Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 (CE3.0)

Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 (CE 3.0) is a program launched by Visa in April 2023 that allows merchants to fight fraud-related chargebacks (reason code 10.4 - Fraud: Card-Absent Environment) by providing specific data proving a customer's legitimate transaction history. When merchants submit the required evidence, Visa may prevent the chargeback or shift liability to the issuing bank.

To qualify for CE 3.0 protection, merchants must provide at least two of these data points showing a previous undisputed transaction with the same cardholder:

Additionally, merchants must prove the current disputed transaction was completed at least 120 days after the first successful transaction with this customer.

When a fraud chargeback is filed, merchants submit CE 3.0 evidence demonstrating a pattern of legitimate transactions from the same customer. If the evidence meets Visa's requirements, the chargeback may be prevented, or liability shifts to the issuing bank, protecting the merchant from the loss.

CE 3.0 helps merchants combat friendly fraud and legitimate transaction disputes by leveraging transaction history data. It's particularly valuable for subscription services and repeat-purchase businesses where customer transaction patterns can be established.