How to respond to a debit not authorised dispute: what you can and cannot do

That reason is not on Shopify's list. "Debit not authorised" comes from bank debits, and the bank may already have taken the money back. So what can you actually do now?

To respond to a debit not authorised dispute, first check how the customer paid. A card claim is answered with evidence before the due date. A bank Direct Debit claim is usually final, so you talk to the customer, check the signed mandate and fix your process.

This guide is for you if:

• You take Direct Debit or other bank payments in Australia and a customer says they never approved one.
• You use Shopify Payments for cards and wonder why this label is not on Shopify's list.
• You want your paperwork to hold up the next time a customer says "I never agreed to that".

Last updated: 19 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 19 October 2026.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

• "Debit not authorised" is a bank-debit label. It is not one of Shopify's eight card reasons.
• On a card, the same complaint shows up as Fraudulent, and you can send evidence.
• On Australian BECS Direct Debit, Stripe says disputes are final, and customers have up to 7 years to raise one.
• Once the money is gone, your tools are a calm message and your signed mandate.
• A refund does not stop a bank dispute. Get the customer's written confirmation first, or you may pay twice.
• The real fix is upstream: a clear mandate, a notice before each debit and a name people recognise.

Do this today (10 minutes):

1. Check how the customer paid: card or bank debit.
2. Find the signed mandate (the Direct Debit Request) and the notice emails.
3. Pause any scheduled debits for that customer.

Then read on to see which path you are on.

From dispute to decision

Stage	What happens	Your move
Day 0: claim lands	The bank returns the money and a dispute fee is charged	Read the reason, the amount and the payment method
Days 1 to 2	You find out whether you can respond	Check if the dispute is final or open to evidence
Days 3 to 5	You talk to the customer	Ask what happened, check the mandate
Days 6 to 8	You decide	Collect a new payment, write off or escalate
Next week	You fix the process	Review mandates, notices and statement name

A quick story (illustration). Tom sells custom bike parts and takes Direct Debit for orders over A$400. Four months after an A$480 sale, the bank returns the debit as not authorised, and the money leaves his balance at once. He cannot appeal, so he pulls the mandate: it was accepted online, but under a partner's name, because the account is joint. A short, friendly message clears it up. The customer admits the date surprised them and pays again. Tom then adds a pre-debit email and a line about who must sign. The dispute was final, but the relationship and the process were not.

What does a debit not authorised dispute mean?

A debit not authorised dispute means the account holder tells their bank that a debit from their account was not approved by them. It is a bank-debit claim. In Stripe's records it appears as the reason debit_not_authorized, and for instant bank payments Stripe says every dispute carries that reason.

The idea is simple. With a card, the customer shows the card at checkout. With a bank debit, the customer gives you a mandate, a standing permission to pull money from their account. A debit not authorised dispute says that the permission was never given, was cancelled, or did not cover what you took.

Stripe's categories page lists the underlying return codes for instant bank payments. They show how many different stories sit behind the same words.

Return code	Stripe's label	What it means
R10	Unauthorised	The customer claims they did not authorise the debit
R07	Authorisation revoked	The customer cancelled a permission they gave before
R08	Payment stopped	The customer told their bank to stop this debit
R11	Not per terms	The debit did not match the terms of the permission

Those codes belong to the United States ACH system, so treat the table as a way to see the range of stories, not as an Australian list. Stripe's page lists a few more codes for business accounts. The shape is the same, though: not authorised, cancelled, stopped, or outside the agreement.

Put plainly, a debit not authorised dispute is not always an accusation of fraud in the way a stolen-card claim is. A genuinely unauthorised bank debit is possible, but it is often a customer who forgot, a family member who did not know, or a subscription they thought they had cancelled. You will not know which until you ask.

Is a debit not authorised dispute one of Shopify's chargeback reasons?

No. Shopify's reasons page lists eight reasons: Fraudulent, Unrecognised, Duplicate, Subscription cancelled, Product not received, Product unacceptable, Credit not processed and General. Debit not authorised is not among them. On Shopify Payments, a customer who says "I did not authorise this" shows up as Fraudulent.

