SEPA Direct Debit provides a dispute process for bank account holders to dispute payments. For a period of eight weeks after their account was debited, an account holder can dispute a payment through their bank on a “no questions asked” basis. Any disputes within this period are automatically honored. This is a feature of SEPA Direct Debit as a payment method, and Stripe has no control here.
A dispute can also occur if the customer’s bank is unable to debit their account because of a problem (e.g., the account is frozen or has insufficient funds), but it has already provided the funds to make a charge successful. In this instance, the bank reclaims those funds in the form of a dispute.
Unlike credit card disputes, all SEPA Direct Debit disputes are final and there is no appeals process. If a customer successfully disputes a payment, you must reach out to them if you would like to resolve the situation.
Stripe does not have information on whether a customer has sufficient funds or whether a bank account is active.