Visa · Chargeback reason codes
Visa 10.2 chargeback: EMV Liability Shift Non-Counterfeit Fraud explained
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Visa reason code 10.2, EMV Liability Shift Non-Counterfeit Fraud, means a lost, stolen or never-received PIN-preferring chip card was used in person, and the terminal was not EMV PIN-compliant or did not send full chip data. The bank has 120 days from the processing date to file. A correctly processed PIN-compliant chip transaction defeats it; contactless and Visa Easy Payment Service transactions are excluded.
- Category
- Fraud (card present)
- Time limit for the bank to file
- 120 days from the transaction processing date
- Time limit to respond
- Your processor's deadline (on Stripe usually 7–21 days); under Visa rules the acquirer must answer within 30 days of the dispute processing date
- Typical evidence
- Proof of a PIN-compliant chip read; refund already issued
- Can it be prevented?
- Yes: PIN-capable chip terminals that never bypass the PIN
- Who usually wins
- The merchant with a PIN-compliant chip read; otherwise the cardholder
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC's in-store point of sale sends every card payment to a Stripe Terminal card reader on the store's own Stripe account; the till has no way to type a card number in. Online checkout orders are card-absent, so this card-present code does not apply to them. Online payments are never 10.2 cases; for those, PlatformDTC's fraud tools and evidence apply under Visa 10.4.
What it means
The cardholder reported the card lost, stolen or never received, and someone used it in person. The card prefers PIN, but your terminal could not verify PIN under EMV rules, so the liability shifts to you.
Visa excludes contactless, Visa Easy Payment Service, ATM and transit transactions, and any transaction processed correctly at a PIN-compliant terminal.
Why customers file it
A thief uses a stolen chip card at a shop whose terminal skips the PIN step or only reads the stripe.
Evidence that wins
Visa offers no Compelling Evidence option for 10.2. Under Visa rules every response can also show that you already refunded and the bank ignored it, that the dispute is invalid, or that the cardholder withdrew it.
- Terminal record showing a PIN-compliant chip transaction
- Proof of a refund the issuer did not account for
- Proof the cardholder withdrew the dispute
- For travel delayed charges: a PIN-compliant chip read from the same stay or rental
How to prevent it
- Use terminals that support online PIN
- Send full chip data with every authorization
- Never bypass the PIN prompt
For developers
On Stripe the dispute object arrives with reason "fraudulent" and the card network's own code in payment_method_details.card.network_reason_code; listen for charge.dispute.created and read evidence_details.due_by for the deadline.
As a category 10 dispute it goes straight to pre-arbitration under Visa rules.
Frequently asked questions
- How is 10.2 different from 10.1?
- 10.1 is a counterfeit copy of a chip card. 10.2 is the real card, lost or stolen, used without the PIN being verified.
- Does 10.2 apply to tap-to-pay?
- No. Visa excludes contactless transactions from 10.2.
Sources
Related
- 10.1 — A counterfeit chip card was used in person at a terminal that did not read the chip.
- 10.3 — The cardholder denies an in-person purchase where the card number was typed in, not read.
- 10.4 — The cardholder says they did not make an online, phone or mail order purchase.
- 10.5 — Visa flagged the transaction under one of its fraud monitoring programs.
- 11.2 — The sale was completed even though the authorization was declined.
- 11.3 — No valid authorization was obtained, or the transaction was presented late.
- 12.2 — The transaction was processed with the wrong code, such as a credit processed as a sale.