4870 – Chip Liability Shift

PREVIEW

A high-level overview

You received this chargeback because the cardholder has a chip card and someone made a counterfeit copy of it. You processed a transaction on the counterfeit card using a fallback option — magnetic stripe or manually key-entry — instead of using a chip reading device that would have detected the fraud. Now, the cardholder claims the purchase was unauthorised.

In most situations, a chargeback with this reason code must be filed within 120 days of the transaction processing date.

If you — the merchant — have the required data and supporting documents, you can fight a Chip Liability Shift dispute. At most, you will have 45 days to respond.

Here are some tips to help prevent this type of chargeback in the future:

• Only use EMV-compliant terminals.
• Always use the correct cardholder verification method — signature, PIN, etc.
• Create an electronic or manual imprint for every card-present transaction.

NOTE: Because this chargeback impacts a very small portion of merchants, we aren’t going to elaborate on what causes this dispute or how to respond. If you are a merchant or acquirer and need additional details about this reason code, we recommend you consult the latest version of the Mastercard chargeback guide. You’ll find a section on Chip Liability Shift disputes in chapter 2 (dual message system chargebacks).