Electronic chargebacks

A chargeback is a dispute between the card holder and the merchant resulting in a claim and a settlement. Traditionally a paper letter is sent to the merchant notifying of their chargebacks. An Electronic Chargeback (eChargeback) is the electronic submission of chargeback notifications to the merchant. A merchant no longer receives paper letters.

The electronic submission is a file containing chargeback notifications for one banking day. Electronic delivery of the file is made within hours of the chargeback notification being generated. Merchants use the information in the file to respond back to Westpac about a chargeback.

This page:

Describes how you can access eChargebacks.
Describes how to respond to your electronic chargeback notifications.
Provides an overview of the eChargebacks process.
Answers frequently asked questions.

Features and benefits

Receiving chargeback notifications electronically brings core benefits of speed and automation.

Features	Benefits
Receive electronic chargebacks each day.	More time to respond.
Single file format for all the notification types.	Easy system configuration. Reduce the cost of setup.
Information on all chargeback types. i.e. Retrievals, Chargebacks, Fraud and Disputes.	Plan for allocation and expected exposure.
Electronic delivery through direct host-to-host integration.	Enables automation and instant delivery.
Delivered in CSV format.	Easy to use either by your system or manual reconciliation.

Getting started

Follow these steps:

Contact your Westpac contact and request an eChargeback facility.
Decide to opt out of paper letters.
Decide how you will receive your eChargeback file.
Update your processes to handle the eChargeback File Format.
Read Responding to Chargebacks.
Become familiar with the support process.

Receiving chargebacks

The following occurs:

Card-holder disputes a transaction.
Issuing bank requests more information.
Receive chargeback notifications in electronic format.

Card-holder is your customer. The card-holder instigates a chargeback.
Merchant is you.
Issuing bank is the bank that issued the card-holders credit or debit card.
Aquiring bank is the Merchants bank.

Card-holder disputes a transaction

When a credit card holder is not satisfied with the merchant transaction, the card scheme rule allows for a claim.

As part of the claims process, the issuing bank represents the card holder and requests a refund or further clarification from the acquiring bank. In turn the acquiring bank raises a request or advises a debit notification to the merchant.

This process is called Merchant Chargeback process.

Issuing bank requests more information

As part of the eChargebacks process, an issuing bank may request more information (make a retrieval request) from Westpac about a disputed transaction, and then raise a chargeback. Or an issuing bank may raise a chargeback directly (without making a retrieval request first).

Receive notifications in electronic format

Using eChargebacks you will no longer receive paper letters, and instead receive an electronic file. The file lists all Visa and Mastercard chargeback notifications for your merchants.

Delivery channel

Electronic chargeback files are received through iLink or QuickStream.

To download your chargeback files from iLink:

To download your chargeback files from QuickStream:

Sign in to QuickStream.
Select Transactions and Reports and choose Facility Reports.
Download your eChargeback file for the selected date(s).

You may also receive your chargebacks automatically via REST, SFTP or SOAP using iLink. iLink is an automated, secure and straight through integration channel. Files are sent immediately to your system for processing.

Onboarding process

Follow these steps to activate eChargebacks for your merchant facilities:

If you do not have a QuickStream or iLink facility

Engage with your relationship team to request an eChargeback proposal. List the Chain ID's and HQ ID's you wish to be included.
Once the proposal is signed, a project is initiated.

If you already have a QuickStream or iLink facility

Fill in the eChargebacks request form and submit to your relationship team. List the Chain ID's and HQ ID's you wish to be included.
The relationship team will provide a proposal. Once approved, the solution will be activated.

After activation:

Your Visa and Mastercard chargeback notifications will start transmitting to you in an CSV file.
When you start receiving the notification of a chargeback or retrieval request, you should reply promptly within the timeframes specified in that request.

Opt out of paper letters

When you sign up to receive eChargebacks, you may elect to opt-out of receiving a chargeback/retrieval letter that is mailed and/or emailed*. If you choose this option, you will no longer receive letters or emails and will only receive the eChargebacks file.

The options available are:

Letters only.
Electronic file and letters.
Electronic file and email.
Electronic file only (no letters).

Note: Chargeback/retrieval letters are only emailed if an email address is recorded on file.

Responding to chargebacks

To respond to a chargeback:

Find the supporting transaction.
Send the transaction information, and any other supporting information to the Westpac Merchant Chargebacks team via fax or email.