That gap trips people up. You search "debit not authorised dispute Shopify" and find nothing, because Shopify's help pages talk about card chargebacks. The reason exists, but in the bank debit dispute world: on Stripe's list of dispute reasons you also find debit_not_authorized, incorrect_account_details and insufficient_funds, alongside the card reasons.

So the first question is not "what evidence do I send?" It is "which system did this come from?" The 60-second test below tells you.

If you take Direct Debit, it most likely comes through a separate provider or an app, not through Shopify's card list. Check the notice for the payment method before you do anything else.

Which path are you on when you get a debit not authorised dispute?

Before you read further, answer three questions. They decide almost everything that follows.

1. How did the customer pay? A card at the Shopify checkout puts you on the card path. A Direct Debit or another bank payment puts you on the bank path.
2. Does the notice give you a due date and a place to upload evidence? If yes, you can respond. If the funds were simply returned and the case is closed, it is final.
3. Has the money already left your balance? On both paths the amount usually goes first, and any fee with it.

Your situation	Path	What you can do	Where to read
Card payment, notice says Fraudulent, with a due date	Card path	Send evidence before the due date	The next section
Card payment, notice says Unrecognised	Card path	Send evidence and focus on the statement name	The next section
Australian Direct Debit, funds returned by the bank	Bank path	Talk to the customer, ask for a new payment, fix the paperwork	The BECS sections
Instant bank payment with an ACH return code	Bank path	Check your provider's evidence page and talk to the customer	The return codes table
Not sure	Look at the payment method on the order	Then use the rows above

If your debit not authorised dispute is on the card path, the Direct Debit mandate advice further down is for later. Start with the evidence section directly below.

How do you respond when a customer says they did not authorise a card payment?

On Shopify Payments, a card payment the cardholder says they did not authorise is marked Fraudulent. You can respond with evidence, usually within 7 to 21 days. Shopify's list for Fraudulent includes the fulfilment date and time, billing information, IP address and country, and shipping and tracking information. Your job is to show that the person who paid and the person who received the order are the same, or clearly connected.

With a card debit not authorised dispute, do not start from the idea that the customer is lying. A partner, parent or employee often uses a card with permission and the cardholder is never told. Others simply forget a purchase. A few claims are real fraud. One file works for the first two groups of debit not authorised disputes. For the third, no file will work, and the right move is to accept the dispute and cancel any unshipped order.

Here is the order in which evidence carries weight, strongest first.

Rank	Evidence	Why it carries weight	Where to find it
1	The cardholder confirms the purchase or the delivery in writing	A direct acknowledgement beats any inference	Your inbox, order notes
2	Earlier undisputed orders from the same customer, address and device	A repeat buyer who never complained is hard to call a stranger	Customer page, order history
3	Delivery confirmed to the cardholder's address	Shows the goods reached the person on the card	Tracking screenshot
4	Address check, security code check and 3D Secure result	Shows the right details were entered at the time	Order page, payment details
5	IP address and country that match the billing country	Context only, not proof on its own	Order page
6	Cardholder name that matches the name on the invoice	Pay Advantage advises this match	Order and invoice

Two cautions come straight from Shopify's own fraud analysis page. It lists the address check, the security code check, location compared with the payment method, device or network activity and multiple cards as indicators, and it says an IP address "by itself isn't a fraud recommendation". It does not list billing and shipping address match as an indicator, so never lean on that match alone. Its recommendations need the Grow plan or higher, or Shopify Payments, and there are none for test orders, free orders, gift-card orders, point of sale orders, B2B orders or subscription renewals.

Rank 2 deserves extra attention in any debit not authorised dispute. Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 rules are built on exactly this idea for fraud claims coded 10.4. They look for at least two earlier undisputed transactions from 120 to 365 days before the dispute, with matching details such as an IP address or device ID plus a shipping address or account ID, and with the first six characters of the statement descriptor matching. How Shopify Payments applies those rules is not published, so do not count on them. Do use the idea. List every earlier order from this customer, the dates, and what matched each time.

