Visa reason code 10.1:
EMV Liability Shift Counterfeit Fraud

What Visa 10.1 means

The issuer certifies that the card was reported counterfeit, the card is a chip card, the sale was card-present and qualifies for the EMV liability shift, and either the terminal was not chip-capable or the chip transaction was authorized online without full chip data reaching Visa.

Common causes

• Swiping or key-entering a chip card on a terminal that was not chip-enabled
• Chip reader failure that pushed staff to fall back to the magnetic stripe
• A terminal or gateway configuration that drops the chip data from the authorization message
• Older countertop or mobile readers kept in service after an EMV upgrade

Evidence that answers it

• Terminal or processor logs showing the card was chip-read (POS entry mode for chip)
• Proof the full chip data was transmitted in the authorization request
• Proof of a credit or reversal with its date and amount
• A written statement from the cardholder withdrawing the dispute

How to prevent it

• Use EMV-certified terminals at every till and retire swipe-only readers
• Train staff never to swipe or key-enter a chip card when the chip works
• Ask your processor to confirm full chip data is passed in authorizations
• Investigate repeated fallback transactions; they are a sign of a faulty reader

Time limits and caveats

Allocation workflow. Issuer time limit: 120 calendar days from the transaction processing date. Visa allows compelling evidence for 10.1 only in narrow cases (for example U.S. domestic key-entered transactions with a prior undisputed use of the same card). Pure e-commerce merchants should not normally receive 10.1; if you do, ask your processor whether the transaction was miscoded as card-present.

How Verdikx helps with 10.1

Verdikx files 10.1 under its fraud playbook, whose network notes state that Compelling Evidence 3.0 does not apply to 10.1. For an online-only store, the Shopify order record is the basis for asking your processor whether the sale was miscoded as card-present, and any refund already issued goes into the packet as the remedy.