Chargeback Reason Codes: Visa Lookup and Response Checks

A chargeback reason code identifies the reason a cardholder’s bank filed a dispute.

Use it to identify the claim, find the applicable rule, and choose the records to review. A code is not a finding that the customer is right or that fraud occurred. Your acquirer is the institution handling card acceptance for your business.

This page reproduces 23 numbered Visa dispute conditions from the 18 April 2026 rules edition. It also explains how to check a Mastercard case and handle an unfamiliar two-digit label. It is a reference to named documents, not a replacement for your provider’s case instructions.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11, cited condition and edition scope), accessed 19 October 2026.

Check the edition and dispute-processing date

Check the date before using condition 11.1. The cited Visa edition limits it to disputes processed through 23 October 2026. That is a dispute-processing date, not simply the date of the purchase. This article does not promise the contents of a later rules edition.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules,” edition 18 April 2026, Chapter 11 and §11.8.1.1–11.8.1.3. Official PDF re-read 19 October 2026.

Common chargeback reason codes: quick category index

Use this short index to match a code from a processor notice, settlement report, or legacy runbook to the right category section below:

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11), official PDF re-read 19 October 2026. Mastercard category overview: “Chargebacks Made Simple Guide” (July 2025, pp. 7–8), official PDF text accessed through web parsing on 19 October 2026. Numeric Mastercard conditions are not reproduced here.

Visa dispute conditions in the cited edition

Visa organizes its dispute conditions into four categories:

• 10 — Fraud
• 11 — Authorization
• 12 — Processing Errors
• 13 — Consumer Disputes

The number before the decimal point identifies the category. The number after it identifies the specific dispute condition.

The following tables are an index to the 18 April 2026 edition. They retain its 23 numbered entries, with 11.1’s date restriction visible. Consult any subsequent rules and the instructions on your live case before relying on an entry.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11, cited condition and edition scope), accessed 19 October 2026.

Separate the two deadlines

The filing windows below are issuer dispute-filing windows, not your merchant response deadline. The provider’s deadline may be earlier because it needs time to review and transmit your response. Record the exact deadline and time zone from the case notice.

Each row summarizes a rule with conditions and exceptions. Starting events, waiting periods, regional exclusions, and outer limits must be checked in the cited provision. A shortened table cell does not grant a filing or response right.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11). Original reference diagram, checked 19 October 2026; not a merchant response-deadline chart.

Before using the tables, note these terms:

• EMV: The chip-payment standard; the name originated with Europay, Mastercard, and Visa. Liability-shift rules identify which side may bear specified chip-fraud losses.
• PIN: A personal identification number used for cardholder verification.
• ATM: An automated teller machine.
• Processing date: The network processing date specified in the rule; it may differ from the purchase date.

Source: EMVCo, “Why EMV?” (name and chip-payment context); Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, glossary and Chapter 11), accessed 19 October 2026.

Category 10 — Fraud

Category 10 covers the specified fraud conditions, including a monitoring-report branch under 10.5. The five listed conditions show a 120-calendar-day issuer filing window, with different eligibility rules and starting events.

Check the fraud-reporting prerequisites for the individual condition; the condition’s time limit alone does not establish a dispute right.

Source: Visa, "Core Rules and Product and Service Rules, Edition 18 April 2026" (Chapter 11; 10.4 dispute time limit in Section 11.7.5.4, Table 11-29), official PDF re-read 19 October 2026.

For an online unauthorized-payment claim, check 10.4 — Other Fraud, Card-Absent Environment and its eligibility rules. Do not choose a code from the merchant’s industry alone.

Review repeated declines and verification mismatches under your provider’s instructions. A decline code alone does not establish fraud or predict a dispute. Use the credit card decline codes guide for the authorization stage.

Source: HaiPay, “Credit Card Decline Codes” (scope and limits of decline-code interpretation), accessed 19 October 2026. Reviewing signals is an original operating recommendation.

