Visa reason code 10.4:
Other Fraud: Card-Absent Environment

What Visa 10.4 means

The cardholder denies authorizing or participating in a card-absent transaction. The issuer must report the fraud to Visa before filing. Because it runs in the Allocation workflow, your evidence goes in a pre-arbitration attempt, and a qualifying Compelling Evidence 3.0 submission shifts liability back to the issuer.

Common causes

• Stolen card details used on your checkout (true third-party fraud)
• Account takeover of a real customer's store account
• A family member using the cardholder's saved card
• Friendly fraud: the cardholder made the purchase but does not recognize the descriptor or regrets it

Evidence that answers it

• Visa Secure (3-D Secure) authentication result for the transaction, which makes the dispute invalid
• Compelling Evidence 3.0: two or more undisputed transactions on the same card settled 120 to 364 days before the dispute, sharing the IP address or device ID plus at least one more element (device, IP, account login ID or full delivery address) with the disputed sale, with descriptions of what was bought
• Delivery to an address that received an AVS match of Y or M
• Proof the customer's account was used after the purchase, or correspondence showing they knew of the order
• Download or login logs with IP and device for digital goods

How to prevent it

• Use 3-D Secure (Visa Secure) on risky orders so liability shifts to the issuer
• Screen orders before fulfillment and hold mismatched billing, shipping, IP and device signals
• Capture IP address, device ID and account ID on every checkout so prior orders can qualify for CE 3.0
• Use a clear billing descriptor that matches your store name
• Refund confirmed fraud quickly when an early fraud warning arrives

Time limits and caveats

Allocation workflow. Issuer time limit: 120 calendar days from the transaction processing date. Prior transactions the issuer reported as fraud do not count toward CE 3.0. Outside Europe, the issuer can still decline if it certifies the cardholder name and address in your evidence do not match its records, or that the cardholder reviewed your evidence and still disputes.

How Verdikx helps with 10.4

Verdikx runs the fraud playbook for 10.4 and supports Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0: when it holds prior undisputed orders from the same customer with matching IP, device or address data, the packet lists them. Order screening on new Shopify orders reduces 10.4 exposure, and Stripe early fraud warnings with auto-refund policies (Growth and Pro) let you refund before a dispute. Visa RDR alerts are coming soon.