Disputing a transaction

What is a chargeback?

Unfamiliar charges on a financial statement can be a cause for concern. A powerful tool available in such situations is the ability to initiate a chargeback, also known as a dispute.

A chargeback is a formal process where you can ask Brex to intervene on your behalf to resolve a transaction issue with a merchant. You will be asked to provide evidence relevant to your disputed transaction, and Brex will forward that to the card network. The merchant then has the opportunity to present their evidence in response to the chargeback. Finally, the Mastercard network reviews the evidence from both sides and makes a decision. Brex acts as your advocate throughout this process, offering guidance and support.

Dispute Timeframe

Our policy gives you 90 days to file a dispute from the date the transaction appears on your statement.

Note: To improve the likelihood of a successful chargeback, we recommend that you begin gathering evidence and filing the dispute as soon as a problematic charge is identified. Delays can jeopardize your case, as certain time limits may apply.

Filing a dispute

There are two types of disputes on Brex: A fraud dispute or a merchant dispute.

Fraud dispute

A fraud dispute covers any transaction that you or any other authorized users on your card don’t recognize/authorize, leading you to believe that someone wrongfully obtained your card credentials and performed the transaction(s) without your knowledge.

Account admins, card admins, and the card owner can dispute fraudulent transactions. Submitting a fraud dispute will automatically cancel the card to help protect your account and prevent future unauthorized transactions.

If your physical card has been compromised, you’ll receive a replacement card with a new card number within 3-8 business days, however, a virtual card will immediately be available for use while you wait for your physical card.

In your dashboard

Step 1: In your dashboard, an account or card admin can dispute a transaction on behalf of another user in the Expenses page. Personal expenses can be disputed from the Wallet page. Step 2: Click the transaction you want to dispute to pull up more details on the right side. Step 3: At the bottom of the transaction details, click the three dots and select Dispute. Step 4: Choose the option that best describes your situation and click Continue. Step 5: Your card will be permanently canceled and you’ll be prompted to issue yourself another one. When issuing a physical card, you'll be asked to enter the best shipping address. When issuing a virtual card, you'll be asked to name your card.

If this is a physical card, enter the best shipping address. Your card will arrive within 3-8 business days.
- If you need your card sooner than the estimated delivery date, click Physical card needed sooner to provide more detail.
If this is a virtual card, name your card. It will be available to use immediately.

Until you receive your new physical card, you can continue to use your virtual card for online purchases or at physical locations via a mobile wallet. Step 6: Within 1-3 business days you’ll receive an email that confirms your dispute is being reviewed, which will provide you more information on your expected timeline. In some cases, disputes may take up to 90 days to resolve.

In your app

Step 1: Go to your Wallet > Latest expenses. You can also tap All expenses to view older transactions. Step 2: Tap the expense you want to dispute and tap File a dispute at the bottom of the screen. Step 3: Provide a reason for the dispute and tap Continue. Step 4: Review the dispute summary and tap Cancel. This will cancel the card associated with the disputed transaction as a safety precaution. Step 5: If you don’t want to replace your card, tap Finish. To replace your card, tap Order replacement card, choose your card type. If this was a physical card, enter your preferred mailing address. If you need your card sooner than the estimated delivery date, click Physical card needed sooner to provide more detail. Step 6: Within 1-3 business days you’ll receive an email that confirms your dispute is being reviewed, which will provide you more information on your expected timeline. In some cases, disputes may take up to 90 days to resolve.

From an email alert

If we detect unusual charges on your card, we’ll send you an email alert. You can then review the charge and, if necessary, submit a dispute by following these steps. Step 1: In the email, click Open security & privacy center. If you haven’t already, this will ask you to sign into your Brex dashboard. Step 2: You’ll be automatically redirected to your Security & privacy tab. In the Activities section, click View all. Any potentially suspicious activity will have an alert symbol next to it on the far right. You can also click Show suspicious only to filter by activity that needs your attention. Step 3: Click on any of the flagged transactions for more details and to address anything accordingly. Step 4: Within 1-3 business days you’ll receive an email that confirms your dispute is being reviewed, which will provide you more information on your expected timeline. In some cases, disputes may take up to 90 days to resolve.