Category 11 — Authorization

Category 11 covers specified authorization and processing failures. Required authorization may be missing or declined, or presentment may not meet the applicable processing rules. Condition 11.3 can apply even when authorization was valid but processing was late.

Conditions 11.2 and 11.3 show a 75-calendar-day issuer filing window. The cited edition also specifies 75 days for 11.1, measured from the transaction processing date and subject to its requirements and invalid-dispute rules.

For 11.1, the edition explicitly says “Effective for Disputes processed through 23 October 2026.” Do not turn that cutoff into a guarantee about every code in a future edition.

Source: Visa, "Core Rules and Product and Service Rules, Edition 18 April 2026" (11.1 requirements in Section 11.8.1.1 Table 11-36, invalid cases in Table 11-37, and time limit in Section 11.8.1.3 Table 11-38; 11.2 in Section 11.8.2.4 Table 11-43; 11.3 in Section 11.8.3.4 Table 11-49), official PDF re-read 19 October 2026.

Important restriction on 11.1: Check the dispute-processing date as well as the transaction processing date. Tables 11-36 and 11-37 define requirements and invalid cases; Table 11-38 gives the time limit. An older purchase date does not by itself establish that 11.1 is available after the stated dispute-processing cutoff.

Where to check late presentment

The cited edition handles late presentment under condition 11.3. Its Chapter 11 contains no 12.1 condition. If a notice shows 12.1, retain that label and ask the acquirer which rule applies; this page does not verify its historical origin.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11, cited condition and edition scope), accessed 19 October 2026.

Category 12 — Processing Errors

Category 12 covers cases in which something about the transaction data or processing was incorrect. The amount, currency, account number, transaction type, or clearing data may be wrong even though the cardholder willingly made the purchase.

Source: Visa, "Core Rules and Product and Service Rules, Edition 18 April 2026" (Chapter 11 dispute-condition tables for Category 12), official PDF re-read 19 October 2026.

There is deliberately no 12.1 row in this table. It is not an omission. The cited edition addresses late presentment under 11.3 — No Authorization/Late Presentment.

Category 13 — Consumer Disputes

Category 13 covers specified fulfilment, credit, cancellation, and other consumer-dispute conditions. Read the exact branch; 13.8 concerns an Original Credit Transaction rather than an ordinary disputed purchase.

Examples include goods that never arrived, recurring charges processed after cancellation, defective merchandise, and a promised credit that was never completed.

Several category 13 conditions require the issuer to wait before filing, giving the merchant time to deliver the goods, complete a refund, or resolve the complaint.

Source: Visa, "Core Rules and Product and Service Rules, Edition 18 April 2026" (13.1 in Section 11.10.2.4 Table 11-92; 13.2 in Section 11.10.3.4 Table 11-99; 13.6 in Section 11.10.7.4 Table 11-125), official PDF re-read 19 October 2026.

Why “120 days” and “15 days” need context

Do not count every issuer window from the purchase date. Condition 10.5 uses the monitoring-report date. Consumer-dispute conditions can use expected delivery, receipt, credit-receipt, cancellation, or another event specified in the rule.

Conditions 13.1, 13.3, 13.6, and 13.7 include conditional waiting provisions. Their triggers and exceptions differ:

• 13.1: Check the expected-delivery or service date and the applicable branch. Travel, ticketing, and European insurance cases have additional timing rules.
• 13.3: Check the return or cancellation attempt, negotiation path, and exceptions. The cited table includes 120-day branches and a conditional 60-day branch.
• 13.6: Check the credit receipt and its date. The cited rules do not require the standard 15-day wait for an undated credit receipt.
• 13.7: Check the cancellation or return event, waiting period, and any waiver. Do not treat it as the same condition as cancelling recurring-charge permission under 13.2.

Some branches also have a 540-calendar-day outer limit. It is not a universal extension for every claim. Read the condition’s requirements, exclusions, waiting rule, start date, and outer limit together with your acquirer.

