Retrieval Request (Inquiry) vs. Chargeback: Merchant Guide

Most businesses know what a chargeback is. But few understand the step that comes before it.

A credit card inquiry, also known as a retrieval request, is a formal request from the cardholder’s bank that asks merchants to provide documentation about a specific transaction. 

It’s not a chargeback. No money moves, and your account isn’t debited.

This is more of a records request than a dispute. But ignoring a retrieval request or responding the wrong way can turn into a chargeback that you might not be able to fight (or you’ll be fighting with one arm tied behind your back).

Terminology varies between different processors and networks. You might see:

• Inquiry
• Retrieval request
• Request for information
• Transaction documentation request

Regardless of what it’s called, the merchant risk is the same. If you miss the request or send incomplete documentation, the case can escalate into something more costly for your business. 

How an Inquiry Differs From a Chargeback

A chargeback is a forced reversal of funds. When a chargeback is filed, the merchant’s account gets debited, fees apply, and the dispute counts against your chargeback ratio whether you win or lose.

Inquiries work differently. If a cardholder contacts their bank about a charge they don’t recognize, the bank may send a retrieval request to your acquirer before escalating to a full dispute.

No financial adjustments are made to your account at this stage. The request is purely informational.

There are plenty of instances where cardholders don’t recognize charges that they authorized and wouldn’t dispute. Banks obviously don’t want to reverse funds on legitimate charges. So the inquiry or retrieval request is the merchant’s way to clear things up.

Even though nothing has been disputed quite yet and no money has moved, your response is crucial. 

What Happens If You Don’t Respond

Ignoring a retrieval request is risky.

If you fail to respond within the required timeframe, or if the documentation is incomplete or unclear, the inquiry can escalate into a non-representable chargeback. Which means the chargeback is difficult or impossible to dispute.

You can lose the transaction amount with little opportunity to submit evidence or fight back, even if the charge was completely legitimate.

Processors often warn of these consequences somewhere in their merchant guides. For example,  Stripe’s documentation on retrieval requests says that if you don’t respond in time, you almost always get hit with a chargeback and you effectively forfeit your best chance to stop the dispute before funds are pulled from your account.

Fiserv’s merchant guide on dispute best practices echoes this claim. They say that an inquiry improperly fulfilled can result in non-representable chargebacks, and accounts may be debited as a result. 

Simply put, a missed retrieval request will likely result in a chargeback that you’ll probably lose. The inquiry is your best opportunity to resolve this issue before a transaction reaches the dispute stage. 

How the Inquiry Process Works

When an inquiry comes, it follows a defined path before it ever reaches you (the merchant). Here’s what that process looks like:

1. The customer or issuing bank initiates the request (typically on an unrecognized charge, or transaction that doesn’t immediately seem like fraud or something that warrants an immediate chargeback).
2. Requests are transmitted through the card network to the merchant’s acquiring bank. 
3. Once received by the acquirer, they enrich it with transaction data that they already have on file. 
4. If your acquirer can complete the request themselves using existing records, they fulfill it directly to the network and the inquiry is resolved without the merchant being contacted at all.
5. If they can’t, the request is forwarded to the merchant and you’re responsible for providing required transaction documentation.

Typically, your acquiring bank will tell you what you need to submit. Once you send it back to them, they’ll fulfill the request to the network on your behalf. 

The key thing to understand here is that your acquirer is the first line of defense. But if they can’t resolve it on their own, responsibility shifts to the merchant. 

How Long You Have to Respond

Response deadlines are strict and vary by network.

• American Express: 12 calendar days
• All Other Credit Networks: 20 calendar days
• Signature Debit: 20 calendar days
• PIN Debit: 10 calendar days
• EBT: 6 calendar days

If you miss these windows, it can mean you lose your right to fight the chargeback that follows. 

What to Include in Your Response

An inquiry is not won or lost in the same way as a chargeback representment. The “burden of proof” isn’t presented as if you’re trying to win an argument. 

With retrieval requests, the cardholder is simply asking what the charge was for. And if you can answer that clearly and quickly, the case often ends here.

Your processor or acquirer will typically give you the specifics of what’s required in the response, but that typically includes:

• Copies of all documentation that supports the transaction
• Proof of delivery or proof of services rendered
• Refund information (if a refund has already been issued or is being issued in response)

There are also certain administrative guidelines for these responses.

For example, you’ll likely need to include the original inquiry notification and case number with your documentation. If you’re submitting multiple pages, the inquiry case number should be on every page. 

