A dispute deadline is a time limit within which a party must act in a payment dispute. Card scheme rules set deadlines at each stage of the chargeback lifecycle: the issuer must raise a chargeback within a set period, commonly 120 days from the transaction or the expected delivery date for many reason codes; the merchant, through its acquirer, must then submit a chargeback response within a shorter window; and further stages such as pre-arbitration and arbitration have their own limits.
Acquirers and processors usually give merchants an internal deadline earlier than the scheme limit so they have time to review and forward evidence. Missing a deadline normally means losing the case, regardless of its merits. Other payment systems have comparable limits, such as the eight-week refund period in SEPA Direct Debit or the time allowed for consumers to report unauthorised electronic transfers. Effective dispute management depends on tracking every deadline closely.