NA: Non-Receipt of Cash from ATM

For merchants who run ATMs or process these transactions, NA disputes can become a problem very fast. You need to know how to manage them because each one represents lost revenue until you can prove that the cash is actually dispensed correctly. The evidence you get together and how fast you respond will determine if you hold onto that money or lose it to the dispute.

Discover NA code works differently from other card networks. They have their own set of rules for what evidence actually counts and how fast you need to submit it. Miss their deadline or send the wrong documents, and you automatically lose the dispute – that’s money you lose directly.

Most merchants miss how much these disputes add up over time. A few hundred dollars here and there might not seem like much. But if you multiply that across multiple ATMs and a few disputes per month, the revenue loss adds up to quite a bit. The best strategy is to know what Discover wants to see as proof and have systems already in place to capture that information before disputes even happen.

How It Works

Most cardholders have no idea what they’re walking into when they call Discover to report an ATM that kept their money without giving them any cash back. It’s pretty frustrating – you enter your PIN, ask for your cash, and then nothing comes out even though your balance goes down. Cardholders usually call Discover within a day or 2 to complain, and this starts with reason code NF and begins the whole dispute process.

Discover acts faster once it gets a complaint like this. They’ll get all the transaction info immediately and check if the ATM authorization actually went through on their end. The system automatically scans for any warning signs that might explain the problem – issues like a few withdrawal attempts in a row or other unusual activity around that same time. The merchant who runs that ATM gets an official dispute notice sent straight through the payment processor.

Merchants who operate ATMs don’t have much time. You have roughly 10 days to respond with evidence that the cash came out. The best strategy is to get the ATM’s electronic journal – this record lists every last transaction down to the second. Security camera footage can be helpful evidence if you have it. The ATM’s cash cassette records are also helpful because they can show if the right amount of money was actually left in the machine during that exact transaction.

Discover looks at all the evidence that each side sends in and makes its final choice on who’s responsible for the missing cash. They’ll check if the ATM balanced correctly at the end of that business day and if any other customers reported similar problems around that same time. The whole process usually takes 45 to 60 days, though harder cases can take longer.

How it Affects Chargeback Prevention

When an ATM fails to dispense cash but still charges a customer’s account, that’s when merchants run into big problems. These disputes pile up quickly without the right systems in place to stop them from happening in the first place.

The best defense starts with complete ATM logs that prove what happened during each transaction. Track the exact time, the amount the customer requested, and whether the cash was successfully dispensed. Surveillance cameras are just as important in this process. Make sure they capture the cash-dispensing area well and store those recordings for at least 90 days.

Regular maintenance directly protects your bottom line. A machine that jams frequently or miscounts bills will generate disputes that cost money in fees and damage your chargeback ratio over time. The strategy is to schedule maintenance checks before problems start showing up instead of waiting for customer complaints to roll in.

Each chargeback can cost between $20 and $100 in fees alone. But that’s not even the worst part. The true damage happens once your chargeback ratio climbs above the acceptable thresholds that payment processors monitor. These providers watch chargeback numbers very closely and may increase fees or terminate merchant accounts if the ratio gets too high.

ATM performance data can show troublesome patterns before they turn into expensive problems that hurt your business. Watch for particular machines or time periods that generate more disputes than others. Maybe one ATM needs some replacement parts, or maybe weekend maintenance checks would catch problems before they affect customers and cost money.

Example Scenarios

Sometimes an ATM just decides it doesn’t want to cooperate anymore, and customers will finish their entire transaction but walk away empty-handed. The first customer might think they did something wrong or maybe hit the wrong buttons. When the second and third customers come to you with the exact same problem, you know there’s a mechanical issue that needs attention right away.

Speed is everything in this situation. You should shut down that ATM immediately and get your service provider on the phone. Write down each complaint along with the exact time and the amount each customer tried to withdraw.

A very different situation that actually happens all the time deals with chargebacks from customers who claim they never received their money. Let’s say a customer files a chargeback for $300 that they insist never came out of your ATM last Tuesday. You pull up the camera footage from that day, and there they are, plain as day, right in front of the machine. Watch them count the bills not once but twice before they fold them up and stick them in their wallet. The ATM transaction journal shows that the cash came out without any problems, and the cassette balance matches what should be there.

All the records and security cameras pay for themselves in moments like these. You send the video footage and the ATM transaction log to challenge the chargeback, and most banks will side with the business owner when the evidence is this obvious. Just make sure that the cameras are working and recording like they should before anything goes wrong.

Requirements and Timeframes

A customer files a dispute about not receiving cash from your ATM, and timing deadlines matter. Cardholders get 120 days from the exact transaction date to report the problem to Discover. But if they submit a retrieval form first, they get an extra 30 days on top of the original window.

Once Discover sends a notification about a dispute, there’s usually just 10 business days to file your response. Miss that deadline and the dispute is lost automatically, and you’ll pay for the money – it doesn’t matter if the claim turns out to be valid or completely bogus.

Discover expects strong evidence for fighting these disputes. Transaction logs from your ATM are the most basic requirement that they want to see. They also expect surveillance footage if cameras are installed around the machine. You need to show proof that the machine actually dispensed the cash as intended or that a refund was already processed for that particular customer.

ATM record retention is an area where you want to be extra careful. Keep your transaction records for at least 18 months if you want to stay completely protected. Video footage works a bit differently, though – it needs to stay in your system for a minimum of 90 days, and even that’s barely enough. I see merchants all the time who believe that 30 days will be enough for their needs. But that timeframe barely covers the first dispute window that customers have available. These records need to stay accessible and ready to pull up in case you might need them later.

Recent Discover updates have made the evidence laws stricter than they were before. They now want much clearer timestamps on the records. The surveillance footage needs to be wide enough so it shows the ATM screen and the cash dispensing area whenever possible.