Keep your transaction copies

If you cannot supply a copy of a transaction voucher when requested to do so by a card issuer, your business will almost certainly receive a chargeback and funds will be debited from your account.

In an attempt to stop this happening, we have set up guidelines to make the storage of transactions more effective and when necessary, more easily found.

Filing copies of transactions

Whilst we are able to supply the cardholder's name where the card is issued by Barclaycard, other card issuing companies do not have to supply us with the cardholder's name, which is why we cannot always give you this information when we ask for a copy of the transaction.

So when filing transactions, we strongly recommend...

• Filing transactions by either card number or by the date that the transactions were made, and not by cardholder name.

When storing transactions, you must keep the original merchant transaction copies...

• For a minimum of six months (this is because a dispute can arise up to six months after the transaction).
• Copies should then be kept for a further 12 months, although this can be on microfilm or similar media.
• The total time for storage of transaction copies is now 18 months.

Copies of the transactions must be legible

A chargeback may occur if you have sent an illegible copy of the transaction or time runs out because we have to contact you again for a legible copy...

• Always provide us with a clear and legible copy, with all the relevant information showing on the transaction slip. Never send the original voucher to us as we may not be able to return it to you.
• Check that the following details on the transaction copy are clearly readable;

Cardholder name
Account number
Expiry date
Merchant name & number
Merchant Town ( of the outlet involved in the transaction)
Signature
Description of goods/services

Always retain copies of transactions for your own reference

• Keep a copy of the transaction slip if you are handing the original over to a third party. This applies even if you have handed over the original to the police, in the event of fraud investigations for example.

Points to consider for mail and telephone orders

• Always post the cardholder's copy of the transaction to the cardholder for their own records.