Illustration: a card version of a debit not authorised dispute. A customer's A$260 order is disputed as Fraudulent. The goods cost you A$105 and postage was A$12. The fee is A$25. You find two earlier orders from the same customer, eight and five months ago, sent to the same address and never disputed.

Outcome	Result
Win	You keep A$260 and the A$25 fee comes back. After A$105 goods and A$12 postage: A$143 profit
Lose	A$260 and A$25 gone. After A$105 goods and A$12 postage: loss of A$142
Accept at once	The same as losing: loss of A$142

The gap on this debit not authorised dispute is A$285. If the file takes two hours, which at A$40 an hour is A$80, you break even at a win chance of about 28 percent. With two clean earlier orders the odds are well above that, so fight. With no history, a new address and a failed security code check, accepting and moving on is a fair call.

Here is a cover note to respond to a debit not authorised dispute on a card. Fill it from the table above, strongest evidence first.

RESPONSE TO DISPUTE: Order #[number]

Summary
On [date], [name on the card] paid A$[amount] for [product]. The bank records the
payment as not authorised. We believe it was made by the cardholder or with
their knowledge.

Facts, in date order
1. Earlier orders from the same customer: #[a] on [date] and #[b] on [date],
   both delivered to [address] and not disputed. (Exhibit 1)
2. [Date, time]: This order was placed with the same shipping address and an IP
   address in [country]. (Exhibit 2)
3. Payment checks: address [result], security code [result], 3D Secure
   [result if used]. (Exhibit 3)
4. [Date, time]: Delivered to [address]. (Exhibit 4)
5. [Date, time]: We asked the cardholder to check with anyone who may have
   used the card. [Reply, if any.] (Exhibit 5)

What the records do and do not show
They show a repeat customer and a delivery to a known address. They do not
show who held the card at the time of purchase.

Request
We ask that the payment be upheld as valid.

It also helps to ask the cardholder, politely, whether someone close to them used the card.

Subject: Your order #[number] - a quick check

Hi [first name],

Your bank has queried a payment of A$[amount] for order #[number]. Sometimes
a partner, parent or colleague uses a card and the cardholder is not told.

Could you check whether anyone may have placed this order? If it was not a
purchase you expected, tell me and I will help right away.

Thanks,
[Name]
[Store name]

How does a BECS Direct Debit dispute work in Australia?

BECS is the Australian bank-to-bank system behind Direct Debit. Stripe's page on it says a customer can dispute a payment through their bank on a "no questions asked" basis for up to 7 years, the bank honours those disputes, and the funds are removed from your balance straight away together with a dispute fee.

The same page adds the sentence that matters most for this guide: all Australia BECS Direct Debit disputes are final and cannot be appealed. If the customer's bank accepts the request to return the funds, you do not get to send evidence to overturn it. You can only contact the customer, and if they agree to pay you, they must make a new payment.

That is why a debit not authorised dispute on BECS is mostly decided by what you did before the debit. On a card, a bad claim can be defended with a file. On a BECS Direct Debit dispute, the file is the mandate you collected at the start, and its job is prevention. By the time the dispute lands, the contest is over.

Stripe also lists a few facts about how the payment method works that explain why a debit not authorised dispute arises:

• BECS Direct Debit is a "delayed notification" method. It can take up to three business days to learn whether a payment succeeded or failed.
• The business must collect a mandate with the account holder's name, the BSB and the account number, and the customer must accept a service agreement.
• Stripe sends emails when the mandate is set up and for each debit by default. Its guidelines suggest at least 14 calendar days' notice before a debit, though that is not mandatory, and its default pre-debit email goes out the day before.
• New users have a default limit of A$10,000 per transaction and A$10,000 per week.

Stripe does not state the fee for a BECS dispute on the page I read, so the sums later in this guide use an assumed fee and say so.

What can you do about a BECS Direct Debit dispute after the money is gone?

