard, Visa or China UnionPay, according to Adyen. NAB's guide lists a 210 day cardholder window for eftpos. Individual banks may restrict disputes for some accounts, as AMP does for eftpos on savings or cheque accounts.

Can a customer charge back a bank transfer or BPAY?

Generally not. Consumer Affairs Victoria says chargebacks are generally not available for cash, money transfers, cheques, direct debits and BPAY. Customers still have consumer rights and may complain to their bank, but the card dispute process does not apply in the same way.

Does Shopify show me whether the card was debit or credit?

The Shopify pages we opened do not say, and you do not need it to respond. Your evidence is matched to the dispute reason. What you need is the sale date, the delivery date and your records, which stay the same for both card types.

Should I refund a disputed card payment by bank transfer?

No. NAB's guide says a refund to the original card can resolve the dispute, while a refund to a bank account makes it harder to win and can cause a double refund and an unnecessary fee. Refund through Shopify to the original payment method so the bank can see it.

How long do I keep records for card disputes?

At least 12 months from the sale. The longest cardholder limit we found is 210 days for eftpos, and the response and decision periods can add roughly another 96 days. Keep anything tied to an open case until it closes, because a bank can re-dispute a win.

Do the rules change for prepaid or business cards?

We did not find a source that covers them, so we do not make a claim. The scheme behind the card is what matters for limits, and your processor can confirm. If a dispute arrives on a card type you do not recognise, respond by the due date with the same evidence.

Start free trial with ChargeFix

ChargeFix helps Australian Shopify merchants turn their order, delivery, message and policy records into a ready response. You review and file it, or let Auto mode handle them. If you want your evidence ready for both debit vs credit card chargebacks, you can try it on a free trial first.

Start free trial

Debit vs credit card chargebacks in Australia: what changes for sellers

What is the difference between debit vs credit card chargebacks in Australia?