Product: Card Issuing
Who this is for: How to report suspected fraudulent or unauthorized transactions to Reap, how to raise a chargeback on a disputed transaction, the deadlines that apply to each, the evidence you need to supply, and what the Visa dispute condition codes mean.
What you will learn: Businesses running a card program with Reap and the operations or support teams who handle fraud reports and disputes on behalf of their cardholders.
Overview
Fraud reporting and chargebacks are two different processes, with two different deadlines and two different purposes.
Fraud Reporting is mandatory. You must report any suspected fraudulent or unauthorized transaction to Reap within 60 days of the transaction, even if you do not intend to file a dispute. This enables Reap to meet its obligation to report the fraud to Visa. Your reporting obligation to Reap is also required under your agreement with Reap.
Raising a chargeback is optional. It is how you attempt to recover funds on a disputed transaction, and it runs on its own 75-day clock with its own evidence requirements.
Deciding not to dispute a transaction does not remove your obligation to report it. That mistake is common and it is expensive. Late or missing fraud reports can affect your card program's performance.
Not everything that looks wrong is fraud. A charge that cleared without authorization, or a refund that cannot be matched to a purchase, are explained in the Frequently Asked Questions. A pending charge that disappears is covered under What happens after you submit.
Reporting suspected fraud
Report any suspected fraudulent or unauthorized transaction as soon as you become aware of it. Prompt reporting limits further fraudulent activity on the affected card and allows Reap to act quickly.
Reporting deadline
Report within 60 calendar days of the transaction date. Missing the deadline is a breach of Visa Rules and of your agreement with Reap, so it is worth building into your internal process rather than looking it up case by case.
Where to report
Email safeguard@reap.global. Reap provides a standard fraud reporting form. Contact our support team if you do not have the current version.
What to include
A report needs enough detail to identify the card and the transaction unambiguously:
| Category | Details required |
|---|---|
| Card information | Card ID, and the last four digits of the card number |
| Transaction information | Transaction ID (TID), the transaction date, and the date you identified the fraud |
| Type of fraud | One category from the Visa definitions below |
Choosing the fraud type
These are Visa's own definitions. Use the one that most accurately describes what happened.
| Fraud type | Definition |
|---|---|
| Card lost | The account holder is not in possession of the card and does not know what happened to it. |
| Card stolen | The account holder is not in possession of the card and may have an explanation of how it went missing. |
| Card not received as issued (NRI) | The card was mailed but never received by the account holder. |
| Fraudulent application | The account was opened using a real person's identity or synthetic account holder information. |
| Issuer-reported counterfeit | The account holder still has the card, but card-present transactions have occurred that they did not make. |
| Acquirer-reported counterfeit | The acquirer confirms the transaction involved an unissued or invalid Bank Identification Number (BIN). |
| Fraudulent use of account number | The account number was used in a card-not-present environment, including mail order, telephone order, recurring payments, installments, or eCommerce. |
| Account or credentials takeover | Fraud resulting from a fraudster taking over an account or credentials belonging to a legitimate client. |
| Merchant misrepresentation | Fraud resulting from a merchant deliberately misleading the account holder. |
| Manipulation of account holder | Fraud resulting from a merchant manipulating an account holder into completing what they believe to be a legitimate transaction. |
| Incorrect processing | The fraudulent transaction was made possible by incorrect processing. |
| Miscellaneous | Fraud that cannot be categorized under any other type. |
If you cannot confidently classify the fraud, select Miscellaneous or flag it as unclassified and describe what happened. Reap will help identify the correct category. An uncertain classification is not a reason to delay a report past its deadline.
Transactions with no fraud dispute rights
A transaction cannot be disputed as fraud or unauthorized where the transaction records confirm either of the following:
- Fully authenticated 3DS transaction: The cardholder successfully authenticated the transaction using an OTP, authentication app or another approved authentication method.
- Authenticated EMV chip transaction: The physical card’s chip was successfully read and authenticated at the payment terminal.
In the above scenarios, transactions cannot be disputed as fraudulent. Other dispute rights may still apply if the cardholder authorized the payment but has a separate issue with the goods or services, such as non-receipt, cancellation or goods not being as described.
Raising a chargeback
A chargeback is a formal dispute of a transaction, processed through the card scheme. Before raising one, there is a step that resolves a large share of cases faster than a dispute would.
Step 1: Ask the cardholder to contact the merchant first
Most transaction problems, such as a duplicate charge, goods not delivered, or an incorrect amount, are resolved fastest directly with the merchant. Ask your cardholder to attempt this first and to keep a record of the correspondence, which becomes supporting evidence if a dispute is still needed.
This is also the point to check that the claim is substantiated. Chargeback rights can be abused. A cardholder might return an empty box in place of the item purchased and then dispute the charge. As the card program owner, it is worth satisfying yourself that a claim holds up before submitting it, both to protect your program's dispute performance and to keep the process available for legitimate cases.
