Case Studies

Unusual Visa payment raises red flag

The Dispute

Case study:
What can be learned: Read More

From the Client's Perspective

Edward was an independent businessman who used merchant Visa services. After he processed two large payments, which well exceeded his normal transaction activity, a Visa representative contacted him to find out the details. Edward felt this was intrusive. Knowing that he hadn't done anything wrong, he refused to divulge the nature of the transactions. After he received a written request for the deposit information, Edward refused again. Following an exchange of correspondence, Visa removed his service. Edward demanded that the card centre provide a copy of the signed contract allowing them to take the action they did; the card centre was unable to do so. Something that started with a simple request for clarification had escalated into a bitter dispute. Neither side was giving in. Edward now threatened legal action, and contacted the Ombudsman.

From RBC's perspective

RBC questions account activity that does not fit the client's profile to protect both the client and itself from potential fraud. In this case, the client's entries simply were not consistent with the normal deposits to his account.

The Outcome

The Ombudsman learned through discussion with Edward that the Visa payments were for consulting services rendered by him; his customers simply wanted to get the loyalty points offered by Visa.

The payments had been honoured by the bank they were drawn on. The Ombudsman then contacted Edward's business banking centre, where he had significant loan facilities, and they agreed to recommend reinstatement of his Visa service. Edward agreed to sign a new merchant agreement, and comply with future requests to validate payments that didn't fit his profile.

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