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Disputing credit card transactions
If you have an issue with a transaction, such as being charged the wrong amount, not receiving an expected refund or never receiving your online purchase order, you may be eligible to submit a dispute. You can also submit a dispute if you don’t recognize a transaction and think it may be fraud.
Checklist: If you recognize the transaction but there’s an issue with it
Ensure the transaction has been posted to your account. You can dispute a pending transaction only if you don’t recognize it and you suspect it’s fraudulent.
You must first attempt to resolve the issue with the merchant, unless they’re bankrupt or out of business. You can contact the merchant in person, by phone, by email or through their website. There may also be contact information on the transaction receipt.
If your attempt is unsuccessful, or you haven’t received a response after 2 business days, you can initiate a digital dispute.
Note: If you receive a response from the merchant while your dispute is in progress, contact CIBC immediately.
Hold on to any documentation or evidence relevant to your dispute. You may be required to submit it as part of the digital dispute process. This may include transaction receipts, emails with the merchant, credit vouchers or any other evidence to support your claim.
After reviewing this checklist, if you still need to initiate a digital dispute, you can do so by going to your transaction summary in CIBC Online Banking® or CIBC Mobile Banking®, selecting the transaction you want to dispute, and selecting “Dispute this transaction.”
Checklist: If you don’t recognize a transaction and suspect it may be fraudulent
If you have an authorized user on your account, their purchases will also appear in online and mobile banking. Ask any authorized users on your account if they recognize the transaction.
Some merchants are known by a different name from the one on file with the credit card network. If you don’t recognize the merchant’s name, you may recognize the transaction amount or location.
Similarly, some merchants, such as airlines, have processing centres in different cities. If the location is unfamiliar, you may recognize the merchant’s name or the purchase amount.
Transactions can take 5 to 7 business days to post to your credit card account. Consider whether you made a purchase around the date of the transaction.
Merchants such as hotels or car rental companies may apply delayed or adjusted charges for their services. For example, a hotel may initially place a hold on your credit card as a deposit. Later, this charge may be adjusted to reflect the actual amount you need to pay, which may be different than the original deposit amount. If you don’t recognize the transaction amount, consider whether it may be part of a delayed or adjusted transaction.
Some trial offers automatically enrol participants into a recurring subscription unless they’re cancelled before an identified date. Consider if you’ve signed up for any trial offers and, if so, ensure you’ve read the terms and conditions.
After reviewing this checklist, if you still don’t recognize the transaction, you can initiate a digital dispute. In online or mobile banking, go to your transaction summary. Select the transaction you don’t recognize, then select “Dispute this transaction.”
Note: For your protection, when you submit a fraud dispute, we cancel your card. We’ll send a new one to your mailing address on file within 10 business days, or 30 business days for remote areas.
If you previously loaded your credit card details onto your mobile wallet, you can continue to use your mobile wallet to make purchases while you wait for your new card to arrive. Your replacement card details are automatically updated within your mobile wallet.
Submitting a digital dispute
How do I dispute a CIBC credit card transaction online?
- Sign on to online or mobile banking
- Select the transaction you want to dispute
- Select “Dispute this transaction” and follow the prompts
- Choose to receive notifications about your dispute by email or text
- If required, provide any documentation you have to support your dispute claim. Note: In some cases, we may follow up with additional mandatory documentation requests — for contracts and invoices, for example — to help resolve the dispute case
- Check the CIBC Dispute Centre in online or mobile banking for updates to your dispute
Common questions
Note: Among other things, the CIBC Cardholder Agreement requires cardholders to review each periodic statement, report unauthorized or suspicious transactions within 30 days of the statement date, and keep their PIN secure and confidential. Cardholders are liable if they authorize someone else to use their card, card number or PIN, including for transactions they did not authorize that person to make. For more details, refer to the CIBC Cardholder Agreement (PDF, 145 KB) Opens a new window. for more details. Other conditions and restrictions may apply.