Source: Visa Core Rules, edition 18 April 2026, time-limit tables for 10.5 and 13.1–13.7, including Tables 11-92, 11-106, 11-119, 11-125, and 11-131. Official PDF re-read 19 October 2026.

If the complaint involves a promised or completed credit, see when to refund, accept, or challenge a chargeback before moving money again.

Keep the dispute reason separate from the processing status

Keep separate fields for the card network’s condition, your provider’s case ID, and the case’s current processing status. If a dashboard shows a short numeric label, ask which field it represents before looking it up as a reason code.

Copy the full description and original label into your case record. Record the network, applicable rule edition, notice date, response deadline, and time zone beside it. Avoid replacing an unfamiliar label with the nearest-looking entry in this table.

Method: Original case-identification control. Dashboard field names and processing states vary by provider; the example does not map any provider’s status code to a network condition.

Who assigns the chargeback reason code?

Keep the network, issuer, and provider roles separate when reading the notice.

What the network, issuer, and provider each do

The card network publishes the list. For Visa, the list appears in Chapter 11 of the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules. Each “dispute condition” has a number, definition, filing window, requirements, and corresponding rule tables.

The issuing bank selects the condition when it files the dispute. The issuer cannot invent a reason code, but it determines which published condition fits the cardholder’s claim.

Keep the provider’s displayed label, the original network condition, and the case’s processing status in separate fields. Ask the provider what an unfamiliar label represents.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11, issuer-filed conditions), accessed 19 October 2026. Keeping separate fields is an original case-control method.

Read the notice alongside the provider record

HaiPay’s published chargeback-process guide says it passes through the network’s original reason code. Check the network and full case details before matching that code to a row here. This published description is not a test of your live account.

Source: HaiPay, “Chargeback Process” (published network-code workflow), accessed 19 October 2026.

An authorization decline is different from a dispute. If the transaction never completed and no settled payment was reversed, refer instead to HaiPay’s credit card decline codes guide.

Check the claim before preparing evidence

A reason code describes the claim, rather than establishing whether it is true. Visa condition 10.4 means that the issuer filed the transaction as card-absent fraud; it does not establish that fraud actually occurred.

Whether the claim succeeds depends on the evidence submitted during the dispute process. The stages, response windows, and evidence workflow are covered separately in HaiPay’s chargeback process guide.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11); the merchant instructions above are an original workflow synthesis. Accessed 19 October 2026.

Why is condition 12.1 missing from this table?

The cited April 2026 rules have no current 12.1 entry. They address late presentment under 11.3 — No Authorization/Late Presentment. If an older runbook or processor export displays 12.1, retain that original label and ask which current condition governs the actual case.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11 index and §11.8.3, condition 11.3), accessed 19 October 2026.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11), and HaiPay, “Chargeback Process” (published code/workflow description), accessed 19 October 2026.

What if the notice shows code 37 or 53?

First identify the network and the processor’s label. Neither 37 nor 53 is a condition number in the Visa table reproduced from the April 2026 edition. A two-digit number alone is insufficient to determine the claim.

Ask for the network, complete condition label, description, applicable rules edition, and case deadline. Visa’s 2015 official notice described old code 53 as “Not As Described or Defective Merchandise.” The April 2026 rules use condition 13.3 for a related allegation. Compare the actual case description with 13.3; this is a comparison of two dated documents, not an official one-to-one conversion table. Do not automatically convert an unexplained number to 13.3 or assume it belongs to Visa.

Older exports and processor labels can use a different vocabulary. Keep the original label in the case record and add the confirmed network condition separately. This preserves traceability when support and finance use different systems.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11, condition index and 13.3). Historical wording: Visa, “Visa Optimizes Dispute Rules” (2015), p. 2. The matching procedure is an original checklist, not an official code-conversion table. Accessed 19 October 2026.

