Chargeback Reason Code 81 is issued when the card issuer receives a sales receipt that is missing required information, indicating a potentially fraudulent transaction. A Reason Code 81 may be issued when the card issuer receives a sales receipt that has no imprint of the card’s embossed or magnetic-stripe information or is missing the cardholder’s signature, and either: cardholder certifies that he or she neither authorized nor participated in the transaction or the card issuer certifies that no valid card with that account number existed on the transaction date.
This type of
chargeback is not valid for recurring payments and card-not-present transactions. It is valid for card-present sales on self-serve POS terminals, such as cardholder-activated gas pumps.
Typically
chargeback Reason Code 81 is issued when the merchant:
- Has not swiped the card through a POS terminal.
- Has not made a manual imprint of the card account information on the sales receipt for a key-entered transaction.
- Has completed a card-present transaction without obtaining the cardholder’s signature on the sales receipt.
- Has completed a card-not-present transaction but has not identified the transaction as a MO/TO or eCommerce purchase.
Merchant Actions.- Back-Office Staff.
- Card Imprint from Magnetic Stripe Was Obtained. If account information was captured from the card’s magnetic stripe, request that your merchant bank send a copy of the authorization record to the card issuer as proof that the card’s magnetic stripe was read. You should also provide a copy of the sales receipt proving the cardholder’s signature was obtained.
- Card Imprint Was Manually Obtained. If the account number was manually imprinted on the sales receipt, you should send a copy of the sales receipt to your merchant bank as documentation. The copy of the sales receipt must also contain the cardholder’s signature in order to remedy the chargeback.
- Card Imprint Was Not Obtained. If the account number was not obtained from either the magnetic stripe or manually, there is no remedy and you should accept the chargeback.
- Signature Was Obtained. If the cardholder’s signature was obtained on the sales receipt or a related document (for example, an invoice with cardholder’s name, address, and the date of the transaction) send a copy of the document to your merchant bank. You should also send evidence that the cardholder’s card was present, specifically either a manually imprinted sales receipt or authorization record proving the magnetic stripe was read. You must be able to prove the sales receipt and other documentation are from the same transaction.
- Signature Was Not Obtained. If the cardholder’s signature was not obtained for a card-present transaction, there is no remedy and you should accept the chargeback.
- Point-of-Sale Staff Actions.
- Swipe Cards or Use a Manual Imprinter. Merchants should obtain a record of the card’s account and expiration date information on the sales receipt by either swiping the card through a terminal or using a manual imprinter. If you use a manual imprinter, make sure the imprint can be positively matched with other transaction information to prove the card was present. For example, if you take an imprint on a separate receipt for a key-entered transaction, you should write the transaction date, amount, and authorization code on this document before completing the sale.
- Obtain Cardholder Signature. Merchants should obtain the cardholder’s signature on the sales receipt for all card-present transactions. Always compare the customer’s signature on the sales receipt to the signature on the back of the card. If the names are not spelled the same or the signatures look different, call your merchant processing bank's voice authorization center and ask for a "Code 10" authorization.
- Owner Actions.
- Remind Staff to Obtain an Electronic or Manual Imprint. Owners should train sales staff to swipe the card through a terminal or to use a manual imprinter to imprint the embossed information from the front of the card onto a sales receipt that will be signed by the customer.
- Manual Imprinter or Portable Electronic Terminal. If your business delivers merchandise or performs services at customers' homes, your field employees should be equipped with manual imprinters or portable electronic terminals that can read the card’s magnetic stripe.
- Cardholder Signature. Owners should train sales staff to obtain the cardholder's signature on the sales receipt for all card-present transactions; to compare the signature on the receipt to the signature on the back of the card; and to accept only signed cards.
- Investigate High Volume of Chargebacks. If your business is receiving a high volume of Code 81 chargebacks, you should investigate. It could be a sign of internal fraud. You may need to examine sales receipts related to the chargebacks to check which POS terminals and sales staff were involved in these transactions.
- Train Staff, Clean Magnetic-Stripe Readers. A high volume of Code 81 chargebacks may also indicate a need for additional staff training in proper card acceptance procedures or better maintenance and cleaning of the magnetic-stripe readers in your terminals.