Because you cannot appeal a debit not authorised dispute here, you do three things: find out why the customer disputed, decide whether they owe you, and either ask for a fresh payment or write it off. The goal is a calm conversation, not a fight. Many of these disputes are honest mistakes that a clear message can fix.

Step 1: Read the notice. Note the amount, the date of the original debit, the payment method and any reason or return code. Save a screenshot.

Step 2: Pull the mandate. Find the Direct Debit Request (the DDR), the date it was accepted, the name, BSB and account number (last digits only in your notes), and the service agreement the customer accepted. This tells you whether the customer agreed.

Step 3: Pull the notices. Find the mandate confirmation email and the pre-debit email for this payment. If they went out, you can show the customer exactly what they were told.

Step 4: Ask the customer. Use the message template below. Assume good faith until the facts say otherwise.

Step 5: Decide. If the customer agrees they owe you, ask for a new payment. If they were wrongly debited, say sorry and move on. If the story does not add up, record it and consider whether you want this customer on a mandate again.

Stripe's page gives a warning that is easy to miss. If you refund the customer while their bank is also processing the dispute, the customer may receive two credits for the same transaction. It adds that issuing a refund does not prevent a dispute from being processed, and a customer can still dispute after a refund, producing a double credit against you. So before you refund, ask the customer in writing to confirm they have not also disputed with their bank.

Should you contact the customer, and what should you say?

Yes, once you have read the notice and found the mandate. A debit not authorised dispute is a conversation first and a process second. Keep the message short and kind, ask what happened, and offer a specific next step. Do not accuse the customer, and do not offer a refund before you know whether the bank has already returned the money.

Subject: Your payment of A$[amount] on [date] - can we sort this out?

Hi [first name],

Your bank has returned a payment of A$[amount] that we debited on [date]
for [product / order number]. I would like to understand what happened.

Could you tell me whether:
  - you were not expecting this payment,
  - you had cancelled or changed the arrangement, or
  - something else went wrong?

Our Direct Debit Request was accepted on [date], and we sent a notice on
[date]. I have attached both so you can see what we have on file.

If the payment was a mistake on our side, I will make it right today. If it
was valid, we can set up a new payment at a time that suits you.

Please do not ask your bank to refund this to you AND ask us for a refund,
or you may receive the money twice and we would need to reverse one.

Thanks,
[Name]
[Store name]

The last paragraph is not a threat. It is a plain heads-up that protects both of you, and it reflects Stripe's point about double credits. If you prefer a softer line, say "so that the credit only lands once".

If the customer does not reply, send one follow-up after three business days. After that, record the attempts and decide whether to pursue the amount or write it off.

What are the common causes of a debit not authorised dispute?

Most claims come from a small set of honest causes, and knowing them helps you write the first message. The table lists the usual ones, with what you would see and the best first step.

Cause	What it looks like	First step
Forgot the agreement	A normal customer who does not remember signing up	Send the mandate and the notice
Changed or cancelled the arrangement	Customer says they cancelled by email or phone	Check your inbox and call log
Account holder differs from the person who ordered	A partner or parent whose account was used	Ask who set it up; check the name on the mandate
Debit date or amount was a surprise	Amount differs from what they expected	Compare the notice with the debit
Statement did not look familiar	Unfamiliar name on the bank statement	Show the name and the reference
Genuine unauthorised bank debit	Someone else entered the account details	Apologise, record it, do not debit again

Notice that only the last row is a true fraud. The rest are communication problems, and communication is something you control. A mandate that is clear, a notice that arrives before the debit, and a statement name people recognise remove most of these disputes before they start.

Stripe's BECS page also explains how the statement shows up. Each payment shows two fields on the bank statement: the business name and a lodgement reference unique to the transaction. The page says the descriptor is cut to the first nine alphanumeric characters in the lodgement reference, followed by a unique ID. Each Australian bank formats these fields differently, so what your customer sees may be upper case or lower case. Test it with your own account.

What is a direct debit mandate, and how does it answer a debit not authorised dispute?

