Chargeback Reason Codes in 2026: The Practical Reference for Merchants
Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover each use different reason code systems with different evidence requirements and response deadlines. This is the working reference.
18 June 2026
The reason code on your chargeback notification determines everything — which evidence you need, how long you have to respond, and what the realistic win probability is. Submitting the wrong evidence for a reason code is a guaranteed loss regardless of how strong your underlying position is. Issuers do not assess the merit of evidence that doesn't match what the code requires.
This reference covers the codes that drive the majority of dispute volume across all four major card networks.
Visa Reason Codes
Visa's dispute framework operates under CE 3.0 (Chargeback Exception 3.0), updated significantly with the VAMP transition in June 2025. Visa codes are organised by category — fraud, authorisation, processing errors, and consumer disputes.
10.4 — Card Absent Fraud. The highest-volume Visa fraud code for card-not-present merchants. Filed when a cardholder reports a transaction as fraudulent and no 3DS authentication was completed. Without 3DS data, the merchant bears fraud liability and the path to winning is narrow — strong device fingerprint, IP match, and prior order history from the same account. With 3DS authentication completed, liability shifts to the issuer and the code effectively cannot proceed.
13.1 — Merchandise/Services Not Received. The core "goods not received" code. Response requires carrier tracking data showing confirmed delivery to the cardholder's billing or shipping address. Photo proof of delivery significantly outperforms scan data alone. For digital goods, delivery logs showing the file was accessed or the account was used from the cardholder's device and IP.
13.2 — Cancelled Recurring Transaction. Subscription and recurring billing disputes. The merchant must show either that no valid cancellation was received before the billing date, or that the charge was issued within the pre-paid period the cardholder agreed to. Cancellation policy documentation and the absence of a cancellation request in your support system are the core evidence.
13.3 — Not as Described. Filed when a cardholder claims the product or service differed materially from what was represented. Response requires the original product description as it appeared at time of purchase, photos or specifications, and if applicable, documentation of what was actually provided.
Mastercard Reason Codes
Mastercard reason codes were restructured, with the current framework consolidating dispute categories. Three codes account for approximately 80% of merchant dispute volume.
4837 — No Cardholder Authorisation. Mastercard's primary fraud code. Response structure mirrors Visa 10.4 — 3DS authentication record is the strongest single piece of evidence. Without it: AVS match, CVV match, device fingerprint, and prior transaction history from the same account.
4853 — Cardholder Dispute. Mastercard's broadest consumer dispute code, covering not-as-described, services not rendered, and credit not processed claims. The specific sub-reason determines evidence. For not-as-described: original product listing. For services not rendered: proof of service delivery. For credit not processed: refund transaction record and timeline.
4855 — Goods or Services Not Provided. The goods not received code. Evidence requirements are identical to Visa 13.1 — carrier tracking, delivery confirmation, and for digital goods, access logs.
Response deadline: 45 calendar days from the chargeback date for Mastercard, versus 30 days for Visa. Track these separately — the longer Mastercard window has caused merchants to miss Visa deadlines when applying a single deadline to all disputes.
Amex and Discover
American Express and Discover operate closed-loop networks, meaning they both issue the card and process the dispute. This changes the dispute dynamics significantly.
Amex response deadline is 20 calendar days — the shortest of any major network, and frequently missed by merchants tracking a 30-day window. Amex disputes escalated without a merchant response are automatically decided in the cardholder's favour.
Amex's key codes — C02 (credit not processed), C04 (goods not received), C08 (goods not as described), FR2 (fraud) — have evidence requirements similar to Visa, but Amex issuers apply their own internal quality standards to evidence review. Amex cardholders historically receive more favorable treatment in dispute resolution, which makes winning Amex disputes both more evidence-intensive and more important to contest carefully.
Discover follows a dispute process similar to Mastercard with a 30-day response window. Discover disputes are lower volume for most merchants, but the evidence requirements are equivalent and deadlines must be tracked separately.
Evidence Requirements by Code Category
Three broad categories determine evidence approach:
Fraud disputes (Visa 10.4, MC 4837, Amex FR2): 3DS record, IP/device match, AVS/CVV result, prior transaction history. The hierarchy is clear — 3DS is decisive, everything else is supplementary.
Consumer disputes (Visa 13.1, 13.2, 13.3; MC 4853, 4855): Delivery proof, usage logs, original product representation, communication records. The specific sub-category determines the primary document.
Processing error disputes (Visa 12.x, MC 4842, 4831): Transaction records, refund confirmation, duplicate charge evidence. These are usually merchant-side errors — either straightforward to acknowledge and refund, or straightforward to demonstrate didn't occur.
For a complete reason code database with evidence requirements and response templates, ChargeMate's reference at chargemate.tech/chargeback-reason-codes covers all four networks in detail.
The CE 3.0 Pathway
CE 3.0 — Visa's Compelling Evidence framework — allows merchants to use prior undisputed transactions as evidence that a disputed transaction was authorised. The pathway applies to Visa 10.4 disputes specifically.
To use CE 3.0, the merchant must provide two or more prior undisputed transactions from the same cardholder — charged to the same card, involving the same device or IP address, and completed within 120 days of the disputed transaction. If qualifying prior transactions exist, the dispute is returned to the issuer with a pre-arbitration response rather than a standard representment.
CE 3.0 significantly changes the economics of fraud disputes for subscription merchants and e-commerce merchants with returning customers. A merchant who has processed five prior transactions with a cardholder who then files a fraud dispute on the sixth has strong CE 3.0 evidence. The implication for evidence collection: maintaining comprehensive device, IP, and transaction history at the account level is now a representment asset, not just a fraud prevention tool.