Which chargeback reason codes do merchants see most?

The chargeback reason codes merchants see most are the fraud codes (Visa 10.4, Mastercard 4837, Amex F24), not received (Visa 13.1), cancelled recurring billing (13.2), not as described (13.3) and credit not processed (13.6). Each asks a different question and runs on its own clock, so read the code first.

What is a reason code?

A reason code is the label on a chargeback notice that tells you which question the issuer is asking. Visa 10.4, for example, asks whether the person who paid is the person who ordered. Sending the same pack of invoices and tracking numbers to every notice answers a question nobody asked.

Read the code before the amount, then gather the records that answer that one question.

How do you answer a fraud code?

Fraud codes ask whether the cardholder authorised the purchase, and Stripe says fraudulent disputes make up over half of all disputes on its platform. Visa calls this 10.4 (card-absent fraud), Mastercard calls it 4837 (No Cardholder Authorization) and Amex calls it F24. Under the Visa Core Rules edition of 18 April 2026, the issuer has 120 calendar days from the Transaction Processing Date to raise 10.4.

Visa gives you a specific way to answer it, called Compelling Evidence 3.0. CE 3.0 lets you point to two earlier undisputed transactions on the same credential, processed more than 120 and not more than 365 days before the dispute, provided the data elements match.

A login ID, device fingerprint or delivery address that appears on the old orders and the disputed one does more work than any argument. Keep clean account records so that history is ready when a dispute arrives.

What do the delivery, subscription and refund codes ask?

Each asks about a different record. Visa 13.1, merchandise or services not received, asks about delivery and has the longest memory of the common codes. The issuer can dispute within 120 days of processing or of the last expected delivery date, capped at 540 days from processing, and must wait 15 days where no expected date was given.

A pre-order promised for February can therefore be disputed well into the following year, so keep delivery records that last that long. Amex C08 asks the same question.

Visa 13.2, cancelled recurring transaction, allows 120 calendar days from the processing date. It asks whether the customer cancelled and was billed anyway, so the evidence is your cancellation flow and the dates in it. Amex uses C28 for the same situation.

Visa 13.3, not as described or defective, asks what was promised and what arrived. The window is 120 days from processing or receipt, plus 60 days from the first cardholder notification where the cardholder had negotiated with you inside the 120 days. Amex files this under C31.

Visa 13.6, credit not processed, asks whether the customer was refunded. The issuer waits 15 days from the date on the credit receipt and disputes no later than 120 days from it. If you refunded, show the reference, amount and date; if you promised a refund and never issued it, the cheaper move is to issue it through the processor's dispute process.

Which codes catch merchants out?

Visa 11.3, for authorization problems, catches people out because it allows only 75 calendar days where most codes allow 120. Mastercard 4853, Cardholder Dispute, is the catch-all for consumer complaints about goods and services.

Mastercard 4863, Does Not Recognize, asks whether the cardholder can place the charge at all. A statement descriptor the customer would not connect with your store is a common cause, and you can fix it before any dispute exists.

The public Mastercard Chargeback Guide dates from December 2018, so this article gives no Mastercard or Amex time limits. Your processor's notice states the deadline that applies, and that deadline is usually the one that matters.

In our view issuers also vary in how they weigh the same evidence, and every code we cover has its own page in our library of chargeback reason codes.

Takeaway: what to do this week

1. Read the code first. Before you look at the amount, identify the question the issuer is asking.
2. Sort your last 20 disputes by code. Next to each group, write the one record that would have answered its question.
3. Start keeping the missing records. Fill the gaps before the next holiday peak.
4. Check your statement descriptor. Make sure a customer would connect it with your store.

Sources: Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, edition 18 April 2026, Tables 11-6, 11-28, 11-29, 11-49, 11-92, 11-99, 11-106 and 11-125; Mastercard, Chargeback Guide, public edition 13 December 2018; American Express, "How to Manage and Help Prevent Disputes", US guide, 2019; Stripe Docs, "How dispute prevention works", undated. All checked 24 October 2026.