Merchant disputes

A merchant dispute covers any transactions that you do recognize, but don’t agree with the charge due to any of the following reasons. The types of merchant disputes can include:

Overcharged: The amount charged is higher than the agreed-upon price.
Product or Service Not Received: You paid for goods or services that the merchant did not provide.
Cancelled Product or Service: You were charged for something you had already cancelled according to the merchant’s cancellation policy, like a subscription.
Product or Service Not as Expected: The item or service was defective, damaged, or significantly different from the description.
Credit Promised, Not Received: The merchant agreed to provide a credit, but it was never processed.
Product Returned, No Refund: You returned an item according to the merchant's policy, but were not refunded.

Please note: Before we can file a dispute on your behalf, Mastercard requires that you attempt to resolve the issue directly with the merchant first.

When you contact them, be sure to keep a record of the date and the way you communicated with them—whether by phone, email, or chat.

If the merchant is unable or unwilling to resolve the problem, you can then file a dispute with us, and we'll work to resolve it for you.

Evidence that can help resolve your merchant dispute:

Below are some of the most common and valuable types of evidence you can provide. Please note that you do not need all of these to proceed with submitting the dispute. Any piece of relevant evidence that you might have is valuable and will help strengthen your claim.

Receipt or Invoice: This proves the transaction details and what you agreed to pay.
Order Confirmations: If you purchased something online, this helps prove what you purchased.
Emails or Messages: Providing any communication and dates of the communication you've had with the merchant where you tried to resolve the issue directly can be helpful in resolving the dispute.
Photos: If an item is defective, damaged, or not what you ordered, a photo with a brief description can help explain what occurred.
Tracking Information: This can prove that an item was never delivered to your address or in applicable cases show that you returned the goods.
A Clear Description: Providing a specific description of what was purchased, a factual, concise summary of the problem, and the date it occurred can be helpful for resolving the dispute.

In your dashboard

Step 1: In your dashboard, an account or card admin can dispute a transaction on behalf of another user in the Expenses page. Personal expenses can be disputed from the Wallet page Step 2: Click the transaction you want to dispute to pull up more details on the right side. Step 3: At the bottom of the transaction details, click the three dots and select Dispute. Step 4: Choose the reason for disputing and select any other transactions you’d like to dispute. Step 5: Describe the situation, reason for disputing, and upload any supporting documents (required). Note: This can be any type of document showing the attempts to resolve directly with the merchant such as emails, screenshots, chat transcripts, etc. Step 6: Click File dispute. Within 1-3 business days you’ll receive an email that confirms your dispute is being reviewed, which will provide you more information on your expected timeline. In some cases, disputes may take up to 90 days to resolve.

In your app

After filing a dispute

After filing your dispute, the investigation can take up to 90 days. We’ll notify you if we need any additional information or documentation. Once the investigation is complete, you’ll be notified of the outcome. Below is the typical path of a dispute, from submission to a final decision:

Understanding the Lifecycle of a Dispute

Case Submission: Once a case is submitted, Brex reviews it and forwards all supporting evidence to the card network.
Provisional Credit: While a case is under investigation, a temporary or "provisional" credit for the disputed amount may be applied to your account. This credit is not guaranteed and is issued on a case-by-case basis. If a credit is granted, remember that it's temporary and can be reversed depending on the final outcome of the dispute.
Merchant Response: The merchant is given a period to respond and provide their own evidence to prove the charge was valid.
The Rebuttal: If the merchant provides evidence but Brex believes the claim is still valid, Brex moves to the final active stage by analyzing the merchant's evidence and filing a rebuttal. This is the last opportunity to make the case on your behalf. Brex may reach out to you to reassert your claim, which can strengthen the rebuttal.
Final Decision: The ultimate decision is not made by Brex but by the Mastercard network, which is the standard process for most companies in the industry. If the decision is in your favor, any provisional credit becomes permanent. If the decision favors the merchant, the credit is reversed. Brex acts as your advocate throughout this process and will notify you of the outcome immediately.

