How long does a refund or chargeback take? A realistic timeline

"When will I get my money back?" has three different answers, because a merchant refund, a bank's provisional credit and a full chargeback run on separate clocks. Knowing which one you're waiting on sets your expectations — and tells you when it's fair to chase.

A merchant refund: usually days

When the seller agrees to refund you, the money typically lands within a few business days, though it can take up to a week or two to appear depending on the card networks and your bank's posting schedule. One quirk trips people up: a refund often shows on a later date than the original charge, so it can look missing when it's simply still in transit. This is always the fastest route, which is why contacting the merchant first beats going straight to a dispute.

A provisional credit: often quick, but conditional

When you dispute a charge with your bank, they frequently post a provisional credit fairly quickly so you're not out of pocket during the investigation. The catch is in the word provisional: it can be reversed if the merchant later proves the charge was valid. So don't treat provisional credit as final — keep your evidence until the case closes.

A full chargeback: weeks, sometimes a couple of months

A formal chargeback runs through the card network and gives the merchant a window to respond and defend the charge. Start to finish that commonly takes several weeks, and a contested case can stretch to a couple of months. It's slower than a refund by design — which is the practical argument for trying the merchant first and reserving the chargeback for charges that are genuinely wrong.

What makes it drag — and how to keep it moving

• Missing evidence. Attach receipts, the cancellation confirmation, and screenshots of any merchant conversation up front; a thin claim gets bounced back for more.
• Disputing the wrong thing. If the "charge" is a pending authorisation or a pending-plus-posted pair, there's nothing to refund yet — it resolves on its own.
• Not knowing what it is. Identify the charge before you file — paste the descriptor into the identifier — so you're disputing a real problem, not your own subscription.

The honest caveat

Exact timelines are set by your bank and the card scheme, and vary by country, so your issuer's stated policy is the authority. Two things are true everywhere: report disputes promptly (the unauthorized-charge steps explain the windows), and a merchant refund is almost always faster than anything the bank can do.