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Visa Claims Resolution (VCR)

In response to the rising number of chargebacks and an increase in related processing time and costs, Visa is introducing their new dispute service initiative, Visa Claims Resolution (VCR). Visa will implement VCR on April 14, 2018.

Visa Claims Resolution is designed to streamline and expedite the dispute resolution process. The intent for this change is to eliminate or reduce invalid disputes and responses, and automate liability assignment from the current litigating based process. It will provide a more efficient process with simplified rules, user guided workflows, and reduced resolution time frames.

With VCR, Visa is making significant changes and has focused on shortening and simplifying the dispute resolution process requirements
to ensure there are consistent rules for Issuers, Acquirers, and merchants.

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Visa found that it takes takes 46 days, on average, to resolve a chargeback. More complex cases can take over 100 days to resolve. From a merchant’s standpoint, that’s over three painful months worrying about the same dispute. VCR reduces the response time frame to 30 days. Visa anticipates the new process’ required up-front information will do away with the back-and-forth between the merchant, acquirer, and issuer. Resulting in quicker dispute resolution, with expectations from Visa indicating resolution within 31 days.

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To achieve the quicker resolutions, Visa will be reducing the whole process involved in dispute resolution by having all disputes follow one of two new workflows: Allocation and Collaboration.

New Reason Codes

Visa’s new process introduces four dispute categories and associated numerical labels:

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  • Fraud – 10

  • Authorization – 11

  • Processing Errors – 12

  • Consumer Disputes – 13

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 Under which the new, renamed reason codes will be placed:

Even with these simplified categories, Visa assures that they will continue to provide the same level of data — and in some cases even more — to merchants. Again, their end goal is to help merchants understand the reason for the dispute. Issuers will also be required to fill out a Dispute Questionnaire to provide all parties with the information needed before the dispute is initiated.

In Summary...

The new Visa Claims Resolution is expected to save time and increase efficiencies for Issuers, Acquirers, and merchants alike. Here’s the rundown of changes that merchants should know:

 

  • Visa will implement VCR on April 14, 2018--chargebacks raised before this date will continue under the previous workflow / resolution process

  • The timeframe for merchants to submit a response is decreased from 45 days to 30 days

  • Invalid disputes are stopped before they reach the merchant through new automated workflows

  • Fraud and authorization disputes responses are only allowed when the merchant can definitively prove the dispute is invalid

  • Reason codes are getting an organizational makeover, but the compelling evidence requirements remains largely unchanged from what was previously accepted

Questions? Please contact us.

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