Retrieval RequestsHow to Respond to Inquiries While Protecting Yourself Against Losses

What are Retrieval Requests? What Should You Do Next After Receiving One?

You’re always looking for a new way to protect and retain revenue. One great way to accomplish this is to improve your dispute responses and avoid chargebacks.

So, what if you had a way to learn that a buyer is dissatisfied and is about to dispute a charge before the situation gets elevated to a chargeback? Well, what if I was to tell you that you already have that power at your disposal?

What I’m talking about is a retrieval request. Below, I’ll explain how this simple message can help you avoid your next chargeback and protect your bottom line.

What is a Retrieval Request?

Retrieval Request

[noun]/rə • trē • vəl • rə • kwest/

A retrieval request is a formal request from an issuing bank asking a merchant to provide documentation that can help validate a transaction.

Imagine that a cardholder contacts their bank with a question about a charge. Maybe they don't recognize it, they dispute the amount, or suspect it might be fraud. If this happens, the bank may send a retrieval request to gather information before deciding whether to initiate a chargeback.

A retrieval request — sometimes called a “soft chargeback” — is a method of obtaining a copy of the paperwork to validate a transaction. The request comes from the credit card issuer or cardholder and goes to the acquirer or merchant. In most cases, retrieval requests are made to support a fraud investigation, validate a chargeback, or in response to a customer’s request (i.e. the customer needs a copy for their records).

How are Retrieval Requests Different From Chargebacks?

You’ll sometimes hear retrieval requests called “soft chargebacks.” That term is a wee bit misleading; a retrieval request and a chargeback are fundamentally different processes with different consequences for your business.

The key distinction: no money moves on a retrieval request. It's purely informational. A retrieval request means the issuing bank is asking for documentation (a receipt, proof of delivery, transaction details, etc.) to help clarify the situation for the cardholder. A chargeback, by contrast, immediately debits the transaction amount from your merchant account.

Here's how the two compare:

	Retrieval Request	Chargeback
Financial impact	None	Immediate debit from merchant account
Chargeback ratio impact	None	Counts against ratio, even if you win
Response requirement	Provide documentation	Submit compelling evidence to fight
Typical response window	10–20 days	Network-specific (often 20–45 days)
Possible outcomes	Resolved with no penalty, or escalates to chargeback	Fees and impact on chargeback ratio still apply, regardless whether revenue is recovered
Fees	$5–$20 typical	$15–$100 typical

The practical implication: a retrieval request is your opportunity to resolve a dispute before it becomes a chargeback. If you can satisfy the cardholder's question, or proactively issue a refund in response to the request, then you avoid the chargeback entirely, along with the ratio damage and higher fees that come with it.

Do Card Networks Still Use Retrieval Requests?

The retrieval request process has changed significantly in recent years. Whether you’ll encounter them depends on which card brands you accept.

How Does the Retrieval Request Process Work?

When an issuer makes a retrieval request, it means the bank is looking for a transaction information document (TID). This term encompasses sales receipts, invoices, tracking numbers, shipment records, and/or other records of transactions. The standard process goes something like this:

Sometimes, the bank may require more information due to a suspected processing error, and if the physical receipt is unavailable or illegible in some way. For example:

• The ink on the original receipt was too light to read.
• The color of the receipt originally submitted made the information unclear.
• The print on any copies made of the original sales slip was too small to read.

The acquiring bank may have all the requested information on hand. As a merchant, you may not be involved in—or even aware—that a retrieval request was issued if that’s the case. Theoretically, the entire process could be handled by the banks. However, this is not how the process often works.

What is a Retrieval Request Fee?

Most payment processors charge a fee for each retrieval request you receive, regardless of whether it escalates to a chargeback. These fees typically range from $5 to $20 per request, though the exact amount depends on your processor and your merchant agreement.

Stripe, for example, charges $15 for both retrieval requests and chargebacks. Other processors may charge less for retrieval requests than for chargebacks, recognizing that retrievals involve less administrative work. But, some processors bundle retrieval fees into their overall pricing and don’t itemize them separately.

To find your specific retrieval fee, check your merchant agreement or processing statement. The fee is usually listed alongside chargeback fees in the schedule of charges. If you can't find it, contact your processor directly. After all, you should know what you’re paying before disputes start arriving.

Now, keep in mind that you can be assessed a retrieval request fee and a chargeback fee on the same transaction. So, a $10 retrieval fee can quickly become a $25 chargeback fee — plus the full cost of the transaction amount — if you don't respond appropriately.

