Visa · Chargeback reason codes
Visa 10.4 chargeback: Other Fraud – Card-Absent Environment, and how to win it
Checked
Visa reason code 10.4, Other Fraud – Card-Absent Environment, means the cardholder says they did not authorize an online, phone or mail order purchase. The bank has 120 days from the processing date to file. It is blocked when the payment was authenticated with Visa Secure (3-D Secure), and it can be beaten with Compelling Evidence 3.0: two earlier undisputed purchases on the same card with matching IP address or device plus one more detail.
- Category
- Fraud (card absent)
- 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
- CE 3.0 history, delivery to an AVS-matched address, matching IP/device/email, proof of use
- Can it be prevented?
- Largely: 3-D Secure, AVS and CVV2 checks, a recognisable descriptor, refunding early fraud warnings
- Who usually wins
- The cardholder unless you send Compelling Evidence; CE 3.0 history or 3-D Secure shifts it to you
What PlatformDTC does
For a Visa 10.4 dispute on a Stripe payment, PlatformDTC checks Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 for you: it looks up the same card's earlier charges made 120 to 364 days before, drops any that were disputed, refunded or flagged as fraud, keeps those that match on IP address and device (or one of them plus email, delivery address or account), and adds two of them to the response. Every payment already carries the product description, address, email and IP that CE 3.0 needs. With "Answer a chargeback automatically" switched on, it sends the response to the bank for you before the deadline. It also refunds on an actionable early fraud warning by default, before the bank files, and stops billing that card.
What it means
The cardholder told their bank they did not make this card-not-present purchase. The issuer must report the fraud first. It is the most common online chargeback.
Visa bars the issuer from filing when the payment was authenticated with Visa Secure (3-D Secure, ECI 5 with a CAVV), when an authenticated token was used, when the authorization was approved even though the CVV2 check returned "N", when the issuer has already filed more than 35 disputes on the same card in 120 days, or when the merchant's Compelling Evidence 3.0 history test is met.
Why customers file it
Real fraud with a stolen card number; a family member who used the card; or "friendly fraud", where the cardholder made the purchase but does not recognise the charge or wants their money back.
Evidence that wins
You need Compelling Evidence. Send at least one of these, and more if you have them. 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.
- Compelling Evidence 3.0: two earlier transactions on the same card, not reported as fraud, with a detailed product description for each, matching on IP address or device ID/fingerprint plus at least one more element (login ID, full delivery address, or device ID / IP address)
- Proof of delivery to an address that matched the billing address check (AVS "Y" or "M"); no signature needed
- Photos, emails or social posts linking the cardholder to the goods
- Digital goods: description and delivery date plus two or more of IP address, device ID, customer name and email, a verified login, or site access on or after the purchase date
- Three or more of login ID, delivery address, device ID, email, IP address or phone matching an earlier undisputed transaction
- Subscriptions: the agreement, proof of use and an earlier undisputed charge
- Evidence a family member made the purchase
How to prevent it
- Ask the bank to authenticate risky payments with 3-D Secure; a 10.4 cannot be filed on a Visa Secure-authenticated payment
- Check AVS and CVV2, and do not complete an approval where CVV2 returned "N"
- Send every order's product description, IP address, email and delivery address to your processor so CE 3.0 history builds up
- Refund a payment flagged by an early fraud warning before the bank files
- Use a statement descriptor customers recognise
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. If the dispute qualifies, enhanced_eligibility_types contains "visa_compelling_evidence_3" and evidence.enhanced_evidence.visa_compelling_evidence_3 takes disputed_transaction and prior_undisputed_transactions; evidence_details.enhanced_eligibility.visa_compelling_evidence_3.status reads qualified, requires_action or not_qualified.
Stripe's rule: at least two earlier paid, undisputed, non-validation charges on the same payment method, 120 to 364 days before the disputed one, matching on two main elements (IP; device fingerprint or device ID) or one main plus one secondary (shipping address, email, account ID). Device fingerprint plus device ID is not a valid pair. Visa's own rule since 24 October 2026 counts the window from dispute submission (more than 120 days) and the dispute processing date (no more than 365 days).
Frequently asked questions
- What is Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0?
- A Visa rule that lets a merchant prove a fraud claim is false by showing two earlier undisputed purchases on the same card with matching details such as IP address or device and a delivery address or login. When it is met, the issuer cannot file a 10.4, or must accept it in pre-arbitration.
- Does 3-D Secure stop a 10.4?
- Yes. Visa does not allow a 10.4 on a transaction authenticated with Visa Secure (ECI 5 with a CAVV). An attempted authentication (ECI 6) also blocks it, except on non-reloadable prepaid cards.
- Should I refund an early fraud warning?
- Refunding before the dispute is filed can prevent the chargeback. Stripe notes that about 40% of unrefunded Visa and Mastercard early fraud warnings become fraud disputes.
Sources
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (24 October 2026), chapter 11 Dispute Resolution — Visa
- Visa Dispute Management Guide for Merchants (October 2026) — Visa
- Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 disputes — Stripe
- Respond to disputes: best practices — Stripe
- How disputes work — Stripe
- Dispute categories and network reason codes — Stripe
Related
- 10.5 — Visa flagged the transaction under one of its fraud monitoring programs.
- 13.1 — The cardholder says the goods or services never arrived.
- 13.2 — The cardholder says a subscription billed them after they cancelled or withdrew permission.
- 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.
- 12.3 — The transaction was processed in a different currency than the one shown to the cardholder.
- 12.4 — The charge was posted to a card number that does not match the cardholder's account.