Mastercard chargeback reason codes

Mastercard’s July 2025 Chargebacks Made Simple Guide groups disputes into fraud-related, authorization-related, point-of-interaction error, and cardholder-dispute categories. It describes requirements around the condition, time frame, and supporting documents. Its process overview includes first chargeback, second presentment, and further stages where applicable.

Source: Mastercard, “Chargebacks Made Simple Guide” (July 2025, pp. 7–10), official PDF text accessed through web parsing on 19 October 2026.

That overview expressly does not replace the detailed Chargeback Guide or subsequent announcements. A complete numeric table requires the applicable detailed rulebook and subsequent announcements. Those provisions are not reproduced here; do not treat the older overview as the latest full rules.

For a notice showing a code such as 4853, request four items from your acquirer:

1. The complete message reason code and accompanying condition description.
2. The applicable guide edition, transaction system, and regional scope.
3. The merchant’s response deadline and accepted submission route.
4. The specific documents needed for that condition.

Use the official Mastercard rules directory and the Made Simple overview as starting points. The case-specific instructions remain essential. Do not translate a Mastercard number directly into a Visa condition.

Source: Mastercard, “Chargebacks Made Simple Guide” (July 2025, overview and limitation), and official “Rules” directory (entry point, not verification of every linked rule), accessed 19 October 2026.

Other card networks

Do not assume that a condition or filing window applies across card networks. Identify the actual network before preparing a response.

For a U.S. American Express case, start with its Merchant Regulations and Disputes Support Center. For a Discover case, request the current condition and merchant response instructions from your provider.

This page does not reproduce a complete current code list for these networks. Confirm the condition and instructions supplied with the actual case.

Source: American Express, “Merchant Regulations” and “Disputes Support Center” (U.S. merchant entry points), accessed 19 October 2026. Requesting current network-specific instructions is an operating recommendation.

From the chargeback code to the next action

The reason-code category tells the merchant which type of record to examine first.

Method: Original response-preparation checklist informed by the cited card-network rules and merchant guidance. It does not assign issuer waiting periods to merchant responses or guarantee an outcome.

Category 10 — Fraud

For an unauthorized-use allegation, review the relevant authentication, account, device, internet protocol (IP) address, login, and usage records. For 10.5, check the program identification and the condition-specific permitted response with the acquirer.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Category 10, including 10.5), and “Dispute Management Guide for Merchants” (October 2026, condition-specific evidence), accessed 19 October 2026. Record selection is an original checklist.

Category 11 — Authorization

Review authorization and processing records together. For an 11.2 dispute, determine why a transaction completed after a decline or pickup response. For 11.3, check presentment timing even if authorization was obtained.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, conditions 11.2 and 11.3), accessed 19 October 2026.

Category 12 — Processing Errors

The claim concerns transaction data, clearing, currency, duplication, or amount. Start with the authorization and clearing records and confirm the amount and transaction identifiers.

Pull the acquirer reference number (ARN) early when tracing a settled card transaction.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, applicable condition and response provisions), and “Dispute Management Guide for Merchants” (October 2026, condition-specific responses), accessed 19 October 2026. The preparation steps are an original operating checklist.

Source: HaiPay, “Acquirer Reference Number” (card transaction tracing), accessed 19 October 2026.

Category 13 — Consumer Disputes

Read the specific consumer-dispute condition first. Select the relevant delivery, cancellation, communication, refund, credit, ATM, or Original Credit Transaction records; do not assume every condition concerns purchase fulfilment.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, Chapter 11, condition-specific scope); “Dispute Management Guide for Merchants” (October 2026, responding to the filed condition), accessed 19 October 2026. The record-selection steps are an original preparation checklist.

For a missing refund or credit, the ARN Refund Trace Assistant can help check the reference format and prepare a trace request. It does not establish that a credit was received or replace the evidence required for the dispute condition.

The complete response workflow, including dispute stages, deadlines, and the first-72-hours checklist, is covered in the chargeback process guide.

