Support / Knowledge base / Payment finality
Payment finality and chargebacks
Lightning payments are final. Once a payment confirms, it cannot be reversed by the payer, their wallet, or riverArk.
What this means day to day
There are no chargebacks on a completed sale. A customer cannot dispute a Lightning payment weeks later the way they can with a card.
You do not carry chargeback fees or dispute handling on these sales.
Finality cuts both ways. If you want to give a customer their money back, that is a separate payment you make to them, not a reversal of the original.
Because payments are final, confirm the amount before the customer pays. A payment sent to the wrong invoice cannot be pulled back.
If a customer says they paid but you did not receive it
Check your transaction list for the invoice first. A payment that confirmed will appear there.
If it does not appear, ask the customer for the payment hash or a screenshot from their wallet showing the payment, then send us a message with that plus the invoice ID. Include both and we can trace it on the first reply instead of the third.