AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
A chargeback is the client's card issuer reversing a card payment, and you answer it through whoever processed the payment for you, not by arguing with the client's bank. Respond quickly with a complete evidence pack: the signed contract or accepted quote, the invoice, proof of delivery, the client's messages approving the work and any refund policy they agreed to. Card disputes run to fixed deadlines, so the first days after the notice matter most.
You finished a project for a client in Nigeria, they paid by card, and weeks later your payment provider tells you the payment has been disputed and the money held or taken back. For a freelancer in Dubai or Abu Dhabi this feels worse than an unpaid invoice, because the money was already in your account. The good news is that a chargeback is a process with rules, and a freelancer with good records often wins it.
How a chargeback actually works
When a cardholder disputes a payment, their card issuer raises it through the card scheme (Visa, Mastercard or Verve) against the acquirer: the bank or payment company that processed the payment for you. The acquirer, or the platform you sell through, passes the dispute to you, asks for evidence and submits your response. The issuer then decides. Several points follow from this:
- You deal with your own processor, not the client's bank. Your processor's dashboard or email will tell you the deadline for evidence.
- Deadlines are short and fixed. Missing one usually means losing by default.
- The client's reason code matters. 'Not received', 'not as described' and 'unauthorised' each need different evidence.
On the Nigerian side, the Central Bank of Nigeria's revised chargeback guidelines, effective 8 June 2020, set short timelines for domestic card problems: refunds for failed web and POS transactions within 48 hours, and disputes between merchants and cardholders at POS resolved by the acquirer within 48 hours. Individual banks set their own process for disputes involving foreign merchants; Stanbic IBTC's debit card terms, for example, say chargebacks follow the Verve and Mastercard rules, with 3 working days for domestic and 45 working days for foreign transactions from the time the dispute is logged. If your client paid you from Nigeria, a foreign-merchant dispute can therefore run for weeks.
The evidence pack
Build the pack as if the person reading it knows nothing about your work, because they do not. Include:
- The agreement. The signed contract, or the email or message in which the client accepted your quote, showing scope, price and delivery terms.
- The invoice and the receipt. With the same amount, date and description as the disputed payment.
- Proof of delivery. Download logs, delivery emails with attachments, links to the live website or app, file-transfer receipts.
- Approval. Messages in which the client confirmed they received the work or asked for revisions on it. Revision requests prove receipt.
- Your policies. Your refund and cancellation terms, and evidence the client saw them before paying.
- Identity link. For an 'unauthorised' claim, show that the payer's name and email match the client you dealt with.
Write a short cover note: who the client is, what they bought, when it was delivered, and why the dispute reason does not fit the facts. Keep it factual and polite.
Worked example
Example only. Musa, a developer in Sharjah, built a booking page for a Lagos salon for ₦800,000, paid by card through a checkout link. Six weeks later the salon's owner disputes the payment as 'service not received'. Musa's pack contains the accepted quote on WhatsApp, the invoice for ₦800,000, the live link to the booking page, the owner's message asking him to change the colour of the 'Book now' button, and his 14-day refund policy shown on the checkout page. The revision request alone shows that the service was received.
Card payments versus bank transfers
Chargebacks are a feature of card payments. A bank transfer from a client's account generally cannot be pulled back by a chargeback in the same way, although banks do investigate and can reverse transfers made in error or by fraud. That is one reason many freelancers ask Nigerian clients to pay by transfer for larger invoices, and keep card payment for small, one-off work.
If you take cards through a Nigerian payment gateway, check what you pay for the privilege. Paystack's Nigerian pricing page, for instance, lists international card payments at 3.9% plus ₦100, and local cards at 1.5% plus ₦100 capped at ₦2,000, as at October 2026; check the page for current figures. Those fees are rarely returned when a payment is reversed, so every lost chargeback costs more than the sale.
Steps to make the next one less likely
- Take a deposit before starting and the balance before handover of final files.
- Get written acceptance of each milestone: a one-line 'approved' message is enough.
- Make sure the name that appears on the client's card statement is one they will recognise.
- Send a receipt immediately after every payment, with your business name and the project.
- Keep every version you deliver with a date, and keep the messages that came with it.
- Agree a governing law and a dispute route in your contract, so a disagreement does not start with a chargeback.
Our Nigeria guide to chargebacks and reversals covers the Nigerian side in more detail, and our article on invoicing Nigerian clients from the UAE covers the paperwork that prevents most disputes.
Where Pryme fits
With a Pryme Business Account, a Nigerian client can pay you by bank transfer into naira account details, and virtual accounts let you give each client its own account number so every payment is matched. You can issue invoices and, through Pryme's partnership with VerifyDoc.ai, a verifiable receipt the client or a third party can check is genuine (receipts). Clear payment records do not stop a client disputing, but they make the evidence easy to assemble.
Questions people ask
Can a Nigerian client reverse a card payment to me?
Yes. A cardholder can dispute a card payment with their issuer, which raises a chargeback through the card scheme. You respond with evidence through your own payment processor.
How long does a chargeback take in Nigeria?
It depends on the transaction. CBN guidelines set 48-hour timelines for some domestic card issues; Stanbic IBTC's card terms, for example, allow 45 working days for foreign transactions.
What evidence wins a chargeback?
The agreement, the invoice, proof of delivery and messages showing the client received or approved the work, plus your refund policy.
Can a bank transfer be charged back?
Not in the same way as a card payment. Banks can investigate and reverse transfers made in error or by fraud, but there is no card-style chargeback.
Sources
- Mondaq: CBN chargeback period reduction for ATMs, POS and web transactions (16 Jul 2020) · accessed Oct 2026
- Stanbic IBTC: debit card terms and conditions · accessed Oct 2026
- Paystack: pricing (Nigeria) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.