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A dispute generally occurs when a customer is unsatisfied or unfamiliar with a payment charged to their card and contacts their issuing bank for more information or to force - refund the transaction. Disputes affect Merchants of all varieties and can have a major impact on their bottom - line.
When a dispute occurs, the Merchant generally has the opportunity to accept liability - i.e. voluntarily concede to the dispute - or respond to the issuing bank with compelling evidence validating the transaction (representment). The cardholder’s issuing bank will make the final determination based on the evidence provided by both sides, and Merchants should use this guide to understand the dispute process and how they can respond.
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Regardless of the outcome, a Merchant may be liable for non-refundable processing fees when a dispute is initiated against them. The fee amount depends on their portfolio’s pricing agreement with Payrix, as well as the custom fee configuration implemented by the Pro Client. |
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Key Terms
Getting Started
Managing Disputes is a critical part of any Merchant business as they will arise from time to time. It’s important to understand the terms and workflows associated with transaction Disputes.
Below are some terms you’ll frequently encounter throughout the Dispute Management section
Dispute - The action of a Cardholder challenging a transaction payment or the individual stage within the greater Chargeback process.
Chargeback - The entirety of the process of challenging a transaction payment from Retrieval, through each Dispute stage of the Chargeback flow, and closed with a final decision as a Resolution in favor of the Merchant or Cardholder’s claim.
Cardholder: The customer that is disputing a transaction
Merchant: Provided the goods or services being disputed
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Issuer: The bank that issued the card to the customer (i.e. the cardholder’s bank)
Card Brand: The card brand & network the customer’s card is associated with (Visa, Mastercard,
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Customer complaint disputes
This category of dispute includes complaints by the cardholder about the goods/services they purchased from the Merchant. Common customer complaints include goods/services not received, merchandise was defective or not as described, refund not processed etc.
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| title | Customer complaint dispute reason codes by Card Brand |
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Card Brand
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Customer Complaint Reason Code
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Visa
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13.1 Merchandise / Services Not Received
13.2 Canceled Recurring Transaction
13.3 Not as Described or Defective Merchandise / Services
13.4 Counterfeit Merchandise
13.5 Misrepresentation
13.6 Credit Not Processed
13.7 Cancelled Merchandise / Services
13.8 Original Credit Transaction Not Accepted
13.9 Non-Receipt of Cash or Load Transaction Value
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Mastercard
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4807 Warning Bulletin File
4808 Authorization-Related Chargeback
4812 Account Number Not on File
Cardholder Dispute
4841 Canceled Recurring or Digital Goods Transactions
4853 Cardholder Dispute
4854 Cardholder Dispute - Not Elsewhere Classified
4855 Goods or Services Not Provided
4859 No Show / Addendum / ATM Dispute
4860 Credit Not Processed
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Amex
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C02 Credit not processed
C04 Goods / services returned or refused
C05 Goods / services canceled
C08 Goods / Services Not Received or Only Partially Received
C14 Paid by Other Means
C18 "No Show" or CARDeposit Canceled
C28 Canceled Recurring Billing
C31 Goods / Services Not as Described
C32 Goods / Services Damaged or Defective
M10 Vehicle Rental - Capital Damages
M49 Vehicle Rental - Theft or Loss of Use
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AA Cardholder Does Not Recognize
AP Canceled Recurring TransactionAA Cardholder Does Not Recognize
AP Canceled Recurring Transaction
AW Altered Amount
CD Credit Posted as Card Sale
DP Duplicate Processing
IC Illegible Sales Data
NF Non-Receipt of Cash from ATM
PM Paid by Other Means
RG Non-Receipt of Goods or Services
RM Quality Discrepancy
RN2 Credit Not Received
AW Altered Amount
CD Credit Posted as Card Sale
DP Duplicate Processing
IC Illegible Sales Data
NF Non-Receipt of Cash from ATM
PM Paid by Other Means
RG Non-Receipt of Goods or Services
RM Quality Discrepancy
RN2 Credit Not Received
Authorization disputes
Authorization disputes occur when a Merchant submits a payment with an invalid or expired authorization code. For example, if a Merchant authorized their customer's card without fully completing the transaction, and then captured the payment - with a now-expired authorization code - at a later date, this may result in an authorization dispute.
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| title | Authorization dispute reason codes by Card Brand |
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Card Brand
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Authorization Reason Codes
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Visa
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11.1 Card Recovery Bulletin
11.2 Declined Authorization
11.3 No Authorization
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Mastercard
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N/A
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Amex
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A01 Charge amount exceeds authorization amount
A02 No valid authorization
A08 Authorization approval expired
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Discover
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AT Authorization Non-compliance
DA Declined Authorization
EX Expired Card
NA No Authorization
Processing Error Disputes
Processing errors generally indicate a payment submission error by the Merchant resulting in the cardholder initiating a dispute. For example, this can include the Merchant submitting incorrect data or using the wrong payment method other than the one the cardholder intended for them to use etc.
Processing error dispute reason codes by Card Brand
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Card Brand
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Processing Error Reason Codes
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Visa
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12.1 Late Presentment
12.2 Incorrect Transaction Code
12.3 Incorrect Currency
12.4 Incorrect Account Number
12.5 Incorrect Amount
12.6 Duplicate Processing / Paid by Other Means
12.7 Invalid Data
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Mastercard
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4831 Transaction Amount Differs
4834 Point of Interaction Error
4842 Late Presentment
4846 Incorrect Currency Code
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Amex
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P01 Unassigned Card Number
P03 Credit Processed as Charge
P04 Charge Processed as Credit
P05 Incorrect Charge Amount
P07 Late Submission
P08 Duplicate Charge
P22 Non-Matching Card Number
P23 Currency Discrepancy
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IN Invalid Card Number
LP Late Presentment
Responding to Disputes
When a dispute is initiated against a Merchant, they have the opportunity to respond to the issuing bank by providing compelling evidence in their favor (representment). For Retrievals and (most) First Chargebacks, dispute responses can be /wiki/spaces/~592821742/pages/23449927909. The Pre-Arbitration response process varies by Card Brand, and thus, they cannot be submitted in the Portal.
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Visit the /wiki/spaces/~592821742/pages/23449927909 for instruction on submitting a representment in the Portal. |
How long does a Merchant have to respond to a dispute?
The timeframe allotted for a Merchant to submit a dispute response varies by a) the reason for the dispute, and b) the Card Brand. In the Payrix Portal, you will notice a Response Due Date indicating when the Merchant has to respond.
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It’s important for Merchants to check the due date for each chargeback initiated against them because the timeframe can vary significantly depending on the circumstances. For some chargebacks, Merchants will have as little as seven days to respond, while for other chargebacks, they may have up to 30 days. |
If the Merchant fails to respond by the due date, the dispute will automatically be considered lost and the held funds will be credited to the cardholder.
What information should a Merchant include in their Representment?
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Check out our Dispute Best Practices & Tips for Merchants for detailed suggestions & examples for responding to disputes. |
Although there are no definitive guidelines for what is considered “compelling evidence,” and much of this depends on the reason for the dispute, valid representment evidence falls into two categories:
Formal Evidence
This includes official documentation directly related to the transaction. Formal evidence includes, but is not limited to:
Signed credit card receipt
Completed credit card authorization form
Corresponding Invoice with cardholder contact information
Signed proof of delivery or Satisfactory Services
Informal Evidence
Informal evidence is relevant documentation that is not directly related to the transaction. This includes, but is not limited to:
Logs of correspondence between the Merchant & cardholder
Screenshots of the Merchant’s website and/or published Terms of Service
Pictures of the merchandise
A summary of the incident written by the Merchant
A Merchant’s representment should include all formal & informal evidence supporting their side of the dispute, presented clearly and concisely for the issuing bank. Providing too little evidence will likely render the representment uncompelling, but providing too much documentation may render the representment irrelevant.
For a more comprehensive guide to dispute responses please visit the Dispute Response Best Practices & Tips for Merchants.
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Once a Merchant submits a dispute response they will not be able to add or modify their representment in any way. Thus, be sure your representment includes all of the compelling evidence you want the issuing bank to review. |
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etc.)
Representment: The response a Merchant sends to the issuing bank when a transaction is disputed
The Dispute Cycles
Disputes are categorized into three different and distinct cycles:
Although the official terminology varies slightly depending on the Card Brand, this is how each of these unique dispute cycles are referred to within the Payrix Platform & Portal. Depending on the dispute cycle, there are different actions available for the Merchant to take, and different potential outcomes of the dispute.
Retrieval
A retrieval is when the cardholder contacted their issuing bank requesting more information about a transaction, but did not request a forced-refund of the transaction. Meaning, the cardholder simply does not recognize the Merchant’s name or the transaction as it appears on their statement and would like clarification. Therefore, the issuing bank initiates a retrieval and requests that the Merchant provide documentation verifying the transaction details.
Because a retrieval is not an actual chargeback of the payment, no funds are deducted from the Merchant’s Payrix balance during this dispute cycle. However, Merchants still have the opportunity - and are recommended to - send a representment with relevant documentation clarifying the transaction details.
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If a Merchant fails to respond to a retrieval it may escalate to a chargeback. If escalated to a chargeback, the Merchant will notice a new dispute in Payrix, with Cycle status of First Chargeback.
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Dispute Cycle
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Merchant Actions
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Possible Outcomes
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Card Brands
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Retrieval
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Representment - The Merchant responds with documentation validating the payment
Inaction - the Merchant fails to respond to the retrieval. This can result in escalation to a chargeback
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Closed and not escalated - The cardholder is satisfied with the documentation provided by the Merchant and will not pursue a chargeback
Closed and escalated - The cardholder still does not recognize this payment as valid after reviewing the Merchant’s documentation or because the Merchant failed to respond. Therefore, the cardholder escalates the retrieval & pursues a First Chargeback to recover the funds from the Merchant
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Visa
Mastercard
American Express
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Retrieval processing flow
This diagram illustrates the processing flow for a retrieval dispute.
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First Chargeback
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When a First Chargeback is initiated against a Merchant the funds are immediately deducted from their Payrix balance and held until the issuing bank makes a final determination. If the Merchant does not have sufficient offsetting transactions or funds in their Available Balance, their bank account may be debited to cover the disputed amount. If the Merchant ultimately wins the dispute, the funds will be returned to their Payrix balance (less any non-refundable fees associated with disputes). |
A First Chargeback occurs when a cardholder seeks a forced-refund from their issuing bank for a transaction that they are disputing. There are numerous reasons that can cause a cardholder to initiate a chargeback, and during the First Chargeback cycle the Merchant’s response options are:
accept liability - i.e. voluntarily concede to the dispute & the held funds are credited to the cardholder
representment - i.e. send compelling evidence to the issuing bank representing their side of the dispute and validating the payment
Ultimately, the cardholder’s issuing bank will determine the outcome of a First Chargeback based on the evidence provided by both sides.
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Dispute Cycle
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Merchant Actions
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Possible Outcomes
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Card Brands
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First Chargeback
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Representment - The Merchant responds with compelling evidence validating the payment
Accept Liability - The Merchant chooses to voluntarily concede to the dispute in place of submitting a representment. The funds are credited back to the cardholder
Inaction - The Merchant fails to respond to the chargeback resulting in an automatic loss (ruling in favor of the cardholder)
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Won - The issuing bank ruled in favor of the Merchant & the disputed funds are returned to their Payrix balance
Lost - The issuing bank ruled in favor of the cardholder & the funds are credited to the cardholder
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Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
First Dispute processing flow
This diagram illustrates the process flow for the most common dispute scenario, a First Chargeback.
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Pre-Arbitration/Second Chargeback
When a payment is disputed and the issuing bank rules in favor of the Merchant during the First Chargeback cycle (won), the cardholder still has the opportunity to present new evidence to the issuing bank that could result in a second chargeback of the same transaction. This is commonly referred to as Pre-Arbitration. When this occurs, the issuing bank and the Merchant - should they choose to accept arbitration - send their respective new evidence to the Card Brand to arbitrate the dispute.
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After the Merchant won the First Chargeback, the relevant funds were credited back to their Payrix balance (less any non-refundable dispute fees). If a subsequent Pre-Arbitration occurs, the funds will, once again, be immediately deducted from the Merchant’s Payrix balance and held pending the Card Brand’s Pre-Arbitration decision. If they do not have sufficient offsetting transactions or funds in their Available Balance, their bank account may be debited to cover the disputed amount. If the Merchant ultimately wins the Pre- Arbitration dispute, the funds will be returned to their Payrix balance (less any non-refundable fees associated with pre-arbitration disputes). |
Although the official terminology for a second chargeback varies depending on the Card Brand, this dispute cycle is universally referred to as Pre-Arbitration within the Payrix Platform.
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Some Card Brands (e.g. Visa) follow the Pre-Arbitration cycle process for all fraud & authorization related disputes, even if it is the first time that payment was disputed. |
During this cycle, if the Merchant accepts arbitration they will work directly with the relevant Card Brand to reach a resolution. Therefore, Pre-Arbitration responses cannot be submitted in the Payrix Portal. Instead, our Support team will assist you with the relevant Card Brand specific process should the need arise for you to respond to a Pre-Arbitration dispute.
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If you need assistance responding to a Pre-Arbitration dispute please contact support@payrix.com. |
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Therefore, we suggest Merchants only pursue arbitration representment if they have extremely compelling evidence in their favor and they’ve confirmed with the Card Brand they are working with what the fees associated with the arbitration process will be.
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Dispute Cycle
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Merchant Actions
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Possible Outcomes
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Card Brands
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Pre-Arb/Second Dispute
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Accept Arbitration (representment) -The Merchant submits new compelling evidence directly to the Card Brand, and incurs the additional fees associated with Arbitration
Decline Arbitration - The Merchant chooses not to contest the second chargeback, and instead, voluntarily concedes to the second chargeback. The funds are then credited back to the cardholder
Inaction - The Merchant fails to respond to the pre-arbitration resulting in an automatic loss (ruling in favor of the cardholder)
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Won - The Card Brand ruled in favor of the Merchant & the disputed funds are returned to their Payrix balance (less non-refundable fees)
Lost - The Card Brand ruled in favor of the cardholder & the funds that were deducted from the Merchant’s Payrix balance are credited to the cardholder (plus any additional Arbitration loss related fees are paid by the Merchant to the Card Brand)
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Visa
Mastercard
Discover
Pre-Arbitration processing flow
This diagram illustrates the process flow for pre-arbitration disputes.
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Dispute Reasons
When a cardholder disputes a transaction, their issuing bank will request a detailed explanation of the problem from them. Once the issuing bank receives and validates the cardholder’s complaint, a dispute is initiated against the Merchant. There are many reasons for a cardholder to initiate a dispute which the issuing bank considers valid - and understanding each of these valid reasons will help the Merchant respond to disputes accordingly.
When a dispute is initiated it includes a reason code classifying the cardholder’s complaint. The actual reason codes vary by Card Brand, but disputes can generally be classified into four categories:
Fraud disputes
Fraud disputes occur when the cardholder claims their payment information was fraudulently used by another individual to purchase goods/services from the Merchant. Although fraud disputes are far more common in e-commerce (card not present) scenarios, they can also occur in card-present environments e.g. when EMV-chip verification is not implemented.
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| title | Fraud dispute reason codes by Card Brand |
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Card Brand
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Fraud Reason Codes
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Visa
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10.1 EMV Liability Shift Counterfeit Fraud
10.2 EMV Liability Shift Non-Counterfeit Fraud
10.3 Other Fraud: Card-Present Environment / Condition
10.4 Other Fraud: Card-absent Environment / Condition
10.5 Visa Fraud Monitoring Program
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Mastercard
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4837 No Cardholder Authorization
4840 Fraudulent Processing of Transactions
4849 Questionable Merchant Activity
4863 Cardholder Does Not Recognize / Potential Fraud.
4870 Chip Liability Shift
4871 Chip / PIN Liability Shift--Lost / Stolen / Never Received Issue (NRI) Fraud
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Amex
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FR2 Fraud Full Recourse Program
FR4 Immediate Chargeback ProgramFR2 Fraud Full Recourse Program
FR4 Immediate Chargeback Program
FR6 Partial Immediate Chargeback Program
F10 Missing Imprint
F14 Missing Signature
F24 No Cardmember Authorization
F29 Card Not Present
F30 EMV Counterfeit
F31 EMV List / Stolen / Non-received Inquiry / Miscellaneous
R03 Insufficient Reply
R13 No reply
M01 Chargeback Authorization
FR6 Partial Immediate Chargeback Program
F10 Missing Imprint
F14 Missing Signature
F24 No Cardmember Authorization
F29 Card Not Present
F30 EMV Counterfeit
F31 EMV List / Stolen / Non-received Inquiry / Miscellaneous
R03 Insufficient Reply
R13 No reply
M01 Chargeback Authorization
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UA01 Fraud / Card Present Environment
UA02 Fraud / Card-Not-Present Environment
UA05 Fraud / Counterfeit Chip Transaction
UA06 Fraud / Chip-and-Pin Transaction
UA10 Request Transaction Receipt (swiped card transactions)
UA11 Cardholder claims fraud (swiped transaction, no signature)
Arbitration: The use of a third party to arbitrate and finalize a dispute outside the platform.
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Jump Ahead: If you’re already familiar with the Dispute terms within the greater Chargeback process flow and are seeking Dispute Response steps, skip ahead to the relevant guide for your preferred implementation method: |
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Next Steps
Use the guides below to learn how to manage Disputes proactively and responsively:
Minimizing Disputes - Best practices to proactively prevent Disputes as much as possible.
Handling Specific Dispute Types - Learn more about each platform and card brand Dispute type & code.
Dispute Response Options - See the choices available for each individual Dispute stage and status.
Respond to Chargeback Disputes using the Portal - Use the Portal to respond to a Dispute.
Respond to Chargeback Disputes using the API - Use the API to respond to a Dispute.
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