What Visa 10.4 means
Visa 10.4, "Other Fraud: Card Absent Environment", is the code a cardholder's bank uses when the cardholder says they didn't make an online, card-not-present payment. It's the most common fraud code for software, online courses and memberships.
On Stripe the dispute shows the reason Fraudulent, with 10.4 as the network reason code.
Many 10.4 disputes aren't stolen cards at all. A customer forgets the purchase, a family member used the card, or someone wants their money back after using the product. That's why the evidence of use matters so much.
What wins it
- 3D Secure: if the payment was authenticated, fraud liability usually shifts to the card issuer.
- Card checks: CVC and address matches at checkout.
- Use after the purchase: logins, lessons completed, downloads and features used, with dates and times. Use after the dispute date is especially strong.
- The same IP address or device at checkout and in later logins, which ties the person using the product to the person who paid.
- Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 (below).
Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0
Compelling Evidence 3.0 applies only to Visa 10.4. You can point to a history of undisputed purchases by the same cardholder:
- at least two earlier paid, undisputed payments on the same card, made 120 to 364 days before the disputed payment;
- matching the disputed payment on two main identifiers (purchase IP address, or device ID), or one main and one secondary (customer account ID, email address, shipping address).
Stripe flags eligible disputes. For subscriptions you often already have those earlier payments; the hard part is matching the identifiers, which usually live in your product, not in Stripe. More detail in Stripe "Fraudulent" disputes.
When to accept
If the account was never used after the payment, there's no 3D Secure and no earlier payments on the card, the case is weak. Accepting saves Stripe's counter fee, and it may really be fraud: block the card or customer in Radar.
Every evidence field, the file limits and a worked example of a 10.4 response are in the Stripe dispute evidence guide.
FAQ
Is Visa 10.4 the same as Stripe's "Fraudulent" reason?
Yes. Stripe files Visa 10.4 under its Fraudulent reason and shows 10.4 as the network reason code on the dispute.
Do I need 3D Secure to win a 10.4 dispute?
No. 3D Secure helps, but use of the product after the purchase, from the same IP address or device, plus earlier undisputed payments, is what usually wins it for digital products.
Does Compelling Evidence 3.0 apply to Mastercard?
No, it's a Visa rule for code 10.4. Mastercard's card-not-present fraud code is 4837.