Visa & Mastercard Chargeback Reason Codes Explained

When a customer disputes a charge, the issuing bank does not just flag it as a problem — it assigns a reason code that explains why the cardholder filed the dispute. That code is not paperwork. It dictates exactly what evidence you need to submit if you want to win. Respond with the wrong proof and you lose, even when the order was legitimate. You can look up any code in our reason code reference to see what it means and what evidence typically wins.

What is a chargeback reason code?

A chargeback reason code is a short identifier — like Visa 10.4 or Mastercard 4853 — that the cardholder's bank attaches to a dispute. It states the cardholder's claimed reason: unauthorized fraud, merchandise not received, not as described, a processing error, or something else. Every chargeback has one, and it appears in your Shopify admin on the dispute detail page.

The code matters because card network rules tie specific evidence requirements to specific reasons. A fraud code expects proof the cardholder authorized the transaction. A "not received" code expects delivery confirmation. Submit a refund policy when the customer claims they never got the package, and the issuer will side with the cardholder. The reason code is your roadmap for building a winning response.

Visa reason codes: the four categories

Visa organizes its reason codes into four main categories, each with a distinct number range:

• Fraud (10.x) — The cardholder claims they did not authorize the transaction. Common in ecommerce card-not-present orders. Example: Visa 10.4 (Other Fraud – Card-Absent), the most frequent fraud code for online stores.
• Authorization (11.x) — The transaction was processed without valid authorization, or against a declined or cancelled card. These point to processing or POS errors rather than customer disputes.
• Processing Errors (12.x) — Something went wrong in how the transaction was submitted: wrong amount, duplicate charge, incorrect currency, or late presentment. Evidence here focuses on proving the transaction was processed correctly.
• Consumer Disputes (13.x) — The cardholder received the charge but disputes the outcome: product not received, not as described, cancelled subscription, or credit not processed. Example: Visa 13.1 (Merchandise/Services Not Received) and Visa 13.3 (Not as Described or Defective).

Mastercard reason codes

Mastercard uses four-digit codes in the 48xx range, organized across parallel categories:

• Fraud — 4837 (No Cardholder Authorization), 4840 (Fraudulent Processing), 4863 (Cardholder Does Not Recognize).
• Authorization — 4808 (Authorization-Related Chargeback), 4812 (Account Number Not on File).
• Processing errors — 4831 (Disputed Amount), 4834 (Point-of-Interaction Error), 4842 (Late Presentment).
• Cardholder disputes — 4853 (Cardholder Dispute, a broad catch-all covering not received, not as described, defective goods, cancelled recurring billing, and credit not processed), 4855 (Goods or Services Not Provided), 4860 (Credit Not Processed).

Mastercard 4853 is worth knowing on its own: it is the broad cardholder-dispute code merchants see most often, and the specific claim can vary widely — which is why reading the dispute details alongside the code matters.

Why the reason code decides whether you win

Issuing banks review your evidence against the specific claim encoded in the reason code. They are not asking "was this a good business?" — they are asking "did the merchant prove the cardholder's stated reason is wrong?" Generic evidence packages that dump order details without addressing the claim lose consistently, even when the merchant fulfilled the order correctly.

Matching evidence to the code is the single highest-leverage thing you can do in a dispute response. If you are new to the process, our step-by-step guide to winning Shopify chargeback disputes walks through finding the code, building matched evidence, and submitting before the deadline.

The most common reason codes for Shopify stores

Shopify merchants see a consistent set of codes more often than others:

• Card-absent fraud — Visa 10.4 and Mastercard 4837. The cardholder claims they did not authorize an online order.
• Merchandise not received — Visa 13.1 and Mastercard 4855. The customer says the product never arrived.
• Not as described or defective — Visa 13.3. The customer claims the product did not match what was advertised or was faulty.
• Broad cardholder disputes — Mastercard 4853. A catch-all that can cover any of the above plus cancelled subscriptions and missing refunds.

A large share of these disputes — especially fraud codes on orders with delivery confirmation — are friendly fraud: a real customer disputing a legitimate order they placed, often because they forgot about the purchase or did not recognize the billing descriptor. Friendly fraud is winnable with delivery proof, AVS/CVV match, customer IP data, and purchase history. Treat every code as an opportunity to respond with matched evidence rather than accepting the loss.

How to respond to any reason code

The workflow is the same regardless of which code you are facing. Find the code on the dispute in your Shopify admin. Look it up to understand what the cardholder claimed and which evidence types win that category. Gather proof that directly answers the claim — not every document you have, but the specific evidence the code demands. Submit before the deadline, ideally at least three days early, in PDF or image format with a clear cover letter and labeled exhibits.

ChargeGuard automates the hardest parts of this workflow: evidence is auto-collected the moment a dispute opens — order details, tracking, IP address, billing match — and AI-generated response letters are tailored to the specific reason code so your submission speaks directly to what the issuer needs to see. You review, approve, and submit instead of assembling everything from scratch under deadline pressure.