Maintaining a low dispute rate is critical for access to Klarna's payment solutions. This guide explains how Klarna measures disputes, the 1.5% threshold, and strategies to keep your rate low.

Klarna continuously measures dispute activity to maintain a fair, transparent, and trustworthy environment for both customers and partners. Disputes serve as key indicators of potential issues in the purchase journey. Through ongoing analysis of dispute levels and patterns, Klarna seeks to identify risks, assist partners in mitigating root causes, and, where necessary, take measures to protect Klarna’s brand, reputation, and customer trust.

The dispute ratio represents the proportion of Klarna transactions that result in a customer-initiated dispute, this is indicated by disputes that are communicated to you as "Dispute initiated". Partners are expected to maintain a dispute ratio within acceptable levels. A consistently low ratio supports continued access to Klarna’s payment solutions and promotes customer confidence in partners’ operations.
Elevated dispute ratios may indicate underlying deficiencies in areas such as:

• Product quality or accuracy of item descriptions;
• Order fulfilment and delivery reliability;
• Customer service and post-purchase communication; and/or
• Fraud prevention or controls against unauthorised transactions.

To ensure a consistent and fair customer experience, partners are required  to maintain a dispute ratio below 1.5% of captured orders. For this purpose, Klarna defines acceptable dispute ratio as the percentage of orders subject to a first customer dispute relating to high-impact categories. Subsequent disputes on the same order are excluded from this calculation. The threshold applies specifically to disputes classified under the following reasons:

• Goods or services not received
• Not as described or defective goods
• Incorrect amount
• Purchase Unauthorized

Dispute performance is a key indicator of customer experience and operational quality. Elevated dispute levels can erode customer confidence and affect a partner’s eligibility for Klarna’s services. By maintaining a low dispute ratio, partners contribute to a positive customer journey, operational efficiency, and sustained access to Klarna’s full suite of products and payment offerings.

Klarna continuously monitors the dispute performance of all partners on an ongoing basis. Should a partner's disputes ratio exceed 1.5% of captured orders, Klarna reserves the right to take corrective measures necessary to protect customers, ensure service quality, and safeguard Klarna’s reputation.

Such measures may include, without limitation:

• Increased monitoring and review of dispute activity;
• Imposition of operational or transactional limits on the partner’s Klarna account; and
• In cases of continued non-compliance or unresolved performance issues, suspension of the partner’s access to Klarna payment methods, at Klarna’s sole discretion.

By continuing to use klarna’s shopping and payment solutions, you as a partners acknowledge and agree to these terms and Klarna’s right to enforce them as described above.

Partners are expected to actively monitor their dispute performance and take corrective measures when approaching or exceeding the 1.5% dispute ratio. Klarna recommends reviewing operational processes and implementing improvements to address the root causes of disputes promptly.

Typical focus areas include:

• Enhancing shipment tracking and communication with customers;
• Verifying that product descriptions and images accurately represent the goods provided;
• Strengthening customer service responsiveness and dispute resolution procedures; and
• Reviewing fraud-prevention and order-verification processes.