Chargeback
reason codes

Search for any reason codes for Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover and instantly understand the dispute category.

Key takeaway

In short, this is a dedicated reason codes tool that lets you quickly look up Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover codes. Instead of guessing the meaning behind a chargeback, you can instantly see the official definition, understand why the dispute occurred and access clear guidance on how to handle it.

What is a Reason Code?

Reason codes are standardized numeric or alphanumeric identifiers assigned by card networks such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover to explain why a transaction is being disputed or charged back. Each reason code corresponds to a specific category such as fraud, authorization issues, processing errors or consumer disputes so businesses can quickly understand the cause of the chargeback.

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Understanding reason codes is essential for merchants, payment processors and financial institutions because it helps identify dispute patterns, prevent future chargebacks and improve overall payment compliance. By analyzing reason codes, businesses can take proactive steps to reduce losses, strengthen fraud prevention and enhance the customer experience.

Why Reason Codes are important

Reason codes play a critical role in chargeback management because they reveal the exact cause of a dispute. Without knowing the assigned reason code, businesses cannot effectively respond to chargebacks or prevent them in the future.

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Understanding reason codes allows merchants to resolve disputes faster by submitting the correct documentation, prevent recurring issues by addressing weaknesses in their payment process and strengthen fraud protection by recognizing fraud-related patterns. This insight helps businesses lower chargeback losses, maintain strong relationships with payment providers and safeguard revenue.

Visa uses numeric reason codes under its Visa Claims Resolution framework, divided into fraud, authorization, processing errors and consumer disputes. This system helps merchants identify disputes and respond with the right evidence.

Mastercard reason codes follow a four-digit numeric format, for example 4810. These codes cover fraud, authorization issues, cardholder disputes and processing errors, giving merchants precise insight into the cause of each chargeback.

American Express uses alphanumeric codes, often starting with a letter followed by numbers, like C08. Each code highlights fraud, authorization, processing errors or customer dissatisfaction, guiding merchants on the proper response.

Discover uses an alphabetical system for disputes. Examples include AA for unrecognized transactions, AP for canceled recurring charges, AW for altered amounts and CD for credit or debit errors. This format makes it simple for merchants to understand and resolve chargebacks.

Frequently asked questions

Here are the most frequently asked questions we get about Chargeback.

Will this protect my payment processor?

Yes. Chargeback alerts are the best way to keep your processor happy. Lowering your chargeback rate helps you avoid money holds, fines, rolling reserves, and even getting shut down.

What is Chargeback?

Chargeback is a chargeback prevention service designed to do exactly what its name suggests—prevent chargebacks.

We achieve this by alerting you about transactions in which the customer has just requested a chargeback. We will then automatically refund these transactions before they escalate into chargebacks.

This helps reduce your chargeback rate, lower fees, and minimize potential payment processor issues.

Which integrations do you support?

Currently, we support Stripe, Shopify Payments, Braintree, Chargebee, and Recurly. We also plan to expand our integration to include Authorize.net and Airwallex.

How much does it cost?

You're only charged when we provide an alert. And every alert is a chargeback stopped. For a more detailed overview, please visit our pricing page.

Is there an onboarding fee, contracts, or monthly minimums?

We have no onboarding fees, no contracts, or monthly minimums. Chargeback is free to start, and we only charge per alert.

What is an alert?

A chargeback alert notifies you of incoming chargebacks 24-72 hours before they're officially filed.

This allows you to automatically issue a refund to avoid the chargeback. Reducing your chargeback rate, lowering fees, and minimizing potential payment processor issues.

How fast until we are live?

Integration with your payment processor typically takes a few minutes. Depending on the system you activate, we aim to have you live within 12 hours.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes, you can cancel our service at any time.

Did we miss something?

If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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Key takeaway

What is a Reason Code?

Frequently asked questions

Decrease your dispute rate today

Chargeback
reason codes