Cards & disputes

Cards covers issuing debit and credit cards, prepaid programs, the switch that authorises card transactions, and the chargeback lifecycle when a customer disputes one.

Where: the Cards & Prepaid group.

Cards and prepaid

• Cards / Card activity: issue and manage debit cards through their lifecycle, and see authorisations and clearing.
• Card loans: credit-card accounts and their statements.
• Prepaid: prepaid card programs and loads.
• Switch, the ISO 8583 switch: session status, settlement reconciliation, and national switch (ZIPIT) integration.

The dispute (chargeback) lifecycle

Cards & Prepaid → Disputes manages chargeback cases through a defined lifecycle. Each case shows its reference, amount, reason code and category, scheme case reference, provisional-credit status, stage and outcome.

The stages run:

INTAKE → PROVISIONAL_CREDIT → CHARGEBACK → REPRESENTMENT → PRE_ARBITRATION → ARBITRATION → RESOLVED

(or WITHDRAWN). Row actions are gated by the current stage:

Action	Meaning
Provisional credit	Credit the customer while the case runs.
Retrieval request	Ask the acquirer for the transaction record.
Package	Assemble the chargeback package document.
Chargeback	File it, opening the scheme case.
Representment	The merchant's rebuttal (needs the Chargeback stage).
Escalate	Move to pre-arbitration or arbitration.
Resolve	Close with an outcome: won, lost or partial (optionally writing off the loss).
Withdraw	Drop the case.

Process network inbox drains incoming scheme messages (representments, pre-arbitration responses, arbitration rulings) through the same lifecycle, with the associated fee accounting. The case drawer shows the representment deadline, the scheme case and its message exchange log, the package document, and the arbitration-fee status (recovered or expensed).

AI assist

A dispute case has an embedded copilot that can recommend representing versus accepting, based on the evidence. It is read-only until an officer applies the recommendation, with sign-off.

Key terms

Chargeback

The customer's card issuer reversing a transaction on their behalf.

Provisional credit

A temporary credit to the customer while the dispute is investigated.

Representment

The merchant re-presenting the transaction with evidence, contesting the chargeback.

Pre-arbitration / arbitration

The escalation stages when the two sides do not agree, ending in a scheme ruling.

Roles that do this work

Task	Permission	Typical role
Read cards / disputes	card:read, dispute:read	Operations Officer
Operate a dispute	dispute:operate	Operations Officer
Manage prepaid	prepaid:read	Operations Officer