Those details may seem minor, but they must be followed exactly as instructed by your acquirer. 

How Retrieval Requests Vary by Network

It’s worth noting that retrieval requests are not universal, and their use has actually narrowed quite a bit over the past several years.

Visa officially sunset its traditional retrieval request process back in October 2020, pointing merchants toward alternative tools like Order Insight, allowing issuers to pull transaction details digitally without going through additional channels. So for most merchants, traditional retrieval requests aren’t part of the main process, though this can still appear in certain categories (like healthcare). 

Mastercard uses retrieval requests for its Maestro debit network and Mastercard Collaboration Refund Requests, but not for standard credit card transactions.

American Express and Discover still use them in meaningful ways. Discover almost exclusively calls them “inquiries” instead of retrieval requests. But both of these networks can issue them before escalating transactions in question to a formal dispute/chargeback.

Inquiries are most prevalent with PIN debit networks. Accel, Interlink, NYCE, PULSE, SHAZAM, and STAR all use them, each with their own reason codes. 

Even though they aren’t used as much for Visa or Mastercard credit card transactions (where most of your volume probably comes from), you’ll still encounter these if your business processes Amex, Discover, and PIN debit transactions.  

Inquiry Reason Codes by Network

Every retrieval request inquiry comes with a reason code that tells you why the request was initiated. 

Accel

• 6021–01: Transaction documentation request

American Express

• 127, 176: Not recognized by customer
• 147, 177, 693: No customer authorization
• 155, 158, 173, 175, 680, 684, 004, 021, 024, 059, 061, 062, 063: Customer dispute
• 154, 170: Customer canceled
• 169: Correct currency code not provided
• 193: Fraud investigation
• 691: Request for copy

Discover

• 6021–01, 6023–01: Transaction documentation request
• 6005–03, 6042–03: Transaction documentation request due to customer dispute
• 6041–04: Transaction documentation request due to fraud analysis
• 6040–05: Good faith request

Interlink

• 27: Healthcare substantiation request

Maestro

• 05: Customer not in agreement with amount billed
• 21: Does not recognize transaction
• 23: Need for personal records
• 41: Fraud investigation
• 42: Potential chargeback or compliance documentation
• 43: Healthcare substantiation inquiry request

Mastercard

• 42: Mastercard Collaboration Refund Requests
• 43: Healthcare request

NYCE

• 01: Transaction documentation request

PayPal Network

• 20: Customer inquiry for merchandise or service not received
• 21: Customer inquiry for merchandise/services not provided

PULSE

• 6023: Transaction document request
• 6035: Original paper copy request
• 6041: Transaction document request for fraud analysis
• 6042: Transaction documentation request due to customer dispute

SHAZAM

• 01: Transaction documentation request

STAR

• 1000: Customer inquiry
• 1100: Fraud investigation
• 1200: Healthcare

Visa

• 27: Healthcare IIAS auto-sub data inquiry request

Wex

• 43: Transaction document request
• 40, 60: Customer dispute
• 1B, LP: Potential fraud

Voyager

• 0, 1: Transaction document request

Why Inquiries Are Worth Taking Seriously

Retrieval requests don’t carry the immediate financial impact of a chargeback, as funds haven’t been forcibly removed from your account (at least not yet). And they don’t count against your chargeback ratio either (again, not yet).

But ignoring them is the wrong call, as if you don’t respond, they’ll escalate to a formal dispute and a chargeback will likely ensue. 

In some cases, you may not even be able to fight the chargebacks that stemmed from an inquiry, even if they were legit, as the window has already closed. 

Another reason why you should take them seriously is that an inquiry is often the first sign that a customer is confused about a charge.

This could mean your billing descriptor is unclear or something about your billing policies aren’t resonating with your customers. If you’re getting lots of these from multiple customers, it’s a good idea to step back and try to see how you can clear up this confusion in your billing process. 

Final Thoughts

Inquiries and chargebacks are totally separate events in the dispute lifecycle. But they’re connected in an important way. 

Disputes come first, and they can often be handled directly by your acquirer without you having to get involved at all. And if they do come, the case can end here as long as you respond appropriately and within the proper timeframe. 

These cost you nothing if you handle them correctly.

But if you ignore them, miss the response window, or fail to submit proper documentation, you can lose the transaction amount, get hit with a chargeback fee, and get a mark against your chargeback ratio. All with little ability to appeal.