Visa launches AI-powered suite to tackle rising payment disputes
TL;DR: Visa has introduced six AI-powered dispute resolution tools split between merchants and financial institutions. The move comes as the payments giant processed a record 106 million disputes globally in 2025 — a 35% increase since 2019.
Payment disputes remain one of the most expensive friction points in digital commerce, costing businesses billions annually in administrative overhead and fraud-related losses. Visa’s new suite targets the problem from both sides of the transaction.
What the tools do
The merchant-facing tools include a resolution network designed to catch disputes before they escalate, a recovery manager that uses generative AI to automate responses and predict win likelihood, and Order Insight — a service that surfaces transaction details to clear up confusion over legitimate charges.
For issuers and acquirers, Visa has built a predictive AI tool for case-by-case dispute analysis, a document analyser that summarises merchant evidence into structured formats, and a centralised case manager that works across multiple card networks.
Why it matters for UK payments
The 35% rise in disputes since 2019 reflects broader trends that UK merchants know well: the post-pandemic surge in online transactions, the growth of subscription commerce, and increasingly sophisticated fraud. For UK businesses already dealing with tighter margins and rising operating costs, automated dispute handling could reduce the back-office burden that currently accompanies chargebacks and contested transactions.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s president of value-added services, framed the launch around efficiency: “When outdated technology cannot keep pace, fraud goes undetected.”
Looking forward
The rollout signals a wider industry shift towards AI-driven payments infrastructure. With dispute volumes on a sustained upward trajectory, the pressure on card networks and processors to automate resolution will only grow. UK fintechs and payment providers should watch how Visa’s tools perform at scale — they may set the benchmark for what merchants and issuers expect from their payment partners.