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.
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.
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.
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.
