What is a chargeback reason code?
A chargeback reason code is the code an issuer attaches to a dispute to state why the transaction is contested. Visa groups its codes in four categories: fraud, authorization, processing errors and consumer disputes. Mastercard uses codes such as 4837 for no cardholder authorization and 4853 for cardholder disputes. The code determines which evidence the merchant must provide.
In detail
The reason code is the starting point of every dispute. It tells the merchant what the cardholder claims and what kind of proof can answer it.
Visa categories
- 10, Fraud: the cardholder did not authorize the transaction.
- 11, Authorization: the transaction was processed without a valid authorization.
- 12, Processing errors: wrong amount, duplicate, late presentment.
- 13, Consumer disputes: goods not received, not as described, cancelled recurring payment, credit not processed.
Each category contains numbered conditions, such as 10.4 for fraud on card-absent transactions.
Mastercard families
- 4837: no cardholder authorization.
- 4853: cardholder dispute.
- 4834: point-of-interaction error.
- 4808: authorization-related chargeback.
- 4870 and 4871: chip liability shift.
Evidence must match the code. Proof of delivery answers "not received" and is useless against a duplicate charge. For a fraud code, authentication data and customer history matter. For a cancelled subscription, the terms accepted and the cancellation record matter.
Reason codes also show where a merchant’s process fails: many "not received" cases point to delivery, many "credit not processed" cases point to refunds.
See the card dispute lifecycle and refund vs reversal vs chargeback. Pre-chargeback alerts show the likely reason before the dispute is filed.