Fax	Email
Chargebacks Fax Number 02 9383 8848 Retrievals Fax Number 02 9332 6369	Westpac Merchants merchantchargebacks@westpac.com.au

Merchant chargeback enquiries

For enquiries and support relating to chargebacks, contact Merchant Acquiring Chargebacks via email to Westpac Merchants merchantchargebacks@westpac.com.au.

Please allow 5 days for a response from the chargeback team. If you did not get a response within 5 days, contact your Westpac relationship team.

File format

The file contains information about Chargebacks, Retrievals, Fraud and Disputes against the Merchant ID numbers relating to your organisation.

The format below is a Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file. Each line in the file represents one row of data. Each value on the line is contained within a pair of double quotes and is separated by a comma. For example:

"value 1", "value 2", "value 3", "value 4", "value 5", "value 6"

There are two types of rows in the eChargeback File Format:

Header row.
Chargeback row.

The header row is the first row in the file. It contains the column headings. For example:

"Type","ARN","Reference Number","Merchant Name", ...etc...

The header row is then followed by multiple chargeback rows. A chargeback row represents a single transaction attempt. For example:

"Retrieval Request","55160007100325900000865","I15942470010100","TEST MERCHANT", ...etc...

The transaction row contains details of Chargebacks, Retrievals, Fraud and Disputes.

Field	Format	Description
Type	Alphanumeric	This is the type of the chargeback. See table below.
ARN	Numeric	Acquirer Reference Number is a unique number that tags a credit card transaction when it goes from the merchants bank (the acquiring bank) through the card scheme to the cardholder's bank (the issuer).
Reference Number	Alphanumeric	The request number. What this represents varies based on the chargeback type.
Merchant Name	Alphanumeric	Name of the Merchant.
Merchant ID	Numeric	ID provided to the Merchant by Westpac.
Merchant Terminal ID	Numeric	ID provided to the Merchant's terminal by Westpac.
Message	Alphanumeric	Message received from the incoming scheme report for the transaction.
Retrieval Reference Number	Alphanumeric	Corresponding Retrieval Reference Numbers mapped for the same Card Number and ARN in Chargeback application.
Reason Code	Numeric	Code for the chargeback request (see below).
Card Number	Alphanumeric	The first 6 digits, followed by `...` and the last 4 digits of the card number.
Transaction Amount	Decimal 0.00	The amount of the transaction.
Transaction Date	Date `dd-MMM-yyyy`	Transaction initiation date.
Transaction Time	Date `HH:mm`	Transaction initiation time.
Transaction Number	Alphanumeric
Merchant Code	Always `V3`
Merchant Address 1	Alphanumeric	Merchant address line 1.
Merchant Address 2	Alphanumeric	Merchant address line 2.
Merchant Address 3	Alphanumeric	Merchant address line 3.
Respond by Date	Date `dd-MMM-yyyy`	The date on or before a response is expected from the merchant.
Chain ID	Numeric	The Chain ID for this merchant (if available).
HQ ID	Numeric	The HQ ID for this merchant (if available).
Request Date	Date `dd-MMM-yyyy`	The Chain ID for this merchant (if available).
Debit Date	Date `dd-MMM-yyyy`	Date when money is debited from the Merchant account.
Reason	Alphanumeric	Reason for the debiting the merchant account due to a dispute.
Notification Date	Date `dd-MMM-yyyy`	Notification of the Dispute Debit to the Merchant.

Chargeback types and data availability

The following chargeback types are present in the file. For some chargeback types, not all data is provided in the file. This is because some data fields are not relevant to all chargeback types.

Some data may not be provided if not applicable, or not available. For example, Chain ID may not apply to a merchant or there may not be a Message.

Field	Chargeback Request	Chargeback Debit	Retrieval Request	Dispute Request	Dispute Debit	Fraud Debit
ARN
Reference Number
Merchant Name
Merchant ID
Merchant Terminal ID
Message
Retrieval Reference Number
Reason Code
Card Number
Transaction Amount
Transaction Date
Transaction Time
Transaction Number
Merchant Code
Merchant Address 1
Merchant Address 2
Merchant Address 3
Respond by Date
Chain ID
HQ ID
Request Date
Debit Date
Reason
Notification Date

