How do TC40s and TC15s impact my merchant account?

TC40s and TC15s are Visa's fraud reporting codes that can destroy your merchant account even when you're completely innocent. These reports count toward your fraud-to-sales ratio that Visa monitors religiously. If you cross their thresholds you're automatically enrolled in expensive monitoring programs with monthly fines. With cside's device fingerprinting, we prevent TC40s from being generated in the first place.

What is chargeback fraud and how does it hurt my business?

Chargeback fraud is when customers report a transaction to their bank or payment provider that claims was unauthorized, yet was legitimate. This can lead to your merchant account being flagged as high-risk, and with too high of a chargeback rate can lead to your account being terminated.

What makes device fingerprinting effective against chargeback fraud?

Device fingerprinting creates a unique identity for every visitor to your website by analyzing details given by their browser, device, and how they behave on the site. This fingerprint remains consistent across sites, even if a customer changes their account or card, giving you the upper hand in proving they truly were the one who made the purchase.

How can I prove that a customer actually made a purchase they're disputing?

With cside's device fingerprinting technology, every purchase can be linked to a unique identifier that tracks the customer's behavior through their entire journey on your site. You'll have a comprehensive record of everything they used to make the purchase - giving you concrete evidence proving that their device was used for the purchase.

cside Chargeback Evidence Protection

Stop Chargeback Fraud with Device Evidence

Block friendly fraud with Compelling Evidence 3.0. Keep VAMP ratios below thresholds with device fingerprinting.

You ship the order, the customer gets it, and then calls the bank to say: "I didn't make that purchase". That's friendly fraud, and it's been skyrocketing. Visa is about to make VAMP ratios even tighter, but they've also given merchants a new line of defense: Compelling Evidence 3.0, a way to block disputes before they become official charge backs.

With cside:

Provide compelling evidence using device fingerprinting

Recover revenue and cut down charge back fees altogether

Keep VAMP ratios within thresholds to avoid penalties

Don't Pay for Someone Else's Shopping Spree

We'll show you how device fingerprinting works in practice.

"By joining forces with cside, we're helping merchants address friendly fraud and false claims with browser-side device data."

- Monica Eaton, CEO, Chargebacks911

How it works

Device Fingerprinting as CE 3.0 Evidence

Visa is Tightening Merchant Ratios:

By 2026, Visa is dropping dispute ratios to

0.9% for merchants

0.5% for acquirers (banks, financial institutions)

Back in 2024, these ratios were 2.2% for merchants and 1.5% for acquirers. They've been cut by more than half and expected to tighten further. Since VAMP ratios include both TC40 (fraudulent disputes) and TC15's (non-fraudulent disputes), companies that were previously in a safe threshold are now feeling the pressure for protection.

Compelling Evidence 3.0 Requirements:

You can lower your count of TC15's with Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 program. With the right evidence you can block disputes before they become an officially filed charge back (TC15).

Compelling Evidence 3.0 Requirements

Prior undisputed purchases

Proof of 2 previous transactions from the same merchant. Previous transactions must be undisputed.

Data points needed to match prior purchases to disputed transaction

At least two of the following:

A. IP Address OR Device Fingerprint

B. User ID (email address, login ID)

C. Shipping Address

Timeframe of previous transactions

Transactions provided as proof must be at least 120 days* old but no older than 365 days (calculated from the current disputed transaction date).

How cside Contributes to CE 3.0 Evidence

Fingerprint every device your visitors use and generate a unique hash

When disputes are generated, cside fingerprinting contributes to CE 3.0 data

Visa/bank will check the device match in accordance with CE 3.0

Raised disputes are auto-blocked and never hit your VAMP ratios (TC15)

Visual Example of Device Fingerprinting for CE 3.0:

Device fingerprinting example for Compelling Evidence 3.0

Note: Matched transactions must be undisputed and within the 120 day / 365 day time window mentioned above.

Is cside's Device Fingerprinting Privacy Compliant?

Yes, cside fingerprinting is built from non-sensitive permission-free signals.

What This Tells Visa:

These evidence points show Visa that the transaction wasn't random or suspicious. The disputed purchase is linked back to earlier purchases made from the same trusted device.

Why cside Chargeback Evidence Outperforms Alternatives

v.s. IP Addresses and Device ID's:

IP Addresses: An IP can change any time you switch networks or locations. With VPNs and privacy browsers now common, relying on IPs for dispute evidence just doesn't hold up.

Device IDs: Basic device IDs (like IMEI on mobile) don't exist across all devices and are easy to reset or spoof.

What Is a Device Fingerprint?

Device Fingerprint: In the context of VAMP (and online payment processing), a device fingerprint is a unique identifier created by combining dozens of software and hardware signals from a browser or device. A fingerprint produces a consistent "hash" that can reliably link transactions across sessions or accounts.

Comparison Table:

Feature

cside Device ID

Traditional Evidence Methods

Generates a unique hash for laptops, desktops and mobiles (96% accuracy)

Uses Mobile IMEI only
Desktops/laptops: often lack a reliable ID

Builds the hash from non-sensitive, permission-free signals

IPs, cookies, and other PII data

Same hash shows that the customer's device was used across multiple transactions

Evidence is fragmented
(different identifiers per platform)

One client-side script, hash delivered via API or webhook

Multiple tools to gather device details

The Revenue Impact of Fingerprinting Evidence

Every blocked dispute is money saved. According to CNBC, businesses lose $100B+ per year to "friendly fraud". In addition to painful processing fees your business loses inventory and time. Fingerprinting evidence makes it easier to retain the sales revenue that you've earned.

How Does Fingerprinting Evidence Reduce My Chargebacks?

Fingerprinting can serve as evidence to save your team from the formal dispute response process. Let's look at where device fingerprinting fits into Visa's Order Insight program:

Visa Order Insight program flow with device fingerprinting

With the right data, you can achieve more "blocked disputes". At this stage your VAMP ratios (TC15 + TC40s) are not impacted as the cases are considered to be closed early.

What This Means for Your Bottom Line

Reduce Operational Costs

Avoid charge back fees (around $20/dispute), technical penalties (up to $250), and appeal costs.

Protect Your VAMP Ratios (TC15s)

With CE 3.0, disputed friendly fraud transactions that are resolved early don't count as TC15s in Visa's VAMP ratio.

Lower Risk of Restrictions

Staying below a VAMP ratio of 0.5% prevents account restrictions or termination.

Recover Lost Revenue

Merchant revenue vanishes to "that wasn't me" claims. Win back sales to stop the profit leak.

Talk to a solution expert

We'll show you how device fingerprinting stops friendly fraud.

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the product.

Unblock revenue with c/side

Only c/side delivers

A Client-side evidence to prove the customer was the one who made the purchase

Integrated with Chargeback 911

Compliant with applicable privacy laws

Without impacting user experience

Contact us

Our friendly team would love to hear from you.