A direct debit mandate, called a Direct Debit Request or DDR in Australia, is the customer's permission to debit their account. Stripe says it must carry the account holder's name, BSB and account number, and the customer must accept a service agreement. It is your main protection, and when a debit not authorised dispute lands it is the first thing to pull.

Here is a short checklist for any direct debit mandate. It is a practical list built from Stripe's description of what the mandate needs and what the debit notices should say. It is not legal advice, so check your own agreement wording with a professional.

DIRECT DEBIT MANDATE CHECKLIST

[ ] Direct Debit Request (DDR) form with the account holder's full name
    as on the bank account
[ ] BSB and account number captured by the payment provider
[ ] Service agreement shown and accepted, with the date and time saved
[ ] A copy of the mandate emailed to the customer straight away
[ ] Amount or amount rule stated (fixed, variable, maximum)
[ ] Debit dates or frequency stated in plain words
[ ] How to cancel stated, with an email address and a phone number
[ ] Your business name exactly as it will appear on the bank statement
[ ] Pre-debit notice sent before each debit (Stripe suggests 14 days
    ahead as a guideline; its default email goes out the day before)
[ ] Last 4 digits of the account, the amount and your contact details in
    each notice
[ ] Mandate and notices kept for as long as you debit the customer
    (BECS disputes can arrive up to 7 years later)

Stripe's page notes that a bank account holder can request cancellation of an active mandate at any time, through their bank or the party they set it up with. Cancelling a mandate makes future debits under it invalid, so a new mandate is needed if you want to debit again. That is a common source of "not authorised" claims: the customer cancelled, but a scheduled debit was still in your system.

If you use a service agreement template from a provider, read it once, in full, as a customer would. If you cannot explain it in two sentences to a friend, a customer will not remember it either. That is part of the reason customers say "I never agreed to that".

How should you act in the first 48 hours of a debit not authorised dispute?

Read the notice, find the mandate, pause any scheduled debits on that customer, and send the message. Do not issue a refund until the customer has confirmed in writing that they have not also asked their bank. Do not try to debit the account again until the issue is settled.

Here is a day-by-day plan for a debit not authorised dispute on a bank debit. The claim lands on Tuesday 1 December 2026. Because a BECS Direct Debit dispute is final, there is no response due date, so the plan runs on your own deadlines.

Date	Task	Output
Tue 1 Dec	Read the notice. Note amount, date and payment method. Pause scheduled debits on this customer.	One-line note
Wed 2 Dec	Pull the mandate, service agreement and every notice sent.	Mandate file saved
Thu 3 Dec	Send the message. Ask what happened, and ask them not to seek a second credit.	Message sent and saved
Fri 4 Dec	Read any reply. Check your inbox and call log for a cancellation you missed.	Cause identified
Mon 7 Dec	Decide: ask for a new payment, write off, or stop debiting this customer.	Decision logged
Tue 8 Dec	If the customer agrees to pay, set up a new payment with a fresh, clear mandate.	New mandate or write-off recorded
Wed 9 Dec	Review the other open mandates for the same cause. Check the statement name and notice timing.	Process notes

If the dispute turns out to be a card claim marked Fraudulent on Shopify instead, the plan changes: you have a due date, usually 7 to 21 days, and Shopify Payments sends your response on that date even if you added nothing. In that case, switch to an evidence plan like the one in the general dispute guide.

What does an unauthorised bank debit cost, and when is it worth chasing?

A debit not authorised dispute on BECS takes the full amount straight away plus a dispute fee. Because the dispute is final, the fee and the amount are gone unless the customer agrees to pay again. The sums below use an assumed A$25 fee, since the BECS fee is not published on the page I read, and both are illustrations, not benchmarks.

Illustration 1: a final bank-debit dispute. A customer pays A$480 by Direct Debit for a made-to-order item. The goods cost you A$210 and you paid A$20 postage. Five months later the customer files a debit not authorised dispute. The bank returns A$480, and you pay an assumed A$25 fee.

