Visa

Visa, along with Mastercard, is one of two major international card networks that enable merchants and cardholders to accept credit and debit card payments and transfer funds electronically. With 4.5 billion cards in circulation globally, Visa is the largest card network in the world in terms of transaction volume and cards issued. The network serves more than 14,500 financial institutions in more than 200 countries around the world.

Unlike Discover and American Express, Visa does not issue its own cards. Instead, it partners with banks to offer credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. The card network also supports contactless payment technologies and digital wallets.

Visa has several value-added services that help merchants prevent and avoid chargebacks, including Visa Advanced Authorization, Visa Secure, and Visa Address Verification.

In terms of the chargeback lifecycle, a Visa chargeback begins when a cardholder disputes a transaction with their issuing bank. The bank then forwards a eason code to the merchant and issues a provisional credit to the cardholder.

Next, the merchant can accept or reject the chargeback. If the merchant wishes to contest the dispute, they may do so through the chargeback representment. This regulated and time-sensitive process gives merchants a 20-day window to supply compelling evidence and draft a rebuttal letter that counters the cardholder’s claims.