How an issuer inquiry works
The cardholder calls the bank or taps a transaction in its app. The issuer, or its system, asks for details of the purchase: what was bought, when, how it was delivered and how to reach the merchant.
Most inquiries are now answered by machine. Verifi's Order Insight, on the Visa side, and Ethoca Consumer Clarity, from Mastercard, return merchant and order data to the issuer's app or call-centre screen in real time. The older form is the retrieval request, a formal request through the scheme for a copy of the sales record.
Under Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0, the reply can also settle liability. If it shows qualifying earlier purchases by the same cardholder, the fraud dispute is blocked.
What an issuer inquiry means for a merchant
An inquiry is the cheapest point at which to stop a dispute, because nothing has been debited yet. The merchant, or its payment provider, needs order data ready to return within seconds: item descriptions, delivery status, customer account details and refund history.
Some payment providers and card networks use the word inquiry for a formal first stage with a response deadline, after which an unanswered case becomes a chargeback. The provider's notification says which kind it is.
Issuer inquiry, alert or chargeback?
- Pre-dispute alert
- Tells the merchant that the cardholder has already complained, and invites a refund. An inquiry only asks for information.
- Chargeback
- The filed dispute: money is debited and the scheme's deadlines start.
Where an issuer inquiry shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- Fraud & riskReal-time fraud scoring, limits and case management, with the risk engines you already trust.
- NotificationsEmail, SMS, push and in-app messages in your brand, through the providers you choose.
Platforms that need it
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- Compelling Evidence 3.0 overview and FAQ, read 13 October 2026 (Verifi, a Visa solution)
- Consumer Clarity API documentation, read 13 October 2026 (Mastercard Developers)
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.