Directcash Payments : What is A Card Trace?

March 02, 2015

Our customers know that they can rely on DC Payments' ATMs for accurate, dependable performance. In the very rare instance that an ATM fails to dispense a cardholder's cash but debits the amount of the withdrawal from their account, DC Payments uses card traces to resolve the problem.

In most cases, DC Payments will immediately recognize a discrepancy between the amount the ATM debited from the cardholder's account and the amount of cash the cardholder actually received. In such cases, our processing system will automatically reverse the transaction, crediting the debited amount back to the customer's account. However, occasionally the reversal won't happen - sometimes because of a network communication failure - and a cardholder will dispute a transaction, for example.

In such cases, the cardholder's bank or the ATM provider can initiate a card trace. The financial institution involved will examine the ATM journal or a record of ATM activity to locate the error code confirming a non-dispense of funds. If the code is present, the cardholder will receive a credit. This process typically takes eight to 16 days.

Merchants can track this process using DC Payments' convenient Web Reporting service, which allows the merchant to see any disputed transactions. On the main page of our Web Reporting tool, in the Time Sensitive section, Request for Journal Information option, merchants can see if a card trace has been initiated by a cardholder and monitor card trace requests for any of their terminals. Pending trace requests remain on the merchant's web page for five days. If no response is received within this time, the trace inquiry will automatically default in favour of the cardholder, and an adjustment will be posted to the merchant's account.

The process is identical for disputes involving a prepaid card. The ATM provider or bank receives electronic notification of the disputed transaction, performs its investigation of the journal, and, if funds are to be returned, applies them to the customer's prepaid card.

In the case of any dispute, we discourage our merchants from giving cash directly to the cardholder. This prevents a cardholder from initiating a card trace investigation even after receiving a refund, as has happened in a few cases. Such "double-dipping" can result in the merchant being debited twice for the same transaction. If a merchant chooses to dispute a card trace, DC Payments will act on the merchant's behalf to attempt to retrieve funds from the cardholder.

If you're involved in an ATM transaction dispute, we encourage you to direct the cardholder to contact DC Payments at 1-888-414-3733. We can help begin the card trace process and ensure that all details related to the transaction are logged and retained.

Do you have questions about DC Payments' card trace services? We're here to help! Contact your DC Payments representative by email or by phone at 1-888-414-3733.