13.8

What Visa reason code 13.8 means for merchants

A 13.8 dispute says the person who got an Original Credit Transaction refused it. Here is what that means and how to answer it.

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Visa reason code 13.8 is called Original Credit Transaction Not Accepted. It sits in the 13 group, Consumer Disputes. Visa sorts disputes into four categories: 10 Fraud, 11 Authorization, 12 Processing Errors and 13 Consumer Disputes. A 13.8 dispute is about a credit transaction that the merchant processed, not a normal sale.

What is Visa reason code 13.8?

An Original Credit Transaction pushes money to a card account. It is not a refund of a past sale. Firms use it to pay out winnings, rewards, or transfers.

Under 13.8, the recipient refused an Original Credit Transaction, or laws or regulations do not allow it. The cardholder or their bank says the money should never have landed in that account. So the issuer sends the transaction back as a dispute.

A Visa dispute is how a card issuer sends a contested transaction back. If the dispute is valid, the acquirer takes the disputed amount from the merchant account and tells the merchant.

Common causes of a 13.8 dispute

A few things tend to trigger this code.

The cardholder may have told their bank they did not want the credit. Perhaps they changed their mind after a payout, or never asked for the money in the first place.

The credit may have gone to the wrong account. A typo in a card number, or a payout sent to an old card, can land the money with the wrong person.

Rules can also block the credit. Some card types or some countries do not allow Original Credit Transactions. If the payout breaks a law or a card rule, the issuer can file 13.8.

How to respond to a 13.8 chargeback

First, read the notice and check the code. If you are unsure where to look, start with how to read a chargeback notice.

A merchant can accept a Visa dispute, or reject it by sending supporting documents to its card processor. The acquirer may send a Dispute Response unless the merchant already accepted the dispute through Rapid Dispute Resolution.

To answer a 13.8 dispute, show a reversal the issuer did not address, or that the dispute is invalid. Each step of a Visa dispute has a set time limit, so a late answer can lose the case. Move fast.

Evidence that wins a 13.8 case

Your proof must fit the claim. For this code, useful documents include:

  • Proof that the cardholder asked for the credit, such as a payout request or account record with their consent.
  • Records showing the credit went to the correct card account.
  • Proof that you already reversed the credit, if the issuer missed that reversal.
  • Any rule or law that shows the credit was allowed.

Visa dispute evidence must be easy to read and in English, or come with an English translation. An acquirer may respond only once to the original Visa dispute, so make that one reply count.

If the issuer keeps pushing after your reply, the case can move to pre-Arbitration. There the issuer must deal with the evidence the acquirer gave in its Dispute Response. The issuer may switch dispute conditions only if the first condition was valid. See what happens after you answer a chargeback for the rounds that can follow.

How to prevent 13.8 disputes

Prevention is mostly about sending credits the right way.

Ask for clear consent before any payout. Keep a record of it.

Check the card details before you send money. Confirm the account belongs to the person asking for the payout.

Confirm that the card and the country allow Original Credit Transactions. If they do not, pay out by bank transfer or another route instead.

Tell recipients to expect the credit. A payout that surprises the cardholder often ends up reported to their bank.

Some other codes cover money that moved when it should not have. 12.6, duplicate processing or paid by other means, covers a charge the cardholder already paid another way. 13.7, cancelled merchandise or services, covers a charge for something the cardholder cancelled. On the American Express side, C14, paid by other means, is a close cousin. None of these fit a refused credit, but they come up in the same conversations.

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