What is a dispute?

Disputes occur when a transaction is challenged by the cardholder or a card issuer. Common reasons for disputes include that the card was fraudulent, the cardholder disputes the quality or receipt of merchandise, the amount charged to the card was incorrect, processing errors were made during the transaction, or proper authorization was not obtained.

What is a chargeback?

Chargebacks are the most common types of disputes. With a chargeback, the issuing bank charges all or part of the transaction amount back to the acquirer/processor because the issuer believes the transaction has violated a Payment Card Networks rule of regulation. The acquirer/processor, in turn, charges this amount back to the merchant’s business account.

Signs that an online transaction could be fraudulent

• Larger-than-normal orders, multiple purchases on the same day, or orders that include several of the same items (particularly if the items have a high resale value).
• Orders shipped to a single address but made on multiple cards, or multiple transactions on one card or similar cards with a single billing address but multiple shipping addresses.
• Billing address provided by the customer to the merchant does not match with Address Verification Service (AVS).

Signs that a card-present payment could be fraudulent

• Card shows signs of tampering or is unsigned.
• Transaction is occurring either prior to the valid date or after the expiration date on the card.
• Account number on the card and the number displayed on the terminal do not match, even if an authorization is received.

What if I think a transaction is suspicious?

• Call the Authorization Center at 1-800-626-4480 and ask for the Code 10 Operator, which indicates that you suspect a fraudulent transaction.

How can I help prevent fraud and disputes?

• Make sure the business name provided to us matches or is similar to what will appear on the cardholder’s statement so that they recognize the charge.
• Respond promptly to retrieval requests and dispute notifications.
• Ensure sales drafts are safely stored and accessible to authorized employees for 180 days after the initial transaction date.
• Take authorization for the full transaction amount from the card network; don’t break it into smaller chunks before processing a payment transaction.
• Use Address Verification (AVS) and Customer Identity Verification (CIV), such as the 3- or 4-digit CVV or CVC.
• Take advantage of fraud protection programs.

Online dispute management tools

• Dispute Management is an application available within Commerce Control Center that allows you to review, manage, and respond to payment disputes and chargebacks online.
• Dispute Management Light is a version of this application that supports basic dispute management features within the Clover dashboard for Clover device users.

Monthly cost overview: Your total costs in any given month consist of your services, software, and transaction processing costs.

Note: The example shown in the chart above is for illustrative purposes only. Your monthly cost distribution may differ.

Reference the following best practices while processing payments:

Have customers insert or tap cards whenever possible – Instead of using a keypad to manually enter card information or swiping a card, have customers insert or tap cards whenever possible to avoid a higher risk of error or fraud when a card’s physical security precautions have been bypassed.

Settle your transactions daily – When payments are made face-to-face, settlements must be sent within one day to qualify for the most favorable rates. Even if your equipment can hold several days’ worth of transactions, not batching each day may lead to higher interchange cost and a delay in your funding.

Capture additional security information when accepting card payments – Many merchants can qualify for lower rates (especially in card-not-present environments) by collecting more data with each card transaction, such as billing address and zip code, using Address Verification Service (AVS).

Include your business phone number and unique order number on customer statements – Help cardholders easily identify their transactions with your business and minimize disputes by ensuring these point-of-sale (POS) details are included on statements configured by Wells Fargo.

Process card-present and card-not-present sales through the same POS system to allow the system to pass the required data elements for each processing method. You can work with Wells Fargo to ensure these capabilities are available for your equipment.

Wells Fargo provides a monthly statement of your transaction activity in a format designed to facilitate account reconciliation. Please refer to this breakdown of a sample statement.

Definitions:

• Total Amount Submitted – The total dollar amount of card transactions submitted and processed during the Statement Period.
• Chargebacks/Reversals – Transactions that are challenged or disputed by a cardholder or card issuer. A chargeback equals the transaction amount that is disputed by the cardholder or card issuer. A reversal is the amount that was initially charged back to the merchant but has subsequently been resolved in favor of the merchant.
• Adjustments – The amounts added to or deducted from your account to resolve processing and billing discrepancies.
• Fees – Transaction-based, volume-based, and/or fixed amounts charged for specific card processing services.
• Merchant Number – The unique account number assigned to every merchant and merchant location. You can find it at the top of your statement.

Card payment networks, like Visa and Mastercard, facilitate card acceptance for merchants. To help manage fraud and risk effectively, the PCI Security Standards Council sets the requirements that make up the PCI Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”). The PCI DSS applies to all entities that store, transmit, or process cardholder data. As such, all merchants must be compliant with the PCI DSS.

Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard >

Must be in place for merchants processing all card types. PCI DSS Compliance is required and enforced by the card payment networks to protect sensitive cardholder data and reduce risk to your business.

Learn more about the following security programs and policies:

Mastercard^® Site Data Protection (SDP) >

Visa^® Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) >

Discover^® Information Security and Compliance (DISC) >

American Express Data Security Operating Policy (DSOP) >

You are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

What if my device is missing in the mail or arrived damaged?

If anything is missing or broken, please call us at 1-800-451-5817 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Where can I receive support?

View the Merchant Services support section below for support.

Where can I find my Merchant ID?

Your Merchant ID (MID), sometimes referred to as “Merchant Number,” can be found in several places, including:

• The welcome email you received from Wells Fargo.
• Your monthly statement(s).
• Clover dashboard or on your device (for Clover customers).
• Commerce Control Center.

How do I translate authorization codes?

An authorization is an approval for a sale amount on a card account. All card sales require an authorization from the card issuer to verify that the card is valid and has sufficient funds or credit line to cover the amount of the transaction. The card issuer provides an authorization and approval code to Wells Fargo. Please reference the authorization code table for support.

Want more information on payment processing?

View the Guide to Processing Payments.

Where can I order supplies?

Call us at 1-800-451-5817 to order supplies. As your payment processor, we want to be sure you have the right materials for your terminals and processing equipment. We offer quantity discounts and one-stop shopping for:

• Receipt paper rolls.
• Ink cartridges.
• Device accessories.
• Card decals and signage.

Can I get a reporting summary of my account?

Set up and schedule personalized reports in Commerce Control Center or Clover dashboard to receive important notifications about your account. Reports will be auto-delivered to your inbox as well as your selected email address. These reports can be set up to display a daily summary or provide you with weekly or monthly summaries for activity on items such as disputes or daily account activities.

Where can I find payment network and operating information?

U.S. credit/debit networks

• American Express® merchant information
• American Express Merchant Operating Guide
• Discover® merchant information
• Discover Global Network
• Mastercard® merchant information
• Mastercard Rules
• Visa® merchant information
• Visa Rules and Policy

U.S. debit-only networks

• Accel®
• Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN)
• CULIANCE
• Interlink/Visa® DPS
• Jeanie®
• Debit Mastercard®
• NYCE®
• PULSE®
• SHAZAM®
• STAR®, Cash Station, HONOR, and MAC