Also called: TC40, TC40 Data Report, Visa TC40 Report, SAFE, SAFE Report, Mastercard SAFE Report, System to Avoid Fraud Effectively
What TC40 and SAFE reports are
A TC40 is a Visa fraud report. SAFE, short for System to Avoid Fraud Effectively, is Mastercard’s equivalent. An issuing bank files one when it suspects a cardholder did not authorize a transaction. The record passes through the network to the acquiring side, but you are not part of the initial reporting process.
A fraud report is not a chargeback. It does not debit your account or return money to the cardholder by itself. A chargeback is a separate formal dispute that can take the transaction amount and a dispute fee from your business. A TC40 or SAFE report can exist without that dispute ever being filed.
A fraud report does not move money, but Visa can count it even when no chargeback follows.
How reports affect your risk
The main direct consequence is network monitoring. Since April 1, 2026, Visa’s US Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) uses a ratio of fraud reports plus disputes divided by settled card-not-present transactions. Its Excessive threshold is 1.5%, with at least 1,500 fraud reports and disputes in a month. A TC40 counts even if no chargeback follows.
A transaction reported in both a TC40 and a Visa dispute record, called a TC15, counts twice in VAMP’s total. Visa excludes qualifying cases under Compelling Evidence 3.0. If your business crosses the threshold, the acquirer faces monitoring consequences and can take steps that affect your ability to process payments.
A report can arrive before a chargeback, giving you an earlier signal to investigate a suspicious order or recurring billing problem. It is not a request to submit evidence, and responding to the report does not erase it from network fraud data. An authenticated 3-D Secure transaction can still receive a fraud report.
What they mean for your costs
TC40 and SAFE records have no direct transaction charge identified in the research. The financial exposure comes from a related chargeback, the cost of goods or services already delivered, and any monitoring response if reported fraud pushes your business over a network threshold.
A refund does not automatically remove a fraud report already filed. Review suspicious transactions promptly, and make sure your order, refund, and fraud records are connected so you can spot patterns and respond before more orders are affected.
Where they appear on your statement
TC40 and SAFE reports do not appear as line items on a merchant processing statement. If your processor or acquirer shares report records, they might show individual transactions or just a monthly count. The research does not establish a standard report fee or statement label, so treat a charge called a monitoring or fraud-report fee as a separate billing item to verify, not as the report itself.
What you can actually change
- Track fraud reports. Ask for TC40 or SAFE records by transaction and month, then compare them with your settled online sales and chargebacks. The monthly counts help you see whether your Visa VAMP ratio is approaching 1.5%.
- Investigate repeat patterns. Match reports to order details, billing descriptors, refunds, and customer contacts. Use repeated fraud signals to improve checkout screening, velocity checks, or 3-D Secure decisions.
- Review billed add-ons. Look for monitoring, risk, or fraud-reporting fees and compare each amount with its contract description. The reports themselves do not move transaction funds, and the research does not establish a standard report fee.
Frequently asked questions
Is a TC40 report the same as a chargeback?
No. A TC40 is a Visa fraud record filed by an issuing bank, and it does not move money. A chargeback is a separate formal dispute that can debit the transaction amount and add a dispute fee.
Does every TC40 or SAFE report become a chargeback?
No. A report can exist without a formal dispute. Visa also counts TC40 fraud reports in VAMP, even when no chargeback follows, so the absence of a debit does not mean the report has no monitoring impact.
Do TC40 and SAFE reports appear on my processing statement?
No standard statement line is established for these reports. The reports themselves do not appear as statement entries. Your acquirer or processor can share report details, but the available format ranges from transaction-level records to a monthly count.
Can a refund remove a TC40 or SAFE report?
A refund after a report is filed does not automatically erase it from network fraud data. Refund suspicious orders promptly and keep the transaction and refund records linked, but do not treat a refund as proof that the report was removed.