A chargeback reason code is the issuing bank's label for why the sale is being pulled. Visa groups conditions into four families: fraud (10.x), authorization (11.x), processing errors (12.x), and consumer disputes (13.x) (Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants, June 2024). Mastercard's Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition (27 January 2026) uses the same four jobs under different numbers: fraud, authorization-related, point-of-interaction error, and cardholder dispute. Read the family first. It tells you which documents can answer the claim, and which cannot.
A chargeback is the money movement. The reason code is the instruction set for the file you send, or for the decision to accept and stop.
How to read the notice
The first line that matters is the code, not the customer's email. Your acquirer will print a Visa condition (10.4, 13.6) or a Mastercard message reason code (4808, 4837, 4853). The same sale can arrive as three different codes. Each one asks a different question.
Visa's cycle: cardholder files with the issuer, the issuer sends the dispute to the acquirer, the acquirer forwards it to you, you accept or reject with supporting documentation (June 2024). Reject means representment. The documents have to answer this code. A delivery scan does not prove an authorization existed. A credit date does not prove the cardholder ordered the item. Use the code on your notice. Do not translate from a blog table.
Four families: group by what you can fix
Do not memorize every number. Group by the work.
Fraud (Visa 10.x)
The cardholder says they did not authorize or participate. Visa's 10.x list is EMV liability-shift counterfeit (10.1), EMV liability-shift non-counterfeit (10.2), other fraud card-present (10.3), other fraud card-absent (10.4), and Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (10.5) (June 2024).
10.4 is internet, mail, or phone. Visa's common causes: a stolen credential, someone using another person's card, or an unclear merchant name that makes a real sale look like fraud. Fix the next one with a recognizable DBA, AVS and CVV2, and do not deposit until the goods ship.
What answers 10.4 is compelling evidence, not a "we know this customer" letter. Visa defines it as information that attempts to prove the cardholder participated, received the goods or services, or benefitted. Providing it does not require Visa or the issuer to agree (June 2024). The list includes a link between recipient and cardholder, delivery to an AVS-matched address (signature not required for that item), device and IP data on digital goods, and prior undisputed payments. For two prior sales, Visa wants them settled 120 to 365 calendar days before the dispute processing date, with matching device or IP data.
10.1 / 10.2 are chip-terminal failures. 10.3 is a key-entered card-present sale without a swipe, chip read, or (outside Europe) a manual imprint. 10.5 is a monitoring-program case: a prior dispute already accepted, a credit already posted, or the cardholder dropped the claim. Mastercard's dual-message fraud codes in the January 2026 edition include 4837 (no cardholder authorization), 4870 / 4871 (chip liability shift), and 4849 (questionable merchant activity).
Authorization (Visa 11.x)
The issuer says the sale was not properly authorized. Visa 11.1 is Card Recovery Bulletin, 11.2 is declined authorization (you captured after a decline or pickup), and 11.3 is no authorization or late presentment for transactions completed on or after 13 April 2024 (June 2024). Common 11.3 causes: no auth when one was required, auth obtained then captured for a higher amount, or the sale sat too long.
Do not force-post a decline. Do not capture above the approval without a new auth. Settle on the clock your agreement uses. Mastercard's dual-message authorization code is 4808. If the log shows an approval for the amount you captured, send it. If it does not, accept. You cannot document around a missing approval.
Processing errors (Visa 12.x)
Someone keyed, coded, or batched the sale wrong. Two that operations can reverse the same day: duplicate processing (12.6.1) and paid by other means (12.6.2). The rest of 12.x is incorrect code, currency, account number, amount, or data. Late presentment as 12.1 applied through 12 April 2024; after that it sits in 11.3 (June 2024).
12.6.1 is the same card, same date, same amount, twice: entered twice, batch sent twice, or two receipts for one purchase. Two separate sales: send those records. One sale settled twice: reverse the duplicate and accept. 12.6.2 is cash, check, or another card after the Visa sale already captured. Reverse the Visa sale when the customer switches tenders.
Mastercard's point-of-interaction-error family is 4834 (January 2026): cardholder debited more than once, amount differs, related POS mistakes.
Consumer disputes (Visa 13.x)
The cardholder engaged in the sale and now contests the goods, the service, the billing, or the credit. This is the family operations can prevent, and the family a packing slip belongs in.
- 13.1 Merchandise/Services Not Received. Prove delivery or pickup as agreed, or that the promised date has not passed. If the goods never left, accept.
- 13.2 Cancelled Recurring Transaction. They withdrew permission to bill, or the account was closed before you ran the sale. Cancel when they ask, confirm the date in writing, and do not bill the Visa account after that request. If they used the service after the cancel date, say so with dates. If you billed anyway, accept.
