Guide to Chargeback Reason Codes

Your comprehensive guide to chargeback reason codes, transaction modifiers, time limits, and compelling evidence for the four major card brands.

What are reason codes?

Reason codes are alphanumeric strings of text provided in a chargeback notification as a means of explaining the cause for the dispute.

Reason codes are created by the major card networks: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa. Other payment service providers, like Braintree, Stripe and PayPal, have their own categorization of reason codes. However, the disputes themselves are still categorized by the issuing bank based on the card network issuing the payment card.

Why are reason codes important?

They provide understanding into why a specific chargeback occurred and, most importantly, detail what specific documentation can be provided by a merchant who wants to challenge the dispute.

As such, responses are most powerful when the compelling evidence is provided as directed by the specific card network rules and regulations.

How do you use reason codes?

A chargeback often has a reason code associated with it. It’s important to look up the code to understand why a transaction, good, or service was disputed in order to properly present a solid case to win the chargeback.

Reason codes categories

Reason code categories have changed a lot in the last few years and will continue to evolve. In an effort to simplify understanding, Visa and MasterCard organized their reason codes into four categories. While American Express and Discover each use additional categories to help categorize their reason codes, customer dispute categorization is moving towards the four category standard.

Authorization

Authorization chargebacks represent disputes related to authorization issues. For example, transactions where authorization was required, but not obtained. They can also represent disputes where an Authorization Request received a Decline or Pickup Response and the merchant completed the transaction anyway.

American Express	Discover	MasterCard	Visa
A01 Charge Amount Exceeds Authorization Amount	AT Authorization Noncompliance	4807 Warning Bulletin File	11.1 Card Recovery Bulletin or Exception File
A02 No Valid Authorization		4808 Authorization-Related Chargeback	11.2 Declined Authorization
A08 Authorization Approval Expired		4812 Account Number Not On File	11.3 No Authorization

Consumer Disputes

Consumer Disputes represent chargebacks initiated by the cardholder in regards to product, service, or merchant issues. Consumer Disputes are also referred to as Cardholder Disputes, Card Member Disputes, and Service chargebacks. The reasons for disputes categorized under Consumer Disputes are varied; and can include circumstances like goods not received to cancelled recurring billing.

American Express	Discover	MasterCard	Visa
C02 Credit Not Processed	05 Good Faith Investigation	4853 Cardholder Dispute	13.1 Merchandise/ Services Not Received
C04 Goods/Services Returned or Refused	AA Does Not Recognize	4841 Canceled Recurring or Digital Goods Transactions	13.2 Cancelled Recurring
C05 Goods/Services Canceled	AP Recurring Payments	4854 Cardholder Dispute—Not Elsewhere Classified (U.S. Region Only)	13.3 Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/ Services
C08 Goods/Services Not Received or Only Partially Received	AW Altered Amount	4855 Goods or Services Not Provided	13.4 Counterfeit Merchandise
C14 Paid by Other Means	CD Credit/Debit Posted Incorrectly	4859 Addendum, No-show, or ATM Dispute	13.5 Misrepresentation
C18 “No Show” or CARDeposit Canceled	DP Duplicate Processing	4860 Credit Not Processed	13.6 Credit Not Processed
C28 Canceled Recurring Billing	NF Non-Receipt of Cash from ATM		13.7 Cancelled Merchandise/ Services
C31 Goods/Services Not As Described	PM Paid by Other Means		13.8 Original Credit Transaction Not Accepted
C32 Goods/Services Damaged or Defective	RG Non-Receipt of Goods, Services, or Cash		13.9 Non-Receipt of Cash or Load Transaction Value
M10 Vehicle Rental – Capital Damages	RM Cardholder Disputes Quality of Goods or Services
M49 Vehicle Rental – Theft or Loss of Use	RN2 Credit Not Processed

Fraud

The Fraud category is used for reason codes related to fraudulent transactions. Reason codes related to no cardholder authorization, EMV liability, Card Present and Card Not Present fraud are all found within the Fraud category.

American Express	Discover	MasterCard	Visa
F10 Missing Imprint	UA01 Fraud – Card Present Transaction	4837 No Cardholder Authorization	10.1 EMV Liability Shift Counterfeit Fraud
F14 Missing Signature	UA02 Fraud – Card Not Present Transaction	4840 Fraudulent Processing of Transactions	10.2 EMV Liability Shift Non-Counterfeit Fraud
F24 No Card Member Authorization	UA05 Fraud – Chip Counterfeit Transaction	4849 Questionable Merchant Activity	10.3 Fraud – Card-Present Environment
F29 Card Not Present	UA06 Fraud – Chip and PIN Transaction	4863 Cardholder Does Not Recognize—Potential Fraud	10.4 Fraud – Card-Absent Environment
F30 EMV Counterfeit		4870 Chip Liability Shift	10.5 Visa Fraud Monitoring Program
F31 EMV Lost/Stolen/Non-Received		4871 Chip/PIN Liability Shift

Processing Errors

Processing Errors, also referred to as Point-of-Interaction Errors, categorize reason codes representing disputes including duplicate processing, late presentment, credit processed as charge, invalid card numbers, addendum/“no show” disputes, incorrect charge amounts, and other similar situations.

American Express	Discover	MasterCard	Visa
P01 Unassigned Card Number	IN Invalid Card Number	4834 Point-of-Interaction Error	12.1 Late Presentment
P03 Credit Processed as Charge	LP Late Presentation	4831 Transaction Amount Differs	12.2 Incorrect Transaction Code
P04 Charge Processed as Credit		4842 Late Presentment	12.3 Incorrect Currency
P05 Incorrect Charge Amount		4846 Correct Transaction Currency Code Not Provided	12.4 Incorrect Account Number
P07 Late Submission		4850 Installment Billing Dispute	12.5 Incorrect Amount
P08 Duplicate Charge		4999 Domestic Chargeback Dispute (Europe Region Only)	12.6 Duplicate Processing/ Paid By Other Means
P22 Non-Matching Card Number			12.7 Invalid Data
P23 Currency Discrepancy

Transaction Modifiers

A transaction modifier (or modifier) represents specific circumstances associated with a card sale that change what compelling evidence is required to overturn the chargeback. For example, Visa reason code 83 is one of the reason codes with several modifiers with which it’s associated. Reason code 83 represents a chargeback categorized as Fraud – Card Not Present (CNP) Transaction. CNP transactions are incredibly varied; with customers purchasing everything from digital goods to airline tickets. As such, Visa provides specific compelling evidence required from dispute transactions that’s directly related to the nature of the transaction itself.

More reason code information is available on the American Express, MasterCard, and Visa chargeback reason codes pages.