Handling Disputes — Mexico
Card-brand response windows, domestic vs. international handling, and how a chargeback is worked in Mexico.
🇲🇽 This page covers chargebacks on transactions acquired in Mexico. It sets out the response windows published by each card brand, what changes between domestic and cross-border cases, and what is expected of you at each stage. For Chile, see Handling Disputes — Chile.
This is the reference for deadlines and process. Disputes themselves are worked in the dashboard — see Transactions → Disputes for where to review a case, accept it, or upload evidence.
Deadlines by card brand
These are the windows published by each brand globally. They apply to domestic and international transactions alike — the brands do not set a different regulatory deadline based on where the card was issued. What changes between domestic and cross-border is the operating time you have in practice, covered in the next section.
| Brand | First presentment (cardholder → issuer) | Representment (merchant/acquirer) | Pre-arbitration | Arbitration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visa | Up to 120 days from the transaction (up to 540 for fraud or future delivery) | ~30 days from the chargeback notice | ~30 days for the issuer to escalate | 10 days to request arbitration |
| Mastercard | Up to 120 days (up to 540 in specific cases) | ~45 days | ~45 days | 10 days |
| American Express | Varies by reason | ~20 days per stage | ~20 days | Case by case |
| Mexico — domestic scheme | Defined by the domestic interchange contract | 25 days | ~20 days | 20 days |
These windows change, and the notice you receive is what binds you. Brands revise them regularly — Visa shortened its representment window from 30 to 20 days in several regions during 2025, and Mastercard introduced variable 30/45-day windows by goods type in January 2025. Always confirm the deadline on the chargeback notice for the specific case: it carries the exact due date for that transaction, and it takes precedence over this table.
Domestic vs. international
The regulatory deadline is the same. The practical time you have is not.
Domestic — card issued in Mexico
- The issuer-to-acquirer cycle is faster: fewer intermediaries, and settlement runs through the same local clearing house.
- Evidence is easier to assemble — receipts, contracts and support records are already in Spanish and follow local standards.
- The real working time available tends to sit close to the brand's full regulatory window.
International — card issued outside Mexico
- Cross-border clearing steps are involved, which usually shortens the working time available even though the brand's regulatory deadline is unchanged.
- Evidence may need translation or adaptation to another region's standards, adding preparation time.
- Reason codes tied to cross-border fraud are more likely (for example Visa RC 10.4, Mastercard RC 4837), and these require additional authentication documentation — 3DS results, AVS and CVV checks.
For international cases, work to an internal target at least 2 business days earlier than you would for a domestic case. The regulatory date is the same; the usable margin is not.
How a dispute is handled
Tonder receives the chargeback from the brand or acquirer, triages it, and opens it in your dashboard with the reason code and the due date for that specific transaction.
You have 15 days to send the supporting documentation. What counts as strong evidence depends on the reason code — delivery confirmation, authentication results, the signed agreement, service logs, or prior communication with the cardholder.
We assemble the representment and file it with the acquirer inside the brand's window.
For domestic cases, the supporting documentation is consolidated and submitted before the domestic clarification-batch cutoff of 13 business days from the request date. Reason codes 0 and 21 require the Exhibit plus the promissory note (pagaré); reason code 57 requires its own documentation set.
The issuer assesses the evidence and decides. Cases are tracked to a won or lost outcome and the result is reflected on the transaction.
If evidence is not provided within the response window, the case is decided as lost. There is no extension: the brand's deadline is fixed, and an unanswered chargeback is treated the same as an accepted one.
Escalation
- If a merchant does not deliver evidence within the agreed window through the agreed channels, the case is ruled lost.
- If a case forms part of a recurring pattern — the same merchant, the same reason code, and high volume — it should be assessed as a fraud attack rather than handled case by case.
Sources and scope
This page summarizes the public rules published by Visa, Mastercard and American Express, and the Mexican domestic interchange contract, as they stood when it was written:
- Visa — representment rules under Visa Claims Resolution (VCR): a 20–30 day representment window depending on region since the 2025 updates; 120 days for the cardholder's first presentment, up to 540 for fraud or future delivery.
- Mastercard — a 30-day representment window for digital goods and card-not-present, or 45 days for physical goods with proof of delivery, since January 2025; 18 days for pre-arbitration.
- American Express — approximately 20 days per dispute stage, varying by reason.
It does not replace the acquirer's official communication for a specific case, which always takes precedence. Brand rules change; this page is reviewed quarterly.