Respond through the applicable condition

Two operational rules apply across all four categories.

First, respond to the filed condition without silently replacing its label. Ask your acquirer whether an incorrect or inapplicable condition permits an invalid-dispute response. An error in the condition can matter; use the applicable response route.

Second, do not submit the same generic evidence package for every category. Fraud, authorization, processing-error, and consumer-dispute conditions ask different questions. Evidence that answers the wrong question is unlikely to resolve the claim.

Source: Visa, “Core Rules and Product and Service Rules” (18 April 2026, applicable condition and response provisions), and “Dispute Management Guide for Merchants” (October 2026, condition-specific responses), accessed 19 October 2026. The preparation steps are an original operating checklist.

Confirm the provider’s case instructions

For a HaiPay case, use the original condition code described in its published process guide alongside the case notice. Confirm any account-specific labels and response requirements with the dispute team.

Source: HaiPay, “Chargeback Process” (first-party published workflow; not a live-account test), accessed 19 October 2026.

More information about HaiPay’s card acceptance capabilities is available on the credit card processing product page.

A case-specific response checklist

Copy this checklist into the case record before assembling a response:

1. Identify the network and condition. Keep both the processor label and the confirmed network condition.
2. Record the merchant deadline. Include the date, time zone, owner, and provider submission route. Do not substitute the issuer filing limit.
3. Read the applicable rule. Note the edition, condition requirements, exclusions, and any regional or transaction-type branch.
4. State the allegation in one sentence. Identify which fact or event the issuer is disputing.
5. Match each record to that allegation. Record the transaction reference, file, date, amount, currency, and reason it matters.
6. Check prior credits. Link any refund or reversal to the original transaction before authorizing another payment.
7. Choose the permitted action. Confirm whether to accept, respond, or escalate with the case owner, then record submission status.

Method: Original merchant case-preparation checklist informed by Visa’s Chapter 11 conditions and merchant response guidance. It is not a network-mandated form or a promise of response eligibility. Rules and official guidance accessed 19 October 2026.

Sources

1. Visa, Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules — edition 18 April 2026, Chapter 11. Source for the 23 numbered condition entries and their stated requirements; §11.8.1.1–11.8.1.3 / Tables 11-36–11-38 limit 11.1 to disputes processed through 23 October 2026. Official PDF downloaded and re-read 19 October 2026.
2. Visa, Visa Dispute Management Guide for Merchants — October 2026, merchant response and prior-credit guidance. Accessed 19 October 2026.
3. Mastercard, Chargebacks Made Simple Guide — July 2025, pp. 7–10, category and process overview. Official PDF text accessed through web parsing on 19 October 2026; it does not replace the detailed rulebook or later announcements.
4. Mastercard, Transaction Processing Rules and Standards — official rules directory; access to a directory is not verification of every linked rulebook. Accessed 19 October 2026.
5. American Express, Merchant Regulations and Disputes Support Center — merchant reference entry points, not a reproduced complete code list. Accessed 19 October 2026.
6. HaiPay, Chargeback Process — first-party description of the original network code and merchant response workflow. Accessed 19 October 2026.
7. Visa, Visa Optimizes Dispute Rules — 2015 merchant notice, p. 2, historical code 53 description. It does not supply a universal conversion table or a retirement date for every old code. Accessed 19 October 2026.
8. EMVCo, “Why EMV?” — terminology and original name; not a source for dispute eligibility. Accessed 19 October 2026.

Card-network rules are written, published, and interpreted by the card networks themselves. The categories, condition names, filing windows, and rule references above are provided so readers can verify the information against the cited primary documents.

Confirm the applicable rules edition and case instructions before relying on a specific provision. This page does not establish response eligibility for an individual dispute.

Disclosure: HaiPay publishes this reference and offers payment services. The source reviews recorded here occurred on 19 October 2026. Public documentation is separate from a test of a merchant account. This article is operational information, not legal, financial, or investment advice.