Effective 17 October 2015, Visa has implemented changes to the dispute rules related to Compelling Evidence. These changes now allow merchants greater flexibility in providing documentation to prove the cardholder participated in the transaction and make the process more efficient while managing customer disputes.

The changes on admissible Compelling Evidence are particularly relevant to the e-commerce industry, in need for a way to help differentiate legitimate spend from fraudulent transactions and to reduce the impact on business profitability of the so-called Friendly Fraud type.

Applicable Chargeback Reason Codes	Effective for Representments Processed On or After 17 October 2015
30, 53, 81, 83	Evidence, such as photographs or emails, to prove a link between the person receiving the merchandise or services and the cardholder, or to prove that the cardholder disputing the transaction is in possession of the merchandise and/or is using the services.
30, 81, 83	For an eCommerce transaction representing the sale of digital goods downloaded from a merchant’s website or application, description of the goods or services successfully downloaded, the date and time such goods or services were downloaded, and two or more of the following types of evidence: Purchaser’s IP address and the device’s geographical location at the date and time of the transaction Device ID number and name (if available) Purchaser’s name and email address linked to the customer profile on record with the merchant Evidence that the account set up on the merchant’s website or application was accessed by the cardholder and successfully verified by the merchant before the transaction date Proof that the merchant’s website or application was accessed by the cardholder for goods or services on or after the transaction date Evidence that the device and card used in the disputed transaction were the same as in any previous, undisputed transactions

Supplying copy of emails sent and/or received between the merchant and the customer may not be enough: the cardholder disputing the transaction can still question their authenticity and even deny having ever received or sent them. What it’s needed is evidence of the immutable contents of the emails and of its assured delivery.

By registering through eEvid all emails related to an online transaction, merchants obtain undisputable and time-stamped evidence of what was communicated, by who, to whom and when. This evidence can then be supplied as the type of compelling evidence that Visa will now consider.

For disputes involving airline and digital goods merchants, the ability to register purchase confirmation emails sent by the merchant to the customer can be key to prove that the cardholder disputing the transaction is in possession of the merchandise. For merchants requesting an email reply-back from the customer, emails received by the merchant will provide additional evidence for challenging the chargeback in dispute.

More on deploying the product in Friendly Fraud Chargeback scenarios.

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If you are interested in starting to to communicate with greater guarantees and you are a professional, particular and/or small company, do not hesitate to consult the different rates available and register. If on the other hand, you are a company with high volumes of shipments and needs tailored to your project, please contact us.