Visa Reason Code 78

Reason Code 78: Ineligible Transaction (International only)/ Service Code Violation

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Description

Card Issuer complaints authorization code was not accomplished.

The Merchant completed a Magnetic-Strip read transaction on a Visa Electron Card or a Visa Card in a registered positive Authorization Code account range and did not obtain Authorization.

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Most Common Causes

• In Europe Region (Intraregional Transaction), a Card with a Service Code that indicated either the card was invalid for the transaction type or online authorization was required.
• Authorization was not accessed on a card in a service code limit.

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Evidence Required

• Documentation to prove that the Service Code was valid for the Transaction or Authorization was obtained.
• Documentation to show that the account was not in a registered positive Authorization account range. This does not apply to a Visa Electron Card Transaction.

Common Examples:

1. Linda lives in Amsterdam and is visiting her grandmother in Rome. She buys a beautiful necklace for her on the way in Austria. After a few days, the merchant from whom Linda bought the necklace receives a chargeback from her bank under the Reason Code 78: Ineligible Transaction/ Service Code Violation. The merchant gets confused and offers to provide the documentation proving that Linda’s card was a valid card and that authorization was approved at the point of sale.
2. George is travelling from the U.S. to London for holidays with his family. They go to an amusement park where George buys the tickets using his U.S. credit card instead of the travel card by mistake. Few days later, the merchant receives a chargeback from George’s bank under the Reason Code 78: Ineligible Transaction (International only)/ Service Code Violation.

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