Reason codes

Visa dispute reason codes

Code	Description
`10.1`	EMV Liability Shift Counterfeit Fraud
`10.2`	EMV Liability Shift Non-Counterfeit Fraud
`10.3`	Other Fraud Card Present
`10.4`	Other Fraud Card Absent Environment
`10.5`	VISA Fraud Monitoring Program
`11.1`	Card Recovery Bulletin
`11.2`	Declined Authorisation
`11.3`	No Authorisation
`12.1`	Late Presentment
`12.2`	Incorrect Transaction
`12.3`	Incorrect Currency
`12.4`	Incorrect Account Number
`12.5`	Incorrect Amount
`12.6`	Duplicate Processing Paid by Other Means
`12.7`	Invalid Data
`13.1`	Merchandise/Service Not Rendered
`13.2`	Cancelled Recurring Transaction
`13.3`	Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/Services
`13.4`	Counterfeit Merchandise
`13.5`	Misrepresentation
`13.6`	Credit Not Processed
`13.7`	Cancelled Merchandise/Services
`13.8`	Original Credit Transaction not Accepted
`13.9`	Non-Receipt of Cash or Load Transaction Value

Visa retrieval request reason codes

Code	Description
`28`	Cardholder Requests Copy Bearing Signature
`29`	Request for T&E Documents
`30`	Cardholder Dispute - Cardholder Requests Draft
`33`	Legal Process or Fraud Analysis
`34`	Repeat Request for Copy

Visa chargeback reason codes

Code	Description
`30`	Services Not Provided or Merchandise Not Received
`41`	Cancelled Recurring Transaction
`53`	Not as Described or Defective Merchandise
`57`	Fraudulent Multiple Transactions
`60`	Requested Copy Illegible
`62`	Counterfeit Transaction
`70`	Account Number on Exception File
`71`	Declined Authorization
`72`	No Authorization Obtained
`73`	Expired Card
`74`	Late Presentment
`75`	Cardholder Does Not Recognize the Transaction
`76`	Incorrect Transaction Code
`77`	Non Matching Acct Number
`78`	Service Code Violation, Did not Obtain Authorization (International Only)
`79`	Requested Transaction Information Not Received
`80`	Incorrect Transaction Amount or Acct Number
`81`	Fraudulent Transaction - Card Present
`82`	Duplicate Processing
`83`	Fraudulent Transaction - Card Not Present
`85`	Credit Not Processed
`86`	Paid by Other Means
`90`	Services Not Rendered - ATM or VisaTravel Money Transactions
`93`	Risk Identification Service (RIS)
`96`	Transaction Exceeds Floor Limit
`6321`	Cardholder does not recognise transaction
`6305`	Cardholder disagrees with billed amount
`6323`	Cardholder needs documentation

Mastercard chargeback reason codes

Code	Description
`4801`	Requested Transaction Information not Received
`4802`	Requested/Required Information Illegible or Missing
`4803`	Documentation Received Invalid/Incomplete
`4804`	Duplicate Processing
`4807`	Warning Bulletin Filed
`4808`	Requested/Required Authorization Not Obtained
`4812`	Account Number Not on File
`4831`	Transaction Amount Differs (Authorization to Settlement)
`4834`	Duplicate Processing
`4835`	Card Not Valid or Expired
`4837`	No Cardholder Authorization
`4840`	Fraudulent Processing of Transaction
`4841`	Cancelled Recurring Transaction
`4842`	Late Presentment
`4846`	Correct Transaction Currency Code Not Provided
`4847`	Exceeds Floor Limit - Not Authorized and Fraudulent Transaction
`4849`	Questionable Merchant Activity
`4850`	Credit Posted as a Purchase
`4853`	Merchandise/Services Not as Described
`4854`	Cardholder Dispute Not Elsewhere Classified (US Only)
`4855`	Non-receipt of Merchandise
`4856`	Defective Merchandise
`4857`	Card Activated Telephone Transaction
`4859`	Services Not Rendered
`4860`	Credit Not Processed
`4862`	Counterfeit Transaction Magnetic Stripe POS Fraud
`4863`	Cardholder Does Not Recognize - Potential Fraud (US Only)
`4870`	Chip Liability Shift
`4871`	Chip & PIN Liability Shift
`4905`	Invalid Acquirer Reference Data on Second Presentment

Mastercard retrieval request reason codes

Code	Description
`43`	Legal/Fraud Imprint Verification
`42`	Potential Chargeback or Compliance Documentation
`41`	Legal/Fraud Signature Verification
`24`	Cardholder Inquiry - Unspecified/Other
`23`	Cardholder Inquiry - Needs for Personal Records
`22`	Cardholder Inquiry - Disagrees with Billing

Sample file

Below is a sample file with one of each chargeback type.

