Parties Involved

The following parties are involved in a transaction:

• Payer: The individual or organization who initiated a payment to a merchant on Payvessel.
• Merchant: The organization registered on Payvessel for the purpose of receiving payments.
• Payvessel: The payment gateway that processes the payments from the payer to the merchant.

Dispute Resolution Process

The following are common scenarios that may lead to disputes on Payvessel and the process for handling them:

• Erroneous debits on a transfer attempt.
• Erroneous transfer due to an error by the payer.
• Successful transfer but the payment is not reflecting on the merchant’s application.

Regardless of the scenario, the process for responding to disputes is as follows:

1. The payer lodges a complaint with their bank.
2. The payer’s bank logs the dispute with our partner bank who processed that specific transaction.
3. The partner bank logs the dispute on Payvessel, and the merchant is automatically notified of the dispute.
4. The merchant can either accept or reject the dispute and must provide the following proof if rejecting:
   • Evidence of provision of service to the customer.
   • Evidence of a successful reversal concerning the disputed transaction.
5. If the merchant accepts the dispute, funds will be reversed from the merchant’s account to the payer’s account (if available) or deducted from the next settlement.
6. If the merchant provides proof to reject the dispute, the sending institution will be notified with the proof, and the dispute will be considered invalid.
7. If proof is provided, the payer’s bank must notify the payer of the reason the dispute was rejected.
8. If the payer logs the dispute again for the same transaction, the case may be referred to arbitration.

Fraudulent Transaction Resolution Process

Fraudsters may unlawfully access customer cards or accounts and use them to make payments to merchants. The process for handling fraudulent transactions is as follows:

1. The defrauded customer lodges a complaint with their bank.
2. The defrauded customer’s bank logs the dispute with our partner bank/card processor involved in processing the fraudulent transaction.
3. The partner bank reports the fraudulent transaction to Payvessel.
4. Payvessel immediately notifies the merchant of the fraudulent transaction.
5. The merchant is expected to cooperate by taking the following actions:
   • Provide full KYC (Know Your Customer) details of the customer who was the beneficiary of the fraudulent transaction, including:
     • BVN
     • Full Name
     • Email
     • Phone Number
     • Address
     • Official ID
     • Any other available KYC information
   • If part or all of the funds for the fraudulent transaction are still available, the funds should be restricted, and the customer should be prevented from accessing them.
   • If the funds have been sent to other accounts, the merchant must provide details of the destination accounts and the amounts sent.
   • If value has been given for the funds, the merchant must provide details of the beneficiary and proof of rendering value (e.g., phone number, meter number, etc.).
   • Refund the funds that were successfully restricted to Payvessel for onward processing to the defrauded customer.

Turnaround Times (TAT)

The Turnaround Times (TAT) for disputes related to interbank transfers are defined by the CBN and Transfer Processor. However, the TAT for disputes logged on Payvessel are as follows:

Merchant Liability

Failure of the merchant to cooperate fully with the processes above and adhere to the TATs may result in the merchant being liable for the fraudulent or disputed transaction. Payvessel may recover the disputed amount from the merchant either by deducting it from the next settlement or using other methods.