F31

Amex Reason Code F31: Meaning and How to Respond

F31 means a lost, stolen or never received chip card was used without a PIN. Here is what the code claims and how to answer it.

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American Express
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Amex reason code F31 is a fraud claim. It says a lost, stolen or never received chip card was used at your terminal without a PIN. If you got this notice, the cardholder says the card was not in their hands when the sale happened.

What is Amex reason code F31?

Reason code F31 is EMV lost/stolen/non-received. It sits in the Fraud group of American Express reason codes. The claim is that the physical card itself was used, but the real owner did not have it and did not make the purchase.

This code only applies to card-present sales. The card was dipped into a chip reader at your point of sale. If your sale was online or keyed in, the claim would fall under a different code, such as F29 for card not present transactions.

Why F31 is issued

American Express issues F31 when a cardholder reports a card as lost, stolen or never received, and a charge later appears on that card. The card network checks whether the sale went through a chip terminal and whether a PIN was checked.

If the terminal read the chip but no PIN was validated, the claim looks strong. The thinking is simple. A real cardholder with their own card would have entered their PIN. Someone else holding a stolen card might have skipped it.

How to defend against an F31 chargeback

Your best defense is proof that the sale was a chip transaction and the PIN was validated. If your point of sale system processed the transaction with the PIN checked, you can show the true owner was present and approved it.

That proof beats the claim directly. A lost or stolen card in a stranger's hands cannot produce a correct PIN. A validated PIN points back to the cardholder.

If you cannot show PIN validation, the case is much harder. A receipt with a signature will not carry the same weight for this code. Neither will proof of delivery, since the card was present at your counter.

Required evidence: proof of PIN validation at a chip terminal

When you answer, include documents that show the chip was read and the PIN passed. Gather these before you write anything.

  • The transaction record showing the card was dipped, not swiped or keyed.
  • Terminal data or a processing log that shows the PIN was validated.
  • The receipt, if it shows the sale was chip and PIN.
  • Your terminal's EMV capability records, if your processor can provide them.

Your reply should explain what each document shows. Point to the PIN validation directly. Do not send a pile of papers and hope the reader finds the right line.

F31 vs. F30: key differences

F31 and F30 both involve chip cards and fraud, but the claims differ. F31 says the card was real but was lost, stolen or never received. F30 says the card was a counterfeit copy of a real card.

The defense differs too. With F31, PIN validation is your strongest proof. With F30, you show the terminal read a valid chip, which a fake card cannot produce. Read more about Amex reason code F30 if that is the code on your notice.

If the notice instead claims the cardholder never authorized the sale at all, that is a different dispute. See Amex reason code F24.

Step-by-step response process

  1. Read the notice and confirm the code is F31. If you are unsure where to look, start with how to read a chargeback notice.
  2. Pull the transaction record and terminal logs for that sale.
  3. Check whether the log shows a chip read and a validated PIN.
  4. Write your reply. Explain the documents and how they answer the claim.
  5. Send everything to your processor before the deadline.
  6. Keep copies of all documents and your reply.

Each step has a time limit, so answer as soon as the notice arrives. A late reply can lose the case even with strong proof.

Your reply may not be the last word. The issuer can still push the case into later rounds. To see what may come next, read what happens after you answer a chargeback.

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