Step 2: If that fails, submit the dispute to Reap
Submit within 75 days of the transaction date. Where the merchant has closed down, the window is 130 days from the closure instead.
There are two ways to submit a dispute.
Via the Dispute API
If your program is integrated with the Dispute API, this is the route we recommend. It scales, it suits automation, and it removes most of the manual entry where errors creep in.
Where a dispute needs your cardholder's signature, Reap generates a secure web form already filled in with the dispute and transaction details you sent through the API. Your cardholder only has to review it, attach their supporting documents, and sign.
Via a web form
If your program is not integrated with the Dispute API, submit the dispute using the Reap dispute form.
This is the same form the API route generates, without the pre-filled details. Because there is no API context to draw on it starts empty, so your cardholder enters all of the dispute and transaction details themselves.
Before you submit
Whichever route you use, have your supporting documentation and any correspondence with the merchant ready before you start.
Notify Reap as early as possible. The 75-day window is the outer limit, not a target. A dispute submitted close to the deadline leaves little room for the evidence gathering that determines the outcome.
Reap also provides a dispute guidelines document intended for your cardholders. It is a template, so you can apply your own company name and branding before distributing it.
What to include
A dispute needs enough detail to identify the cardholder and the transaction, plus evidence that supports the claim.
Always required
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Cardholder details | Name, last four digits of the card number, contact information |
By dispute reason
| Dispute reason | Supporting document required |
|---|---|
| Duplicate billing or processing | A receipt or invoice clearly showing a duplicate transaction of the same amount, date and merchant name |
| Incorrect transaction currency or amount | An invoice showing the amount and currency the cardholder agreed to, paired with the amount and currency shown on the card statement |
| ATM withdrawal | A copy of the ATM slip |
| Other | Any relevant documents or evidence supporting the dispute |
File requirements
Supporting documents must reach Reap within 14 days of the dispute request. Documents must be PDF or JPEG, and under 5MB each. Each document should clearly support the cardholder's case. Evidence that requires interpretation tends to weaken a dispute rather than strengthen it.
What happens after you submit
- Reap reviews the request. We check whether the dispute is eligible, was submitted within the applicable deadline and contains the required information and evidence. If anything is missing, we may request further information. Submission to Reap does not guarantee that a dispute will be filed or succeed.
- Reap files the dispute. If the claim is valid and complete, Reap submits it through Visa’s dispute platform. Visa routes the dispute to the merchant’s acquiring bank.
- The acquirer responds. The acquirer may:
- accept the dispute;
- issue or confirm a credit;
- provide evidence challenging the claim; or
- show that the dispute does not meet the applicable Visa requirements.
- Reap reviews the response. If the acquirer challenges the dispute, Reap assesses its evidence and determines whether to accept the response or continue the case where further dispute rights are available. We may ask you for additional information, but strict response deadlines will apply.
- The case is resolved. The case ends when the dispute is accepted, a credit is issued, Reap accepts the acquirer’s response, or no further dispute rights are available. If the case proceeds to arbitration, Visa reviews the submissions and makes the final decision. Arbitration is not part of the standard process and may involve additional fees.
Reap will communicate the outcome to you. Disputes can take several weeks or longer, particularly where the acquirer challenges the claim or the case proceeds through additional stages.
A disappearing charge is not always a reversed credit
Two unrelated things look almost identical on a statement, and confusing them produces both unnecessary disputes and misplaced confidence that a dispute succeeded.
- A refund that appears and is then withdrawn usually means a merchant credit was issued while a dispute was open, and the dispute was ultimately unsuccessful.
- A pending charge that disappears without ever being debited, where no dispute was involved, is an uncleared authorization. Merchants have a 30-day window to clear a pre-authorized or authorized transaction; if they do not, it is automatically reversed after 30 days. Hotel and car hire pre-authorizations are the most common example.
Only the first has anything to do with a dispute. Check whether a dispute was ever open before treating a vanishing charge as a dispute outcome.
Dispute types and what they mean
Every dispute filed with Visa is assigned a dispute condition, a code identifying the reason a transaction is being challenged. Reap selects the condition when filing, so you do not need to choose one yourself. The definitions below are here so you can recognize a condition if one is referenced on your case.
Conditions fall into four categories.
ℹ️ These descriptions are simplified summaries and do not determine eligibility. Reap will assess the applicable Visa condition, timeframe, transaction data, required certifications, and supporting evidence.