Type,ARN,Reference Number,Merchant Name,Merchant ID,Merchant Teminal ID,Message,Retrieval Reference Number,Reason Code,Card Number,Transaction Amount,Transaction Date,Transaction Time,Transaction Number,Merchant Code,Merchant Address 1,Merchant Address 2,Merchant Address 3,Respond by Date,Chain ID,HQ ID,Request Date,Debit Date,Reason,Notification Date
Retrieval Request,55160007100325900000865,I15942470010100,TEST MERCHANT,21232509,PNP0000123558208,,,6341,424242...4242,50,10-Apr-2017,,39574,V3,PO BOX 70,,"MARGERET RIVER WA, 6285",20-Jun-2017,,,01-Jun-2017,,Cardholder disputes transaction,
Fraud Debit,55160007100325900000881,F1715200004,TEST MERCHANT,21232509,27999123,Message2,,4808,411111...1111,50,10-Apr-2017,,,V3,PO BOX 70,,"MARGERET RIVER WA, 6285",,,,1-Jun-2017,,Requested/Required authorisation Not Obtained,
Chargeback Request,74564725100353103796469,V0702083,TEST MERCHANT,21232509,PNP0000123558208,,,75,444433...1111,7.22,9-Apr-2015,,19943,V3,PO BOX 70,,"MARGERET RIVER WA, 6285",20-Jun-2017,,,01-Jun-2017,,Cardholder Does Not Recognise,
Chargeback Debit,74564725100353103796469,V0702083,TEST MERCHANT,21232509,PNP0000123558208,,,75,424242...4242,7.22,9-Apr-2015,,19943,V3,PO BOX 70,,"MARGERET RIVER WA, 6285",,,,01-Jun-2017,15-Jun-2017,Cardholder Does Not Recognise,
Dispute Debit,55160007048353314718943,DTN7136EP10025,TEST MERCHANT,21232509,78488947,WBC TO WBC DTN7136EP10025,,4808,411111...1111,39.96,16-Feb-2017,,MT170480284000011106629,V3,PO BOX 70,,"MARGERET RIVER WA, 6285",,,,01-Jun-2017,15-Jun-2017,Requested/Required authorisation Not Obtained,15-Jun-2017
Dispute Request,55160007048353314718943,DTN7136EP10025,TEST MERCHANT,21232509,78488947,,,6321,444433...1111,39.96,16-Feb-2017,,MT170480284000011106629,V3,PO BOX 70,,"MARGERET RIVER WA, 6285",20-Jun-2017,,,01-Jun-2017,,Cardholder disputes transaction,

FAQ

How do I receive my file?

You will receive your file in QuickStream, or automatically via iLink. See Delivery Channel for more. If you do not have an existing delivery channel, contact your Westpac relationship team.

What if I don't receive a file?

eChargeback files are made available 8am on banking days. In the instance where a file is delayed and you have not received it by the end of the business day you may request support. See Support for more.

eChargeback files are delivered on banking days. Files are not delivered on weekends or NSW public holidays. The data for those days are included in the file you receive on the next banking day.

How do I read my file?

If you are using an application to automatically record and reconcile chargebacks, then you will map the fields in your application. See File Format for details.
If you are manually reconciling your chargebacks, open this file in Microsoft Excel.

Some chargeback transactions may be listed more than once. This occurs when it is received for different chargeback types, e.g. Retrieval and Debit.

Do I need to do anything if a new Merchant ID is added or removed?

No. The system will automatically select the active Merchant ID's for inclusion in your file. Chargeback data is provided for active Merchant ID's under a Chain ID or HQ ID. If you have not provided a Chain ID or HQ ID at the time of setup, then you will need to follow the onboarding process to add new Chain ID's or HQ ID's.

What do I do if I cannot identify a specific chargeback in the file or on my bank statement?

Please email your query to Westpac Merchants merchantchargebacks@westpac.com.au.

What are the contact numbers for the chargeback team?

For Disputes, Retrievals and Chargeback types, contact 1300 651 089.
For Fraud types, contact 1300 364 294.

What is a Reason Code?

The Reason Code is a number that represents the reason for an action in the chargeback process. See Reason Codes for more.

How do I use the Reason Code?

You may use the Reason Code to automate your systems reconciliation of chargebacks or create business rules after reconciling transactions.

What is the difference between Chargeback and Disputes?

Chargebacks are raised by a card-holder of a different bank. The resolution of a chargeback is coordinated by the scheme (Visa, Mastercard).
Disputes are raised by a card-holder of Westpac. The resolution of a dispute is coordinated by Westpac and not the scheme.