Brex will provide you with updates throughout the process of your dispute. You can also check the progress of your dispute in the Brex dashboard and app.

Checking your dispute status

While we send you email updates regarding the status of your dispute, you can also keep an eye on it, yourself.

In your dashboard

Step 1:Go to either Wallet or Expenses then click the transaction you’ve disputed. Step 2: In the transaction details window, go to the Dispute tab. Step 3: You’ll see details of your dispute, including the type of dispute, your claim number, and the stage of your dispute. There will be a checkmark beside every stage that’s already been completed—Dispute submitted, Dispute under review, and Dispute resolved. If all three statuses have a checkmark, your dispute review is complete.

In your app

Step 1: Go to your Wallet > Latest expenses and tap the expense you disputed. You can also tap All expenses to view older transactions. Step 2: You’ll see a popup with your claim number, as well as your dispute status (whether the dispute is still under review or has been resolved).

Cancel a dispute

If you no longer wish to dispute the transaction, you can cancel any in-progress dispute from your Brex dashboard.

Please note that a transaction cannot be disputed a second time once a dispute has been canceled. Before cancelling, be sure to review any updates regarding your case. A provisional credit issued by Brex is not a refund from the merchant.

Note: Once you cancel a dispute, the expense(s) cannot be disputed a second time.

In your dashboard

Step 1: Account and card admins can cancel disputes on behalf of other users from the Expenses tab. Disputes on personal expenses can be disputed from the Wallet tab.

Step 2: Find the expense that you disputed in the list of expenses and click on it.

Step 3: In the popup window, you’ll see your Dispute details. Under this, click Cancel Dispute.

Step 4: You’ll be taken to a new screen with a summary of all the expenses that were part of this dispute. Enter the reason for canceling and click Cancel dispute.

In your app

Step 1: From your app’s homepage, tap the expense you originally disputed.

Step 2: At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see your Dispute details. Under this, tap Cancel dispute.

Step 3: Enter the reason for canceling and tap Continue. Review the expenses that you originally disputed and tap Cancel dispute.

Error filing a dispute

You may notice that, when you click on an expense, you don’t see the option to dispute it. This might be due to any of the following:

The transaction is pending: To file a merchant dispute, the transaction needs to have fully processed. While the transaction is still pending, there’s still a chance that the merchant won’t approve it. If this happens, the charge will drop automatically and won’t be posted to your account.
- Fraud disputes can be initiated even when a transaction is still pending.
The transaction is on someone else’s card: For security purposes, only an account admin, card admin, or the owner of the card on which the transaction occurred can dispute it.
It’s been over 90 days: Transactions that took place over 90 days ago cannot be disputed. Please reach out to Brex Support to see what other options you have.
Transaction has already been disputed: You will not see the option to dispute a transaction that has been disputed in the past or a dispute that is still in progress.

Proactively preventing disputes

The most effective way to handle a dispute is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Adopting a few proactive strategies can significantly reduce the need for your organization to file chargebacks.

Maintain Meticulous Records: Always save invoices, contracts, and order confirmations, especially for high-value purchases.
Review Statements Promptly: Set a recurring reminder for your team to review monthly statements as soon as they are available. The quicker an issue is identified, the better the chances of a favourable resolution.
Understand Recurring Subscriptions: Before subscribing to a service, thoroughly understand its billing cycle and cancellation policy. Document the necessary steps to cancel to ensure a smooth process when the time comes.
Attempt Direct Resolution: For issues with service or quality, try to resolve the matter directly with the merchant first. A simple email or phone call can often lead to a direct refund or solution much faster than a formal dispute. Be sure to save these communications, as they can serve as valuable evidence if a dispute becomes necessary.

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