Fraud
The cardholder did not authorize the transaction, but the card network did approve it.
| Code | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Counterfeit fraud (EMV liability shift) | A counterfeit card was used in person and the chip was not properly read at the terminal. Liability shifts to whichever side did not support chip technology. |
| 10.2 | Non-counterfeit fraud (EMV liability shift) | The genuine card was used in person by someone other than the cardholder, and the chip was not properly read at the terminal. Liability shifts in the same way as 10.1. |
| 10.3 | Card-present fraud | An in-person transaction, entered by keying in the card number rather than reading the chip, that the cardholder says they never made or approved. |
| 10.4 | Card-absent fraud | A card-not-present transaction the cardholder says they never made or approved. |
| 10.5 | Visa Fraud Monitoring Program | Fraud tied to a merchant Visa has already flagged as high-fraud. |
Authorization
The transaction should never have been approved in the first place.
| Code | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | Card on stop list | The card was blocked or reported, but the transaction still went through. |
| 11.2 | Processed after decline | The merchant charged the card anyway after it had been declined. |
| 11.3 | No authorization or late presentment | No approval code exists, or the merchant settled the transaction too late. |
Processing errors
The cardholder authorized something, but it was processed incorrectly.
| Code | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 12.4 | Wrong account | The charge was posted to the wrong cardholder account. |
| 12.5 | Incorrect amount | The amount charged does not match the amount authorized. |
| 12.6 | Duplicate or paid by other means | The same charge was billed twice, or the cardholder already paid another way. |
| 12.7 | Invalid or missing data | Required transaction data is missing or wrong on the record. |
Consumer disputes
The cardholder authorized the transaction, but there is a problem with what they received. These are the most common disputes, and the ones where contacting the merchant first matters most.
| Code | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | Not received | The cardholder paid, but the goods or services never arrived. |
| 13.2 | Canceled recurring | A subscription kept charging after the cardholder properly canceled it. |
| 13.3 | Not as described or defective | Goods were received but were wrong, damaged, or did not match the description. |
| 13.4 | Counterfeit | The item received was fake rather than genuine. |
| 13.5 | Misrepresentation | The merchant misrepresented the transaction, product, or terms. |
| 13.6 | Credit not processed | The merchant agreed to a refund, but it never posted. |
| 13.7 | Canceled merchandise | The cardholder canceled and the merchant confirmed it, but no refund came. |
| 13.8 | OCT not accepted | A push-to-card payout that was never accepted. |
| 13.9 | ATM non-receipt | The ATM took the request but never dispensed cash. |
Disputes based on Visa rule violations
Separately from cardholder-initiated disputes, a transaction can be challenged where it was processed in breach of Visa rules. If you identify any of the following, provide the relevant transaction details to Reap.
A card transaction normally has two stages: authorization, where the merchant checks that funds are available and reserves them, and clearing, where the merchant submits the transaction for settlement. The scenarios below are all departures from that sequence.
Not every departure is a breach. Offline clearing is legitimate: a merchant clears without an approved authorization because checking with the issuer in real time is impractical, as on aircraft and transit systems. It is covered in the FAQ below.
| Scenario | What it means |
|---|---|
| Overclearing | The cleared amount is larger than the authorized amount. |
| Direct clearing | A valid authorization was required but never obtained. Some merchant categories, including transport, airline and cruise, are excluded. |
| Fraudulent credit | A credit or purchase return processed through a POS terminal that was not tied to a genuine return. A purchase return authorization is a legitimate transaction in itself; the breach is its misuse |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to report fraud if I'm not going to file a dispute?
Yes. Fraud reporting is mandatory under Visa Rules and is a separate obligation from disputing a transaction. Report it within the deadline regardless of whether you intend to pursue a chargeback.
What happens if I report fraud late?
Late reporting is a breach of Visa's requirements and of your agreement with Reap, and it can adversely affect the overall performance of your card program. It also leaves a compromised card exposed for longer.
A refund doesn't match any transaction in our records. Is something wrong?
Probably not. Refunds arrive in two forms. A related refund shares the same Transaction ID (TID) as the original authorization, clearing and any reversals, so it can be matched automatically. An unrelated refund carries its own standalone TID, outside the original transaction's lifecycle events. Some merchants simply issue refunds the second way, and those may need manual reconciliation. Where there is any discrepancy, Visa is the source of truth, and in some edge cases matching a refund to its original transaction is not possible from the transaction data alone.
Why did a transaction clear for more than the authorized amount?
This is overclearing. Where a merchant clears more than was authorized, it may be challengeable as a Visa rule violation. Provide the transaction details to Reap.
How is a merchant able to charge a card without authorization?
Two situations produce this. Offline clearing is a legitimate pattern in environments where checking with the issuer in real time is impractical, such as in-flight purchases and contactless fares on buses and transit systems. As the issuer, Reap has no control over whether a merchant does this; the processor passes the merchant's message through to Visa. Direct clearing, where a required authorization was never obtained at all, may be a rule violation and can be challenged.
Contact our Support Team
If you have questions or need assistance, contact our support team at hello@reap.global.
To report suspected fraudulent or unauthorized transactions, email safeguard@reap.global.