For those who are not familiar with the parties involved in a credit transaction / chargeback, here is a good illustration of the process: https://www.case.org

For those who are not familiar with the parties involved in a credit transaction / chargeback, here is a good illustration of the process: https://www.case.org.sg/consumer_guides_consumeralerts_archive.aspx?month=November&year=2017 https://www.case.org.sg/consumer_guides_consumeralerts_archi... Assuming the events described in the blogpost are factual, this is what happened: The card issuer is representing the "someone else" to get back the money. The acquiring bank for Upwork complied with the request and deducted the money from the Upwork(the merchant)'s business account with them. Then, it is Upwork's decision to recoup their losses in their business account with the acquiring bank by asking Al to work for free.