Monitor your processor or acquirer portal for chargeback cycle updates; distinguish first chargeback (cycle 1) from pre-arbitration (cycle 2) by the cycle indicator in the dispute record
Upon receiving a cycle 2 pre-arbitration notice, review whether the original representment evidence you submitted has been rejected and why
Decide whether to accept the pre-arbitration (absorb the chargeback) or continue to arbitration by filing with Mastercard within the deadline (typically 30 days from pre-arbitration date)
If proceeding to arbitration, compile additional evidence not submitted in the original representment and submit through your acquirer's dispute portal
Track the Mastercard arbitration case number and monitor for the arbitration ruling
If the arbitration ruling is against you, the chargeback plus arbitration fees are debited from your account; update your dispute management system accordingly
Known gotchas
Pre-arbitration deadlines are strict and non-extendable; missing the response window results in automatic acceptance of the chargeback and potential arbitration filing fees
Arbitration filing fees can exceed the disputed transaction amount for low-value disputes; calculate the economic case for proceeding before filing
The evidence admissible at arbitration is limited to what was available at the time of the original transaction; do not attempt to introduce new evidence that was not present at sale time
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp