Chargeback Rules by Card Network

Why Network Rules Matter

Chargeback rules are not universal. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover each publish their own operating regulations, and the rules governing how disputes are processed, what evidence satisfies each reason code, and how long merchants have to respond can differ substantially between networks. A strategy that works on Visa may not work on Mastercard.

For merchants who process across multiple networks — which is most e-commerce businesses — understanding the specific rules of each network is essential. Evidence that wins a Visa 10.4 dispute may not be the evidence required for a Mastercard 4853. Response windows that are 30 days on one network may be 20 days on another. The threshold for monitoring programmes differs by several percentage points between networks.

This guide covers the core rules for each major network: response windows, reason code structures, monitoring thresholds, and key programme differences.

Visa Chargeback Rules

Visa operates under its Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, last comprehensively updated through the Visa Claims Resolution (VCR) framework in 2018 and expanded with the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) in 2025. Visa's chargeback process uses a streamlined two-stage workflow: the initial dispute and pre-arbitration, replacing the older multi-stage process.

Response windows:

• Initial chargeback response: 30 calendar days from the dispute notification date
• Pre-arbitration response: 30 calendar days after the pre-arbitration is filed
• Arbitration filing deadline: 10 calendar days after the pre-arbitration decision

Key reason code categories:

• 10.x — Fraud: 10.1 (EMV counterfeit), 10.2 (EMV lost/stolen), 10.3 (other fraud — present), 10.4 (other fraud — card-absent), 10.5 (visa fraud monitoring)
• 11.x — Authorisation: 11.1 (card recovery bulletin), 11.2 (declined auth), 11.3 (no auth)
• 12.x — Processing errors: 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)
• 13.x — Consumer disputes: 13.1 (services not received), 13.2 (cancelled recurring), 13.3 (not as described or defective), 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)

Monitoring thresholds:

• Early Warning (VDMP): 0.65% ratio or 75+ disputes/month
• Standard (VDMP): 0.9% ratio and 100+ disputes/month
• Excessive (VDMP): 1.8% ratio and 1,000+ disputes/month
• VAMP (fraud + dispute combined): Applies to card-absent fraud and dispute rates; thresholds vary by merchant category

Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 framework, introduced in 2023, allows merchants to challenge certain 10.4 fraud disputes by demonstrating that the same card was used for two or more undisputed transactions at the same merchant within the preceding 120–365 days. This shifts liability back to the issuer even without 3DS authentication — but requires that the prior transactions share at least two of: IP address, device fingerprint, delivery address, or account/device login credentials.

Mastercard Chargeback Rules

Mastercard's chargeback rules are governed by the Mastercard Rules and the Chargeback Guide, updated periodically through Security Rules and Procedures bulletins. Mastercard uses a similar two-stage process: chargeback and arbitration chargeback.

Response windows:

• Chargeback response (first presentment): 45 calendar days from the chargeback date
• Arbitration chargeback response: 45 calendar days from the arbitration chargeback date
• Arbitration filing: 45 days from the arbitration chargeback

Key reason codes:

• 4808 — Authorisation-related disputes
• 4831 — Transaction amount differs
• 4834 — Point-of-interaction error
• 4835 — Card not valid or expired
• 4837 — No cardholder authorisation
• 4840 — Fraudulent processing of transactions
• 4841 — Cancelled recurring or digital goods transaction
• 4842 — Late presentment
• 4846 — Correct transaction currency code not provided
• 4847 — Exceeds floor limit not authorised and fraudulent transaction
• 4853 — Cardholder dispute (goods/services not as described or defective)
• 4854 — Cardholder dispute — not elsewhere classified
• 4855 — Goods or services not provided
• 4859 — Addendum, no-show, or ATM dispute
• 4860 — Credit not processed
• 4870 — Chip liability shift
• 4871 — Chip/PIN liability shift

Monitoring thresholds:

• Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM): 1.5% ratio and 100+ chargebacks/month
• High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM): 3% ratio and 300+ chargebacks/month

Mastercard's response window is longer than Visa's (45 days vs 30 days), which provides more time to collect evidence. However, Mastercard's monitoring thresholds are higher (1.5% vs 0.9%) — meaning merchants in a high-dispute-rate period may enter Mastercard monitoring before Visa monitoring, or vice versa, depending on their transaction mix.

American Express Chargeback Rules

American Express operates differently from Visa and Mastercard because it functions as both the card network and — for most transactions — the issuing bank. This means Amex disputes are typically resolved entirely within Amex, without the separate issuer/acquirer intermediary structure of four-party networks.

Response windows:

• Initial dispute response: 20 calendar days from dispute notification
• No formal second-stage pre-arbitration — Amex makes a final decision after reviewing merchant evidence

Key reason codes (Amex uses descriptive codes, not numeric):

• C02 — Credit not processed
• C04 — Goods or services returned or refused
• C05 — Goods or services cancelled
• C08 — Goods or services not received or only partially received
• C14 — Paid by other means
• C18 — Cancelled recurring transaction; goods or services not provided
• C28 — Cancelled recurring transaction
• C31 — Goods or services not as described
• C32 — Goods damaged or defective
• F10 — Missing imprint
• F14 — Missing signature
• F24 — No card member authorisation
• F29 — Card not present
• F30 — EMV counterfeit
• F31 — EMV lost/stolen/non-received
• 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
• R03 — Insufficient reply
• R13 — No reply

The shorter 20-day response window is the most important operational difference with Amex disputes. Merchants must have a faster evidence-gathering process for Amex cases specifically — the standard 30-day workflow used for Visa cases will cause missed deadlines on Amex disputes.

Amex does not publish public monitoring thresholds in the same way Visa and Mastercard do. However, merchants with persistently high dispute rates may face account review, elevated processing reserves, or suspension of their Amex acceptance agreement.

Discover Chargeback Rules

Discover, like American Express, acts as its own issuer for most cards, handling disputes internally. Discover's dispute process is governed by the Discover Network Operating Regulations.

Response windows:

• Initial response: 30 calendar days from dispute notification
• Second presentment: 30 days from second chargeback notification

Key reason categories:

• AA — Does not recognise
• AP — Recurring payment
• AW — Altered amount
• CD — Credit/debit posted incorrectly
• DP — Duplicate processing
• IC — Illegible sales data
• IN — Invalid card number
• IS — Missing signature
• LP — Late presentment
• NA — No authorisation
• NC — Not classified
• NF — Non-receipt of funds
• PM — Paid by other means
• RG — Non-receipt of goods
• RM — Quality dispute
• RN1/RN2 — Credit not received
• UA01/UA02/UA05/UA06 — Fraud dispute variants

Discover's dispute volumes are lower than Visa and Mastercard at most merchants due to Discover's smaller market share, but the rules remain consequential. Discover issues can be addressed directly through Discover's merchant portal or through your acquiring bank's dispute management workflow.

Response Window Summary

The single most operationally important difference between networks is the response window. Missing a deadline results in automatic loss regardless of the merits of your case. Track deadlines per-network, not with a single universal assumption.

• Visa: 30 calendar days (initial), 30 days (pre-arbitration)
• Mastercard: 45 calendar days (initial), 45 days (arbitration)
• American Express: 20 calendar days (final decision — no second stage)
• Discover: 30 calendar days (initial), 30 days (second presentment)

If your dispute management process uses a single deadline assumption, you are almost certainly missing Amex deadlines or allowing unnecessary urgency on Mastercard cases. Each case should carry the network-specific deadline, calculated from the notification date, not from a default assumption.

Liability Shift Rules

Across all networks, the key liability shift mechanisms are consistent in principle but vary in detail. The two main mechanisms are EMV chip liability shift and 3D Secure authentication liability shift.

EMV chip liability shift: If a card with an EMV chip is used in a card-present transaction at a terminal that does not support chip reading, liability shifts to the merchant (or acquirer). If the terminal supports chip but the card does not have one, liability remains with the issuer. All major networks follow this rule. Relevant for in-person merchants; less directly applicable for card-not-present e-commerce.

3DS authentication liability shift: For card-not-present transactions authenticated via 3D Secure (3DS2), liability for fraud chargebacks shifts from the merchant to the issuing bank. This applies across Visa (via Verified by Visa), Mastercard (via Mastercard Identity Check), and Discover. The authentication must succeed — a declined or abandoned authentication does not shift liability. Frictionless authentication (where the cardholder sees no challenge) shifts liability just as effectively as step-up authentication.

American Express has its own authentication programme (Amex SafeKey) with similar liability shift provisions, though the mechanics differ slightly given Amex's closed-loop structure.

Arbitration Rules and Costs

When a merchant wins a representment (the issuer accepts the merchant's rebuttal), the dispute is resolved. When the issuer rejects the representment and files a pre-arbitration or second chargeback, merchants face a choice: accept the loss, or escalate to arbitration.

Arbitration escalates the dispute to the card network itself for a binding final ruling. The costs and mechanisms differ by network:

• Visa arbitration: Filing fee of $250–$500 per case. If the merchant loses arbitration, an additional penalty of up to $500 applies. If the merchant wins, the filing fee is typically absorbed by the issuer. Visa's arbitration decision is final.
• Mastercard arbitration: Filing fee of $250 per case, rising to $500 if the filing party loses. The decision is final and binding.
• American Express: No formal separate arbitration stage — Amex makes a final internal decision. Merchants can request reconsideration through their Amex merchant relationship if the initial decision is disputed.
• Discover: Arbitration fees of $250 per case; final and binding.

Arbitration should only be pursued when the evidence is strong, the transaction amount justifies the filing cost, and there is a genuine belief that the network will rule in the merchant's favour. Filing arbitration on weak cases compounds costs and rarely produces different outcomes than first-stage review.

Staying Current with Rule Changes

Card network rules change regularly. Visa updates its Core Rules and Product and Service Rules periodically; Mastercard issues Security Rules and Procedures bulletins; Amex and Discover update their operating regulations. Rule changes can affect reason code structures, response window lengths, evidence requirements, and monitoring thresholds.

The most significant recent changes include: Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 framework (2023), the VAMP programme expansion (2025), and Mastercard's ongoing adjustments to the Chargeback Monitoring Programme thresholds. Merchants should subscribe to their acquiring bank's regulatory update communications and review network-published bulletins directly when operating at high dispute volumes where threshold proximity matters.