Visa rule · checked 19 October 2026
Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0, explained
When a customer tells their bank "I didn't make this purchase" on an online Visa payment, you can often prove it was them by showing they've bought from you before, from the same device or IP address. That rule is Compelling Evidence 3.0 (CE 3.0), and when it applies, the chargeback is reversed.
When it applies
Only to Visa disputes with reason code 10.4, "Other Fraud: Card-Absent Environment": online, phone and app payments the cardholder says they didn't make. It doesn't help with "not received" or "not as described" disputes.
The rule in four parts
- Two earlier transactions on the same card or customer account, besides the disputed one.
- Both must be 120 to 365 days older than the disputed transaction.
- Both must be undisputed and never reported as fraud.
- All three transactions must share at least two of: customer account or user ID, IP address, device ID or fingerprint, and shipping address. One of the two must be the IP address or device ID.
| Example | Qualifies? |
|---|---|
| Same customer login and same IP on all three orders | Yes |
| Same device ID and same shipping address | Yes |
| Same login and same shipping address, different IPs and no device ID | No: needs IP or device |
| Earlier orders only 60 days old | No: under 120 days |
What you get
- If Visa validates the evidence, the chargeback is reversed and the money comes back.
- The dispute still counts toward your dispute ratio, and you may still pay the processor's chargeback fee.
- Fraud reports resolved through CE 3.0 are left out of Visa's VAMP fraud monitoring calculation, which matters if your fraud ratio is near the limit.
- Since 17 October 2025, Visa can also check qualifying transactions automatically through Visa Secure or Visa Data Only, before a dispute reaches you.
What to record from today
CE 3.0 only works if you saved the data at the time of each order. Make sure your checkout or payment provider keeps, for every order: the customer account ID, the IP address, a device ID or fingerprint, and the shipping address. A dispute 6 months from now will need orders from 10 to 18 months ago.
How to submit it
- Open the dispute and confirm it's Visa reason code 10.4.
- Find two earlier undisputed orders from the same customer that fit the age window and matching rule.
- Enter them in your provider's CE 3.0 fields (Stripe has a dedicated Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 option) or list them clearly in your evidence: dates, amounts, and the matching IP, device, account and address for all three.
- Add your usual fraud evidence too, such as AVS and CVV results, delivery proof and account activity. Fraud chargeback guide.
Using Stripe? Autopilot fills CE 3.0 for you on every eligible dispute. Platform guides: Stripe · Shopify · WooCommerce · Square · PayPal.
Sources: Checkout.com, Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0: new rules explained (reason code 10.4, 120 to 365 days, matching rule, reversal, VAMP exclusion, automatic qualification from 17 October 2025); Chargeback Gurus, Visa CE 3.0. Read 19 October 2026.