Home › Blog › Chargeback KPIs — five numbers to track monthly
Data

Chargeback KPIs — five numbers to track monthly

Most merchants track one dispute number — how many. The five that matter tell you where losses originate, whether fighting works, and what to fix next.

Published September 29, 2026 · 5 min read
Start free — pay per win →

The five: dispute rate (network math, [threshold distance](/blog/shopify-chargeback-rate-limits)), win rate by reason code (against the [benchmark](/blog/chargeback-win-rate-benchmark-2026), diagnosing evidence gaps), net recovery (dollars back after fees — the ROI truth), interception rate (alerts + screening catching disputes pre-filing), and evidence coverage (orders with complete defensive data captured). Monthly review, trend over absolutes.

The five KPIs

  1. Dispute rate: disputes ÷ prior-month transactions, per network. Healthy: 0.2–0.6% depending on vertical. The distance to 0.9% is your safety margin.
  2. Win rate by reason code: blended win rate hides everything — 90% on fraud codes with 20% on quality codes means a specific evidence gap, not general health. Compare per-code against the benchmark.
  3. Net recovery: recovered dollars minus fees paid, monthly. The number that justifies (or indicts) the whole dispute program.
  4. Interception rate: disputes resolved pre-filing (alert refunds + prevented fraud) ÷ total dispute attempts. The rate-protection metric — filings avoided never touch the network count.
  5. Evidence coverage: share of orders with complete defensive capture (delivery confirmation, session data, policy snapshots). Leading indicator — this month's coverage is next quarter's win rate.

The monthly review

Thirty minutes, trend-focused: rate drifting toward threshold → prevention work; a reason-code win rate sagging → that code's evidence stack needs repair; net recovery falling while volume holds → fight/fold thresholds miscalibrated; coverage gaps → fix capture before the disputes those orders will generate arrive.

Aurai's dashboard computes all five continuously per processor — the review becomes reading, not assembling.

Frequently asked questions

What's a good chargeback win rate?

Industry-represented averages run 40–65%; automated evidence-complete programs reach 70–80% blended. But per-code comparison is the diagnostic — blended numbers hide the fixable gaps.

How often should I review dispute metrics?

Monthly for the five KPIs, weekly for volume during peak season. The trends move on multi-week timescales; daily staring adds noise, not signal.

Post reflects public documentation, industry surveys, and Aurai's own book of disputes as of the publish date. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify are trademarks of their respective owners; Aurai is independent and not endorsed by any of them. Network rules change — always verify current official rules before acting on any specific tactic.

Automate your chargeback response

Aurai reads every dispute, assembles the right evidence, and submits before the deadline. Pay 25% only on wins.

Start free →