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Visa Chargeback Resolution – Major Changes Effective April 15, 2018

Chargebacks

THIS MAJOR CHANGE AFFECTS YOU

Visa is making significant changes to their chargeback/dispute process that will affect all merchants that accept Visa cards. Visa claims the new process – called Visa Claims Resolution or VCR – will improve the efficiency of handling disputes by automating and streamlining the process. They claim that they will be able to use existing data to eliminate 15% of all disputes, labeling them as invalid and preventing them from entering the system to begin with.

We have outlined the changes that are effective April 15th to help determine how they might affect you and the way you handle chargebacks.

Visa is shortening the response timeframe from 45 to 30 days. Visa also encourages merchants to respond within an even shorter timeframe: 20 days.

Ascent recommended action for our merchants:
  • We suggest that any clients receiving dispute notifications via “snail mail” change to notifications by fax or email to better accommodate the shorter response timeframes.
  • If you would like to update your dispute notification method, and if you need any assistance with chargebacks, please contact us at support@ascentpaymentsolutions.com.

Merchants must respond to every dispute, even if it is to accept it.

For security and compliance purposes, full card numbers will be hidden on all dispute notifications by default. Supporting documents from the card networks may still include full card numbers.

The most radical change Visa is making is to move from a “litigation-based” to “liability assignment-based” approach to disputes.

Visa will assign liability up front to either the merchant (Allocation group) or the issuer (Collaboration group).

Allocation Group (Fraud and Authorization)

Visa estimates that 60-80% of disputes will fall into this group – with liability assigned to the merchant.
Visa will first run automated checks on filed disputes. They are looking to confirm data points such as:

  • the dispute falling within regulated timeframes
  • no previous refund was issued

If Visa determines that it is a valid dispute, the merchant is assigned liability.
Documentation requirements are stricter for Allocation. The merchant will be allowed to respond to the dispute in certain circumstances, including that they have definitive proof that the chargeback is invalid.

Collecting the strongest documentation possible up front is more important than ever for merchants in order to have sufficient “compelling evidence” to fight Allocation disputes if they come through.

Ascent recommended action for our merchants:
  • Provide Strong documentation, which includes:
  • Address Verification (AVS) and CVV2 matching responses from the issuer
  • The cardholder’s physical signature agreeing to the charge and your terms of service

“Friendly Fraud” will continue to be a challenge for merchants. Visa is retiring Reason Code 75 (Cardholder Does Not Recognize) which might mean that merchants will see an increase in disputes classified as “true” fraud that would have previously been classified under Reason Code 75.

***sufficient compelling evidence is needed to respond to Fraud disputes***

Collaboration Group (Processing Errors and Consumer Disputes)

This dispute group closely resembles the current Visa chargeback process except that the issuer holds the liability.

Ascent Processing Chargeback Support

At Ascent Processing, our goal is to protect your time, your money, and your business by providing vital information, so you can stay compliant with regulations. We are the Vacation Rental Industry leader in chargeback and client service support. Our team is located in Boulder, CO and we are here to guide you through the dispute process, including these changes from Visa. Working with our chargeback team has increased some clients’ dispute win percentage by an average of 21%.

We are here to keep you informed! We will keep you updated on any additional changes that affect our industry.

If you have any questions, contact Ascent at support@ascentpaymentsolutions.com.

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