Outcome	Result
Customer agrees to pay again	You recover A$480, but the A$25 fee is still gone. After A$210 goods and A$20 postage: A$225 profit
Customer does not pay	A$480 and A$25 gone. After A$210 goods and A$20 postage: loss of A$255

The gap is A$480. A fifteen-minute message and a polite follow-up cost almost nothing, so contacting the customer is worth it at nearly any chance of success. This is why the message matters more than any evidence file in a bank-debit case.

Illustration 2: the double credit on a debit not authorised dispute. A customer asks for an A$150 refund on Monday. You refund on Wednesday. On Friday the same customer's bank returns the original A$150 debit as unauthorised. Now the customer has been credited twice.

Step	Your balance change
Original payment	+A$150
Your refund	-A$150
Bank returns the debit	-A$150 and an assumed A$25 fee
Net	-A$175

You are A$175 down for a sale that should have netted zero. Stripe's page warns that a refund does not prevent a dispute, and refunds need extra time to process, typically 3 to 5 business days. The fix costs nothing: before you refund, ask the customer to confirm in writing that they have not also contacted their bank, and refund only after the original payment has settled.

How do you prevent a debit not authorised dispute before the next sale?

Make permission clear at the start, remind customers before each debit, and make cancelling easy. Most debit not authorised disputes are failures of memory or communication, so a bank debit dispute is often preventable. The mandate, the pre-debit notice and the statement name are the three parts you control, and each can be improved in an afternoon.

Set-up item	Why it helps	How to check it
Clear mandate wording	The customer knows what they agreed to	Read it as if you were the customer
Mandate copy emailed at once	The customer holds proof of what they signed	Place a test order and check the email
Pre-debit notice before every debit	No surprise on the bank statement	Check when the email goes out in your settings
Easy cancellation	Customers cancel with you, not through the bank	Test the cancel path in under two minutes
Recognisable business name	Customers match the debit to you	Look at a test debit on your own account
Limits that suit your sales	Fewer large debits that look odd	Review the A$10,000 default limits if you raised them
Retry rules	Avoids repeated failed debits that annoy customers	Review how many retries you allow

Stripe's BECS page also notes that automatic retries for failed BECS payments caused by insufficient funds can be turned on, with a maximum of four retries within 30 days, and that debit failure fees are not charged for retries that Stripe starts automatically. Sending too many retries can itself trigger complaints, so set the rules deliberately. If you want more on that side, the guide on the insufficient funds reason covers it.

Keep one more habit: when a customer writes to say they want to stop, cancel the mandate or the schedule that same day and reply to confirm it. A cancellation you honour on the day cannot turn into a "not authorised" dispute a month later.

What is different for Australian merchants?

General information, not legal advice.

Fees and process

On Shopify Payments, the card chargeback fee in Australia is A$25, returned if you win, and the response window is usually 7 to 21 days. For a BECS Direct Debit dispute through a separate provider, Stripe says disputes are final and the dispute amount and fee are removed from your balance. Check your provider's pricing page for the BECS fee.

Time limits and records

Stripe says a customer can dispute a BECS Direct Debit for up to 7 years. That is much longer than the card window, which Stripe says is typically about 120 days. For card disputes, state consumer bodies say time limits commonly run from 45 to 120 days, which I carried from earlier research and could not re-open today. Pay Advantage advises keeping records for 12 to 18 months, but a 7-year dispute window is a reason to keep mandate records for as long as you debit the customer, and well after.

Banks and rules

Pay Advantage says chargebacks in Australia are governed by the ePayments Code, administered by ASIC. I could not verify how that code applies to Direct Debit disputes specifically. Stripe's description is that the customer's bank honours the dispute.

Consumer law

I could not verify how the Australian Consumer Law applies to an unauthorised bank debit, or what the banking rules say about refunds for these claims. If you are unsure whether a debit was valid, get advice before you pursue the customer.

What I could not verify: the BECS dispute fee, how Shopify's checkout offers bank debits in Australia, what evidence an Australian bank would accept if a dispute could be contested, and the Australian equivalent of the ACH return codes.