How Should You Respond to a Retrieval Request?

When you receive a retrieval request, you have two goals: satisfy the cardholder's question if possible, or proactively defuse the dispute before it escalates. Your response strategy depends on what you believe is happening with the transaction.

Like I mentioned earlier, you can respond with documentation to address the cardholder’s question. Sometimes, though, the right response to a retrieval request isn't documentation; it's a refund. The question is when to provide documentation versus when to issue a refund preemptively.

• The transaction shows clear signs of fraud (you won't win a chargeback, even if you try to fight it)
• The customer has a legitimate complaint that you would have honored anyway if they contacted you directly
• You don’t think the customer’s inquiry is accurate, but the transaction amount is low enough that fighting isn't cost-effective

• The charge appears legitimate — the only problem is that customer may simply not recognize it
• You have strong evidence the customer received what they paid for
• You suspect friendly fraud and want to preserve your representment rights for when it escalates to a chargeback

What Documentation Should You Provide?

Okay. So, you’ve determined that providing additional documentation should help clear up whatever is causing the customer’s confusion. But, what documentation can you offer?

There’s not really a firm guide as to what transaction information you can or can’t provide. Every retrieval request response should include relevant transaction documentation. Depending on the nature of your business and the transaction in question, this may include:

• Transaction receipt with the Acquirer Reference Number (ARN)
• Order confirmation showing what the customer purchased
• Shipping confirmation and delivery documentation
• Customer communication records (emails, chat logs, support tickets)
• Signed contracts or terms of service acceptance
• Refund status if a refund has already been issued

The goal is to give the issuer enough information to answer the cardholder's question. If they don't recognize the charge, your documentation should make clear what they purchased and when. If they dispute the amount, your receipt should show exactly what was charged and why.

Providing the right documentation is crucial. But, here are a couple of best practices I’d recommend to make sure that your response goes as smoothly as possible:

What Happens If You Don't Respond to a Retrieval Request?

Ignoring a retrieval request is probably your worst option.

If you don't respond by the deadline, the issuer will typically proceed with a chargeback. You’ll lose the transaction amount and pay the chargeback fee. Also, if a retrieval request goes unanswered and escalates to a chargeback, you may have automatically forfeited your right to fight it. The chargeback will be filed with a reason code indicating that requested information was not received, and card network rules may prohibit representment on that basis.

Discover and American Express are particularly strict about this. Their processes assume you’ll respond to retrieval requests and inquiries; failure to do so is treated as an admission that you can’t validate the transaction.

On that same note, make sure you understand how your processor handles retrieval requests, and ensure you're notified when they're received. Say your processor responds to retrieval requests automatically, but the issuer finds their response unsatisfactory. You may receive a chargeback, but you might not have known the retrieval request existed in the first place. You can't respond to something you never saw. So, make sure you’re communicating effectively with your processor.

Do Retrieval Requests Count Against Your Chargeback Ratio?

The quick answer is “no,” retrieval requests don’t count against your chargeback ratio. This is one of the most important distinctions between retrieval requests and chargebacks (and one of the strongest arguments for handling retrieval requests attentively, by the way).

Your chargeback ratio is calculated by dividing your number of chargebacks by your total transactions. Card networks like Visa and Mastercard use this ratio to identify high-risk merchants. Exceeding threshold ratios can result in fines, mandatory remediation programs, and even account termination.

Retrieval requests don’t factor into this calculation, though. Retrieval requests, Order Insight inquiries, and Consumer Clarity inquiries are not chargebacks. If you receive one of these messages and resolve it — either by providing documentation that satisfies the cardholder or by issuing a refund — then no chargeback gets filed. Your chargeback ratio is unaffected.

Chargebacks, by contrast, are always going to count against your ratio, even if you win. Successfully fighting a chargeback through representment recovers the funds, but the chargeback still happened, and so it still gets counted against you.

The strategic implication is clear: resolving disputes at the retrieval request stage protects your chargeback ratio in a way that winning chargebacks does not. So, you can think of every retrieval request that you satisfy as a chargeback that never gets filed.

You Can’t See the Future…But We Can.

A retrieval request is much better than a chargeback…but both demand a swift and thorough response.

You should consider a retrieval request an opportunity to stop a chargeback before it’s filed. You can do this by issuing a refund or providing enough information to resolve the problem. At the same time, you can’t depend on retrieval requests as a warning system for chargebacks. That’s especially true now, as the card networks are slowly phasing out their usage.

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