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Part of the guideHow to get paid in Nigeria: transfers, checkout and invoices
The short answer
In Nigeria, card payments can be disputed by the cardholder for months, and gateways give Nigerian merchants very little time to respond, with one large gateway allowing 16 hours before a dispute is accepted automatically. Bank transfers have no chargeback, but funds can be frozen or recalled when linked to fraud, and fake payment alerts are common. Protect yourself by confirming payments only from your own systems, keeping delivery evidence with every order and steering high-risk sales towards transfer.
Losing money you thought was yours is one of the most painful parts of running a business. In Nigeria it happens in three main ways: card chargebacks, recalls of transfers linked to fraud, and goods released on a fake alert. Each has a different cause and a different defence. This article sits under our guide to getting paid in Nigeria, which compares the payment methods themselves.
Card chargebacks: how they work
A chargeback happens when a cardholder asks their bank to reverse a card payment. The bank pulls the money back through the card network and your gateway, usually by deducting it from your next payout, while the dispute is decided. Common reasons are goods not received, goods not as described, duplicate charges, and the cardholder saying they did not make the payment.
Not every dispute is fraud. Some cardholders do not recognise the name on their statement, forget a purchase made by a family member, or find it easier to call their bank than to reach you. Make the business name that appears on statements recognisable, put a support contact on every receipt, and answer complaints quickly. Those three steps prevent a share of disputes before they are ever filed.
How long the customer has, and how long you have
Under card scheme rules, cardholders typically have up to 120 days to raise a Visa dispute, and Mastercard allows roughly 90 to 120 days depending on the reason. The merchant side is far tighter in Nigeria. Paystack, for example, tells Nigeria-based businesses they have 16 hours to respond, reduced from 24 hours by a CBN regulation, with reminders every four hours. If you do not respond in time, the chargeback is accepted automatically and the funds go back to the customer. Paystack says it charges no penalty fee for accepting a chargeback, but you lose the sale.
| Stage | Typical timing | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Sale | Day 0 | Capture delivery evidence and keep it with the order |
| Dispute raised | Up to about 120 days later | Nothing yet; you may not know |
| Notification from gateway | When the issuer files | Gather evidence immediately |
| Your response window | As little as 16 hours with some Nigerian gateways | Upload complete evidence in one go |
| Decision | Set by the issuing bank | Accept the outcome or provide more detail if the dispute is re-opened |
Evidence that wins
- A receipt or invoice showing the customer's name as on their ID, the amount and the date.
- Proof of delivery: a signed delivery note, rider confirmation with time and place, or a courier tracking record.
- For digital products or services, usage or download records tied to the customer's account.
- The masked card number (first six and last four digits) where your gateway asks for it.
Chat messages alone are rarely enough. Upload clear documents that show only the disputed transaction, complete on the first attempt, because a second chance is not guaranteed.
Worked example
An online phone store sells a ₦180,000 handset by card. The fee at 1.5% plus ₦100, capped at ₦2,000, is ₦2,000. Seven weeks later the cardholder disputes it as "not received". The store's rider app logged the delivery with a photo and signature, so the store uploads the invoice and delivery record within the window and wins. Had it not responded, ₦180,000 would have been deducted from its payout, the handset would be gone, and the ₦2,000 fee would typically not come back. On a 20% gross margin, replacing that loss would take the profit from about five similar sales.
Transfers: no chargebacks, but not risk-free
An instant bank transfer cannot be disputed like a card payment. Once it is credited over NIP, the payer cannot pull it back on demand. That is the main reason Nigerian businesses prefer transfers for goods handed over on the spot. Three risks remain.
- Fraud recalls and freezes
- If the money came from a hacked account or a scam victim, the sending bank can ask your bank to freeze or return it. You may lose the funds and the goods. Keep records showing a real sale to a real customer.
- Fake alerts
- A customer shows a forged SMS, screenshot or email. Release goods only when your own account, dashboard or verified webhook shows the money.
- Mistaken payments
- Someone pays you by error and asks for it back. Verify with your bank before refunding, and refund only to the original account, never to a new one the caller supplies.
NIBSS reported digital payment fraud losses of ₦25.85 billion in 2025, about half the 2024 figure, with social engineering, SIM swaps, account compromise and phishing named as the main techniques. Most of these are attacks on people rather than systems.
POS and refunds
Card payments on a POS terminal can be charged back in the same way as online card payments. Transfers made at a POS cannot. Since a CBN circular in August 2025, POS terminals must be geo-tagged and transactions far from a terminal's registered location are flagged, which is meant to curb terminal misuse. Our comparison of POS and bank transfer for shops covers the trade-offs.
Write down your refund policy and follow it. Customers who get a fast, fair refund from you rarely go to their bank. A dispute is often a sign the customer could not reach you.
A protection checklist
- Confirm every payment from your own records before releasing goods.
- Keep delivery proof, receipts and correspondence attached to each order, not scattered across phones.
- Use 3-D Secure for online card payments where your gateway offers it.
- Assign someone to watch for dispute notifications every working day, including weekend cover.
- Offer transfer as the default for high-value physical goods.
- Put a second approver on refunds and outgoing payments above a threshold.
- Call back on a known number before changing any supplier's bank details.
- Track dispute rates monthly; a rising rate usually points to a delivery or description problem.
Matching refunds and recalls against the original sale is part of good payment reconciliation.
Where Pryme fits
Pryme Checkout (Nigeria only) is a bank-transfer checkout, so card chargebacks do not arise; transfers can still be frozen or recalled when linked to fraud. Above thresholds you set, outgoing payments need a second named approver, and a transaction PIN is required; see security. For card acceptance, use a card gateway alongside it. The main payments guide shows how to combine methods.
Questions people ask
How long does a customer have to file a chargeback in Nigeria?
Card scheme rules usually allow up to about 120 days from the transaction or expected delivery date, depending on the card network and reason. That means a sale can be disputed months later.
How long do Nigerian merchants have to respond to a chargeback?
Very little. Paystack gives Nigeria-based businesses 16 hours, citing a CBN regulation, and accepts the chargeback automatically if there is no response. Check your own gateway's window.
Can a customer reverse a bank transfer in Nigeria?
Not in the card sense. A completed transfer is final, but banks can freeze or recall funds linked to fraud, so keep proof of every sale.
How do I spot a fake payment alert?
Do not rely on SMS, screenshots or forwarded emails from the customer. Check your own banking app, provider dashboard or verified webhook before releasing goods.
Do I get my gateway fee back after a chargeback?
Often not. Check your provider's terms; many keep the original processing fee even when the payment is reversed.
Sources
- Paystack: How to resolve chargebacks · accessed Oct 2026
- Chargebacks911: Chargeback time limits · accessed Oct 2026
- Techeconomy: NIBSS says digital payment fraud dropped 51% to N25.85bn in 2025 · accessed Oct 2026
- BusinessDay: CBN orders GPS tracking on POS terminals to curb fraud · accessed Oct 2026
- Paystack: Transactions pricing (Nigeria) · accessed Oct 2026
- NIBSS: NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) · 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.