What are the common mistakes when you respond to a debit not authorised dispute?

• Searching for evidence to appeal a bank debit dispute that Stripe says is final.
• Treating every debit not authorised dispute as fraud, when most are memory or communication slips.
• Refunding before the customer confirms they have not also disputed with their bank.
• Debiting the customer again while the dispute is still open.
• Keeping scheduled debits running after a customer cancelled their mandate.
• Writing an accusing message to a customer who simply forgot.
• Losing the mandate, the service agreement or the notice emails, then having nothing to show.
• Using a business name on the statement that customers do not recognise.
• Treating a card claim marked Fraudulent as a bank debit dispute, and missing the due date.
• Not recording the date and time the customer accepted the service agreement.

Frequently asked questions

What is a debit not authorised dispute?

A debit not authorised dispute is a bank-debit claim that the account holder did not approve a debit. Stripe uses the reason debit_not_authorized for instant bank payment disputes, with a return code explaining the detail. It is not one of the eight reasons Shopify lists for card chargebacks. A card version of the claim appears as Fraudulent.

Can I respond to a debit not authorised dispute with evidence?

For a debit not authorised dispute, it depends on the payment method. Stripe says Australian BECS Direct Debit disputes are final and cannot be appealed, so you cannot overturn them with evidence. On a card, the same claim arrives as Fraudulent and you can respond with evidence before the due date, usually 7 to 21 days.

How long can a customer raise a debit not authorised dispute in Australia?

Stripe says a customer can raise a BECS Direct Debit payment with their bank for up to 7 years, "no questions asked", and the bank honours it. That is far longer than the typical 120 days for cards, so keep your mandate records for as long as you debit the customer.

What should a direct debit mandate include?

Stripe says the mandate needs the account holder's name, BSB and account number plus an accepted service agreement. Add the amount rule, the debit dates, how to cancel and your business name. Store the date and time of acceptance with a copy of the wording shown.

Does refunding stop a debit not authorised dispute?

No. Stripe says issuing a refund does not prevent a dispute from being processed, and a customer can still dispute after a refund, giving them two credits. Ask the customer to confirm in writing that they have not contacted their bank, and refund only after the payment has settled.

What does Shopify call a debit not authorised dispute on a card?

Shopify marks a card payment the cardholder did not authorise as Fraudulent. Its evidence list includes fulfilment date and time, billing information, IP address and country, and shipping and tracking information. Shopify's fraud analysis also shows address and security code checks that can support your response.

How much notice should I give before a Direct Debit?

Stripe says the Australian Direct Debit guidelines suggest notifying customers at least 14 calendar days before you create a payment, but that this is not mandatory. Its default pre-debit email goes out the day before. Clear notices help prevent disputes, so set a timing that suits your customers.

What is the Direct Debit dispute fee?

Stripe's BECS page does not state the dispute fee. For Shopify Payments cards in Australia, the chargeback fee is A$25, returned if you win. Stripe says the dispute amount and an associated dispute fee are deducted from your balance when a BECS dispute is created. Check your provider's pricing page.

Should I debit the customer again after a debit not authorised dispute?

Not until the issue is settled. Stripe says that if a customer agrees to return the funds, they need to make a new payment, and cancelling a mandate invalidates future debits under it. If you want to debit again, agree it in writing and set up a fresh mandate.

How long should I keep Direct Debit records?

Pay Advantage suggests 12 to 18 months for transaction records. Because Stripe says BECS disputes can arrive up to 7 years later, keep the mandate, the service agreement and the notices for as long as you debit the customer. Store the acceptance date and time with each one.

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Sources

• Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry, Shopify Help Center
• Overview of the chargeback and inquiry process, Shopify Help Center
• Fraud analysis, Shopify Help Center
• Dispute reason code categories, Stripe Docs
• Australia BECS Direct Debit payments, Stripe Docs
• The Dispute object, Stripe API reference
• Understanding chargebacks, Pay Advantage