FAQs for ARNs & Billing Descriptors

1. ARN FAQs

1A. Can I Use ARNs That Start With 8?

No. All ARNs must begin with a 2 or 7.

ARNs that begin with 8 belong to Mastercard transactions. RDR supports Visa transactions only, so Mastercard ARNs are not valid.

If you attempt to add an ARN beginning with 8, you will see an error stating the ARN cannot be added.

1B. Can I Sign Up for RDR With Fewer than 4 ARNs?

No. You must have at least four ARNs to sign up for RDR. Verifi requires a minimum of four unique Visa ARNs to verify your account before approving the descriptor application.

If you have fewer than four ARNs, see this guide for alternate connection methods.

1C. What Length & Format Do ARNs Use?

ARNs contain 23 digits with no spaces or special characters.

1D. How long until an ARN appears after a refund?

ARNS typically appear within 24 – 48 hours.

If you do not see one after that window, contact your processor for help.

1E. Can I enroll in RDR without ARNs?

Yes. You can also enroll using your BIN (Bank Identification Number) and CAID (Card Acceptor ID).

To get your BIN and CAID (B&C), send your processor this message:

Hello. Can you please provide me with my BIN and CAID? I need them to activate Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) chargeback alerts from Visa.

If support says they cannot provide this, escalate the case to a specialist.

Once you get your BIN and CAID, open a support ticket with us and include the following:

Here are my BINs and CAID for [account or descriptor name(s)]:
BIN: [enter BIN(s)]
CAID: [enter CAID]

You do not need to provide your MID (Merchant ID). The MID does not affect RDR enrollment.

1F. Can I Use Old ARNs?

All ARNs must be from transactions within 90 days.

1G. Will Partially Refunded Transactions Provide ARNs?

Yes, if an order is partially refunded, it will provide an ARN.

 

2. Descriptor FAQs

2A. Why Can't I Add My Descriptor?

• It may be linked to another account in our system. Contact support for help.
• It may already be enrolled with another chargeback alerts provider.
  • You will receive an email with steps to request a release of the descriptor and / or BINs and CAID from that provider.

2B. How Do I Remove Descriptors & ARNs?

You cannot remove them yourself due to our integrations with Ethoca and Verifi.

Follow these points to unenroll (remove) your descriptor and / or ARNs:

• Billing descriptors:
  • (Fastest) Submit the unenrollment form.
  • Or contact support to unenroll them.
• ARNs: Contact support to remove them.

2C. How Do I Add More Billing Descriptors?

1. Go to Alerts in the left sidebar.
2. Open Configure from the dropdown.
3. Select the alert network and click + Enroll More Descriptors.
   1. If you do not need to add another integration, click Continue.
4. Enter the descriptor(s) and click Continue.
5. Wait for activation.

During this process, descriptors link to the alert network (RDR, CDRN, Ethoca), not to integrations.

See this guide for the time it takes to activate under different networks.

2E. Why Can't I Add More Descriptor(s) to RDR If I Signed Up Using my BIN and CAID?

Accounts enrolled in RDR using BIN and CAID cannot add descriptors themselves yet. We are working on a fix.

Contact our support and tell them:

Hello. I signed up for RDR using my BIN and CAID. I would like to add [add descriptor(s) here] to my account.