Understanding Visa's dispute management solutions: A guide for issuing banks

Disputes are on the rise. And with first-party fraud emerging as a top challenge for nearly 69% of financial institutions, the stakes for effective dispute management have never been higher. That’s why understanding and mastering the frameworks provided by major payment networks is no longer optional. Visa provides a comprehensive set of solutions designed to manage transaction disputes and enhance fraud control for issuing banks. These solutions help establish a clear process for handling every transaction dispute.

What is Visa's suite of dispute management solutions?

Visa provides a comprehensive set of solutions designed to manage transaction disputes and enhance fraud control for issuing banks. They generally focus on several key areas, each with specific tools and processes:

Visa Resolve Online (VROL)

VROL is Visa's primary online platform for managing chargebacks and other disputes. It provides a centralised system for financial institutions to submit and respond to dispute cases, upload supporting documentation, and track the status of disputes. VROL helps make the dispute resolution process more organised.

Visa Claims Resolution (VCR)

Introduced to modernise and speed up the dispute process, VCR shifted from a liability-based model to a more automated, evidence-based process. It categorises disputes into two main flows: "Fraud" and "Authorisation, Processing, and Cardholder Dispute." VCR aims to reduce dispute processing times and improve the accuracy of decisions.

Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR)

RDR is a pre-chargeback solution by Verifi (a Visa company) that allows merchants to resolve disputes before they escalate to a formal chargeback. Merchants can set up rules to automatically refund transactions that meet certain criteria, preventing chargebacks and reducing associated fees and administrative burdens for both merchants and issuers.

Order Insight

Order Insight provides issuers with enriched transaction details, like the merchant’s name, purchase description, delivery information, and customer service logs, right at the point of cardholder inquiry. It helps resolve “I don’t recognise this charge” disputes instantly, often without needing to escalate the case at all.

Visa Risk-based Auto Dispute (VRAD)

VRAD uses Visa’s own risk analytics to automatically generate and route certain fraud-related disputes. This reduces the need for manual case creation and ensures that legitimate disputes are submitted quickly and accurately.

Visa Dispute Optimization Service

This consultative service helps banks improve their internal dispute processes, by identifying workflow gaps, analysing case data, and recommending improvements that reduce case handling time and boost dispute win rates.

Together, these tools form a powerful ecosystem that brings clarity and structure to the often-dreaded dispute processes.

Why understanding Visa’s reason codes is critical

To resolve disputes effectively, issuing banks need more than just tools. You also need to understand the logic behind each case. That’s where Visa’s reason codes come in.

Each dispute submitted through Visa’s network must be assigned a specific reason code that explains why the charge is being challenged. These codes affect the kind of evidence required, the likelihood of successful recovery and the tools that can support the resolution.

Without properly categorising disputes, banks risk delayed decisions, lost revenue, or unnecessary effort.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common categories:

10.x – Fraud

Covers transactions the cardholder claims they didn’t authorise (e.g. 10.4: Card-not-present fraud). These cases often rely on supporting data like AVS, CVV, or device logs.

11.x – Authorisation errors

Applied when transactions were processed without proper authorisation or approval (e.g. 11.2: No authorisation).

12.x – Processing errors

These include duplicate transactions, incorrect amounts, or refunds not processed correctly.

13.x – Cardholder disputes

Ranging from non-receipt of goods (13.1) to cancelled subscriptions (13.2), these disputes require clear records such as tracking numbers, cancellation confirmations, and merchant communication.

Understanding which reason codes appear most frequently in your portfolio can help shape fraud prevention, cardholder education, and dispute strategy.

Benefits for issuing banks

Using Visa's dispute management solutions effectively brings several clear advantages for issuing banks:

• Organised operations

By providing clear guidelines and processes, Visa's solutions help banks handle the volume of disputes more efficiently, reducing manual effort and operational costs.

• Improved fraud recovery

By providing tools and procedures for identifying and disputing fraudulent transactions, banks can improve their recovery rates and reduce financial losses due to fraud.

• Better cardholder experience

A well-managed dispute process leads to faster resolution and more transparent communication with cardholders, ultimately increasing customer satisfaction.

Navigating solutions

While Visa provides an overarching framework, the practical implementation and day-to-day management of dispute processes can still pose challenges for banks. This is where specialised solutions offer significant value. For instance, Rivero's Amiko automates fraud and dispute management, taking the load off issuing banks while improving customer satisfaction. As the first Swiss fintech to join Visa's Fintech Partner Connect program, Rivero is positioned to provide Visa's clients with innovative solutions, allowing them to focus on growth and better serve their customers.

Technology is often the foundation for efficient and customer-centric payment operations. By embracing frameworks and leveraging technology, banks can simplify their processes, manage risk and scale. Disputes aren’t going away, but with the right approach, they don’t have to be a burden.