- 13.3 Not as Described or Defective. Wrong item, damaged in transit, or quality that does not match what you sold. Address each claim. Visa is explicit: your return policy has no bearing on 13.3. Do not point them at the manufacturer. You are the merchant of record.
- 13.6 Credit Not Processed. They have a credit or void receipt that never posted: you never issued it, you issued it too late for the next statement, or a ticket that should have been voided still settled. If a credit is due and you have not processed it, accept. If you already processed it, send amount and date. That is the refund versus chargeback trap: a second credit on the same ticket is a double payout.
13.4 (counterfeit), 13.5 (misrepresentation), 13.7 (cancelled merchandise/services), 13.8 (original credit not accepted), and 13.9 (ATM cash) use the same method: the documents that condition names, or accept.
Mastercard's cardholder-dispute family is 4853 (with related 4850 / 4854). The January 2026 guide lets the issuer use it when the cardholder alleges goods or services were not as described or defective. Use of 4853 requires that the cardholder engaged in the transaction. That is the line between this family and fraud.
- 1Read the family first. Visa 10 fraud, 11 authorization, 12 processing error, 13 consumer. Mastercard: fraud, authorization-related, point-of-interaction error, cardholder dispute.
- 2Match documents to that claim. Auth log for no-auth. Carrier proof for not-received. Credit amount and date for credit-not-processed. Visa's compelling-evidence list for card-absent fraud.
- 3Represent or accept. File only if the file answers this code. Accept if it does not. Never refund the same ticket a second time unless the acquirer says to.
One sale, three codes (illustrative)
Numbers below are illustrative. They show the matching problem, not a quote.
A $240 online order. Three notices, three files.
| Code on the notice | What the issuer is asking | File that can answer | File that cannot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa 13.1 | Did they receive it? | Carrier confirmation to the order address, or a signed pickup | Product photos, a packing-slip selfie |
| Visa 10.4 | Did they buy it? | Compelling evidence from Visa's 10.4 list (AVS-matched delivery, device/IP, prior undisputed sales) | "We know this customer" |
| Visa 13.6 | Where is the credit? | Credit amount and processed date | A second $240 refund |
Same ticket. Three different questions. Sending the 13.1 file into a 10.4 case wastes the representment window. Sending a second refund into a 13.6 case pays twice.
What to fix so the next code never prints
Visa tells merchants to track disputes by condition, as a share of sales, card-present separate from card-absent, and initial amount separate from net after you respond (June 2024). That is how you see which family is the problem.
Visa also monitors merchant dispute activity monthly and notifies acquirers when a merchant has excessive disputes (June 2024). The guide does not publish a merchant-facing "safe" percentage. A pattern of unanswered cases is an account problem. How to assemble the file, and what the per-case fee costs on top of the sale, is in Chargeback Fees and How to Fight Them.
The code is a routing label. Route the proof to the claim. If you do not have that proof, accept. Fighting the wrong family is how a $240 ticket becomes a lost sale, lost goods, and a fee.
FAQ
What is a chargeback reason code? It is the issuer's label for why the sale is being reversed. Visa uses numbered conditions (10.x through 13.x). Mastercard uses four-digit message reason codes. The code on the notice tells you which evidence can answer the claim.
What are Visa's four dispute categories? Fraud (10.x), authorization (11.x), processing errors (12.x), and consumer disputes (13.x), per Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024). Each family has a different proof package. A delivery scan does not answer a no-authorization case.
How do Mastercard reason codes relate to Visa's? Mastercard's Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition (27 January 2026) groups dual-message chargebacks as authorization-related, cardholder disputes, fraud, and point-of-interaction error. The numbers differ. The family still tells you whether you are proving authorization, delivery, or that the amount was right.
What evidence do I need for merchandise not received? Visa condition 13.1 is Merchandise/Services Not Received. Prove the cardholder or an authorized person received the goods or services as agreed, or that the expected delivery date has not passed. Carrier confirmation to the order address beats a packing-slip photo.
If I already issued a refund, which code is this? Often Visa condition 13.6, Credit Not Processed: the cardholder has a credit or void receipt that never posted. Send the credit amount and the date it processed. Do not refund a second time unless your acquirer says that is the remedy.
Can a signed receipt beat a card-absent fraud chargeback? Not by itself. For Visa 10.4 (Other Fraud, Card-Absent Environment), the June 2024 merchant guidelines list specific compelling evidence: a link between recipient and cardholder, delivery to an AVS-matched address, device and IP data on digital goods, and prior undisputed payments. Match that list.
Sources
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