Compliance Case

A compliance case is a procedure under card network rules that lets an issuer or acquirer seek recovery from another member when it believes that member violated scheme rules and that the violation caused a financial loss, in situations where no chargeback reason code applies. Examples include transactions submitted with incorrect data that harmed the other party, merchants splitting a sale to avoid authorisation limits, or failures to follow rules on refunds or stored credentials. The filing member usually first sends a pre-compliance notice, giving the other side a chance to accept liability. If the matter is not resolved, the network reviews the evidence and decides, charging a fee to the losing party. Compliance cases are less common than chargebacks and arbitration, but they help enforce card network rules between members. The term is also used informally in AML teams for an investigation file opened on a customer or alert, usually managed in a case management system.