Reason code · Mastercard
Mastercard 4808: authorization-related chargeback
4808 means the bank says the charge didn’t have a valid approval: none at all, less than you charged, or one that expired before you processed the sale. The bank has 90 days to file. Most 4808s are prevented at the terminal, not won in a response.
What 4808 means
4808, Authorization-related Chargeback, covers sales that went through without a valid approval from the card’s bank. That includes:
- No approval at all.
- An approval for less than the amount you charged.
- An approval that expired before you processed the sale.
- Some approvals made after the bank had already declined the card, for online and phone sales.
Two older codes, 4812 (Account Number Not on File) and 4807 (Warning Bulletin), are handled under the same rules. Mastercard says both will eventually be eliminated. Late presentment, the old 4842, now lives here too as an expired approval.
What the customer told their bank
Often nothing. Mastercard’s rules don’t require a cardholder letter for this one. The bank can file it from its own approval records. The customer may not even know there’s a dispute.
Time limit
The bank has 90 calendar days from the transaction for most transactions. Your response is due on the date your processor gives you, which is shorter than the 45 days Mastercard gives your bank.
What proof matters
The approval itself: its code, date and amount, and the date you processed the sale. The question is simple. Was there an approval that covered this amount at the time you processed it?
Approvals expire
Under the chargeback rules, a preauthorization is protected for 30 calendar days after approval. A final authorization is protected for 7 in most countries. Hold a sale longer and the approval no longer protects you. This catches deposits, treatment plans and orders that ship late.
You can extend a preauthorization by getting a new one before the window closes. Once it has closed, the new approval has to cover the full amount, not just the difference.
The common mistake
Charging more than was approved, or processing a held sale weeks later on the old approval. If the amount grows or time runs out, get a fresh approval for the full amount.
Dispute Daddy builds this for you
Dispute Daddy lines up the approval and processing dates from your records and builds the response for you to approve. See how the method works.
