Visa modernizes dispute resolutions

Visa just introduced six new and enhanced dispute resolution tools that it says will reduce billions of dollars lost every year to inefficient processes. The expanded suite of dispute resolution services leverage artificial intelligence and other technologies in ways designed to help merchants and financial institutions cut administrative costs and reduce fraud-related losses, while redirecting those resources toward growth, innovation and customer experience.

Disputes are a persistent problem that drives up costs for merchants, acquirers and card issuers, while leaving consumers frustrated and confused. In 2025 alone Visa processed 106 million disputes globally, which, the card company said, represent a 35 percent increase since 2019.

"Dispute management is moving from a back-office function to a strategic priority, driven by rising volumes, regulatory scrutiny and growing pressure to protect customer experience," said Sam Abadir, research director for risk, compliance and financial crime at IDC Financial Insights. "Institutions that continue to manage disputes through fragmented, manual processes are leaving recoverable revenue on the table and absorbing costs that modern workflows could eliminate."

New tools for merchants

Visa developed three new and/or updated tools specifically for merchants. They support efficient dispute resolution, revenue recovery and dispute prevention. Specifically, Visa noted:

• A new dispute resolution network streamlines pre-dispute handling so merchants can resolve potential disputes before they escalate, thus accelerating resolution and reducing operational burdens. The network is operating in pilot mode now; broad market expansion is planned for later this year.

• Visa's dispute recovery manager enhances the representment process for merchants, managing disputes with generative AI responses and providing win prediction scoring to maximize recovery. It, too, is operating in pilot mode at present with full roll-out planned for later this year.

• An update to Visa's order insight tool (Compelling Evidence 3.0) helps prevent unnecessary disputes by surfacing transaction details to clear up confusion over legitimate charges. It allows merchants to share evidence with banks regarding suspicious transactions, with the goal of further cutting into the prevalence of friendly fraud.

Issuers and acquires getting help, too

New and enhanced dispute resolution tools for acquirers and issuers put more power in the hands of agents, streamline reviews, and feature an AI-powered dispute platform. They are:

• A dispute intelligence tool available now, powered by predictive AI models, which aids in case-by-case analyses with network-wide foresight to help agents make more informed decisions.

• Dispute doc analyzer, which uses AI to enable faster, more confident dispute resolution outcomes. Developed for issuers, this will provide summaries of merchant documents including key data elements in structured format to help analysts with time-consuming manual reviews and dispute decisions. It's expected to be available shortly, in April 2026. A doc analyzer tool for acquirers (generally available now) facilitates the ability to auto-populate response questionnaires on behalf of their merchants.

• A new dispute case manager tool incorporates AI functionality to unify workflows into a centralized platform for managing disputes across a variety of card networks, from intake to resolution. Visa lists its "general availability" as 2026.

"Disputes put strain on every part of the payments ecosystem, frustrating consumers, while driving cost and complexity for merchants and financial institutions," said Andres Torre, president of value-added services at Visa. "When outdated technology cannot keep pace, fraud goes undetected. Our expanded suite of dispute services give clients the visibility they need to focus on what matters most: serving customers, launching new products and growing their businesses."

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