EMV Liability Shift Non-Counterfeit Fraud, Condition 10.2

Your card processor has notified you that a cardholder is disputing a transaction that you processed.

The cardholder’s bank received a call from their cardholder who is insisting that they did not authorize or participate in a transaction that you processed. The cardholder’s bank determined all of the following occurred:

  • The transaction was completed in a card-present environment with a card that was reported lost or stolen,
  • The transaction qualifies for the EMV liability shift,
  • The card is a PIN-preferring chip card, and
  • One of these actions transpired:
    • The transaction did not take place at a chip-reading device.
    • A chip-initiated transaction took place at a chip-reading device that was not EMV PIN-compliant.
    • The transaction was chip-initiated without an online PIN and was authorized online and the processor did not transmit the full chip data to Visa in the authorization request.

The most common cause of this dispute is that a PIN-preferring chip card was used either at a non-EMV terminal or a chip transaction was initiated without full chip data.

The transaction took place at an EMV PIN compliant terminal.

Provide documentation to support that the transaction took place at an EMV PIN compliant terminal.

You agree the transaction was not completed at an EMV PIN-compliant terminal.

Accept the dispute.

You have already processed a credit or reversal for the transaction.

Provide documentation of the credit or reversal; include the amount and the date it was processed. 

The cardholder no longer disputes the transaction.

Provide a letter or email from the cardholder that states they no longer dispute the transaction.

How to avoid this dispute in the future

  • Make sure your terminal is EMV PIN-compliant and the correct Cardholder Verification Method (CVM) was obtained. For example: signature, PIN, etc.
  • Obtain an imprint (either electronic or manual) for every card present transaction.
  • Train your staff on the proper procedures for handling terminal issues.

For more information, please see Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants.

Acquirer’s approach or timelines may be different and you should adhere with your current Acquirer’s process. Not all disputes apply to every country/region, please check with your acquirer for further information.