Chargeback Handling Procedure
Operational steps for intake, investigation and resolution of card network chargebacks, including reason-code handling.
Purpose
This procedure describes how Dispute Operations receives, investigates and resolves chargebacks raised by Visa and Mastercard on behalf of cardholders.
Dispute intake
Chargebacks arrive via the network's case management gateway and are logged automatically in the dispute queue with the reason code, disputed amount and supporting documentation reference. Cardholder-initiated disputes raised through the contact center are entered manually within one business day.
Investigation timeline
Provisional credit must be issued to the cardholder within 10 business days of a valid dispute being logged, unless the transaction is excluded under network rules (e.g. disputed amount below the minimum threshold). The merchant acquirer has 30 calendar days to respond with representment evidence before the case is resolved in the cardholder's favor by default.
Common reason codes
The table below lists the reason codes handled most frequently by Dispute Operations, together with the network response deadline measured from the chargeback date.
| Reason code | Network | Description | Response deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.4 | Visa | Other fraud — card-absent environment | 20 calendar days |
| 13.1 | Visa | Merchandise / services not received | 30 calendar days |
| 4837 | Mastercard | No cardholder authorization | 45 calendar days |
| 4853 | Mastercard | Cardholder dispute — defective/not as described | 45 calendar days |
Escalation
Disputes exceeding €2,000 or flagged as part of a suspected fraud ring are escalated to the Fraud Investigations desk and cross-referenced against the Card Fraud Incident Runbook.
Closure and reporting
Closed cases are tagged with an outcome (cardholder favor, merchant favor, withdrawn) and roll up into the monthly Dispute Operations scorecard reviewed by the Card Products steering committee.