Visa organizes every dispute into a numbered "dispute condition" — a decimal code like 10.4 or 13.3. The first digit names the family, and that family decides the rules, deadlines, and what your bank judges.
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10.x — Fraud. Someone used your card without your permission. The bank is judging whether the transaction was genuinely unauthorized.
11.x — Authorization. The merchant didn't get (or honor) a proper authorization. The bank is judging the payment's paperwork.
12.x — Processing errors. The merchant's filing was wrong — wrong amount, wrong currency, duplicate, or too late. The bank is judging the merchant's data.
13.x — Consumer disputes. You authorized the payment but something went wrong — goods never arrived, weren't as described, a refund never came. The bank is judging the facts between you and the merchant.
For most cardholders, 10.4 (unauthorized online use) and the 13.x family (everyday purchase problems) are the codes that matter.
10.x — Fraud codes (10.1–10.5)
This is the family for transactions you did not make. Your bank is deciding one question: was this charge genuinely unauthorized?
10.4 — Other fraud, card-absent environment. The big one: someone used your card details online, by phone, or in an app without your permission. The bank compares the charge against your spending history, location, and device signals.
10.1 / 10.2 / 10.3 — Other fraud categories. Card-present fraud (10.3) and EMV liability-shift fraud (10.1 counterfeit, 10.2 lost/stolen) — where chip technology wasn't used, liability shifts to whoever skipped the chip. These mostly play out between the banks and the merchant.
10.5 — Visa Fraud Monitoring Program. Your issuer flagged a suspicious pattern. Usually resolved issuer-to-merchant; confirm which charges you recognize.
For 10.4, your strongest move is usually a clear written statement that you didn't authorize the charge, proof of where you (and your devices) were, and records of the card being locked or replaced — filed promptly.
11.x — Authorization codes (11.1–11.3)
These codes are about the permission behind the payment. You rarely need to argue these yourself — your issuer checks its own records — but understanding them helps you read your letter.
11.1 — Card recovery bulletin. The merchant accepted your card after it had been listed as lost, stolen, or compromised. Accepting a listed card usually puts the loss on the merchant.
11.2 — Declined authorization. The merchant processed the charge even though authorization was declined.
11.3 — No authorization. The merchant charged you without getting an authorization at all — and, in newer Visa filings, this code has also absorbed late-presentment cases.
12.x — Processing error codes (12.1–12.7)
The bank is judging the merchant's paperwork, not your behavior — which is why these disputes are often decided quickly.
12.5 — Incorrect amount. The posted charge differs from what you agreed to pay. Your receipt is the entire case: agreed amount versus posted amount.
12.6 — Duplicate processing / paid by other means. Charged twice for one purchase, or charged even though you paid another way (cash, another card). Statements showing both postings decide it.
12.2 / 12.3 / 12.4 / 12.7 — Incorrect transaction code, incorrect currency, incorrect account number, invalid data. The merchant's filing was wrong or malformed — increasingly handled by the issuer directly.
12.1 — Late presentment (legacy). Visa has been folding this into 11.3, so a late-submission charge on a recent letter may show up as 11.3 instead. Either way, the bank is checking whether the merchant submitted the charge in time.
13.x — Consumer dispute codes (13.1–13.9)
The family most consumers actually file under: you did authorize the payment, but something went wrong. The bank judges the facts — what was promised, what was delivered, and what the merchant did about it.
13.1 — Merchandise/services not received. Paid for something that never arrived. Expected delivery date + tracking + your messages to the merchant are the core evidence.
13.2 — Cancelled recurring transaction. You cancelled a subscription but the charges kept coming. Your dated cancellation confirmation is everything.
13.3 — Not as described or defective. What arrived was significantly different from the listing, or arrived damaged. The bank asks whether the difference is material — photos and the original ad usually decide it.
13.4 — Counterfeit merchandise. The item appears to be a fake sold as genuine. Evidence of inauthenticity (brand-owner confirmation, if obtainable) carries the most weight.
13.5 — Misrepresentation. The merchant's claims about the product, service, or terms didn't match reality. Screenshots of the claims are the key evidence.
13.6 — Credit not processed. The merchant promised a refund that never appeared. The written promise plus statements showing no credit arrived is the whole case.
13.7 — Cancelled merchandise/services. You cancelled within the merchant's policy but were charged anyway.
13.8 — Original credit transaction not accepted. A credit the merchant tried to issue failed; the dispute routes the money through the chargeback instead.
13.9 — Non-receipt of cash or load value. An ATM or load transaction that charged you without dispensing the cash or value.
Check what your code means right now
Paste your code into the decoder for the plain-English breakdown of what your bank is deciding.
Match your evidence to the question the bank is asking:
Fraud (10.x): your statement that you didn't authorize it, location/device proof, and the date you reported the card.
Authorization (11.x): usually handled by your issuer's own records — your job is mostly to file and confirm.
Processing errors (12.x): receipts and statements side by side. The numbers speak for themselves.
Consumer disputes (13.x): the paper trail between you and the merchant — order confirmations, tracking, photos, listing screenshots, and dated correspondence showing you tried to resolve it first.
Across every family, one habit wins more cases than any other: dated, written communication with the merchant before you file. Our guide to winning a chargeback dispute walks through building that file.
Codes evolve — always check your bank letter
Visa periodically retires and reorganizes codes — the 12.1-to-11.3 migration is the clearest recent example, and old two-digit legacy codes (30, 53, 83, 85) still appear in some processor paperwork. Any code list is a snapshot; the authoritative source is always the exact code and wording on your current bank letter. If a code doesn't match what you expected, flag it with your issuer — the wrong code can apply the wrong standards to your case.
FAQ
Visa reason code questions
For most cardholders, the 13.x consumer-dispute family is the one that matters — 13.1 (not received), 13.3 (not as described), and 13.6 (credit not processed) cover the everyday disputes. The 10.4 fraud code is common for unauthorized online transactions.
10.4 is Visa's code for fraud in a card-absent environment — someone used your card details online, by phone, or in another transaction where the physical card was not present, and you did not authorize it. Your bank weighs the charge against your normal spending pattern.
13.3 means the merchandise or service was not as described or arrived defective. Your bank decides whether the difference is material — a wrong, broken, or substantially different item often qualifies, while minor disappointment usually does not.
Yes. Visa periodically retires or reorganizes codes — for example, the legacy late-presentment code 12.1 has been folded into 11.3 in newer filings. Always check the exact code on your current bank letter rather than relying on older lists.
It happens — issuers choose the code based on how you describe the problem when you file. If your letter's code doesn't match what actually happened, contact your issuer and explain; the right code means the right rules and evidence standards get applied.
