Glossary · underwriting

Retrieval rate

Also called retrieval request rate, copy request rate.

Retrieval requests - a card issuer asking for documentation on a transaction - as a share of total transactions, watched alongside chargeback ratio as an early indicator of dispute risk.

Drafted with AI assistance. Not yet independently checked. Nobody has verified the claims on this page against a source, so treat the figures and legal points as a starting point rather than as settled, and confirm anything you are about to act on. How we check things.

What it means

A retrieval request is an issuer asking the merchant, through the acquirer, to produce evidence supporting a transaction a cardholder has queried. It is not yet a chargeback, and responding well often prevents one.

Processors monitor the rate because it leads. Rising retrievals precede rising chargebacks by weeks, and a processor can act on the leading indicator: imposing a rolling reserve, delaying settlement, or in serious cases terminating the merchant account.

Advance underwriters read it for the same reason, plus one of their own. A card-split advance is collected out of settlement, so anything that reduces or delays settlement reduces collection. A merchant whose processor imposes a reserve mid-advance is a merchant whose deposits fall without any change in sales.

Some industries carry structurally elevated rates - subscription billing, travel, high-ticket services with long delivery windows - and are underwritten with that in mind rather than penalised for it.

Where this one catches people

Retrievals are the leading indicator and chargebacks are the lagging one, which means a processor can impose a reserve or a settlement hold before a single chargeback has posted. An advance sized on historical deposits can suddenly be collecting against a materially reduced stream, and the merchant experiences that as a funder problem when it originated at the processor.

Worked through

Illustration. 4,000 transactions in a month with 30 retrieval requests is a rate of 0.75%. The following month, 4,200 transactions and 96 retrievals - 2.3%. No chargebacks have posted yet.

The processor sees a threefold rise in the leading indicator and imposes a rolling reserve on settlement. Card deposits drop while sales are unchanged, and the daily debit on a live advance now represents a much larger share of what actually arrives.

Figures in the example are illustrative. They show the arithmetic, not a quote — what any one lender would charge is on that lender's page, where it is published at all.

Where you will meet this term

Merchant Cash Advance Credit Card Processing

Read next

ChargebackA reversal of money already credited to you, either a card transaction pulled back by the cardholder's bank o… Merchant accountThe account with an acquiring bank or processor that lets a business accept card payments and through which c… Merchant processing statementThe monthly summary from a card processor showing gross card volume, transaction count, fees and net settleme… Monthly deposit averageTotal deposits into the operating account over the reviewed statement period divided by the number of months,… ReserveThe portion of an invoice's face value a factor holds back at funding and releases, less fees, once the custo… Split fundingRepayment taken by the card processor at settlement, which diverts an agreed share of each day's card batch t…

Retrieval rate — common questions

What does retrieval rate mean?

Retrieval requests - a card issuer asking for documentation on a transaction - as a share of total transactions, watched alongside chargeback ratio as an early indicator of dispute risk.

Where does retrieval rate catch people out?

Retrievals are the leading indicator and chargebacks are the lagging one, which means a processor can impose a reserve or a settlement hold before a single chargeback has posted. An advance sized on historical deposits can suddenly be collecting against a materially reduced stream, and the merchant experiences that as a funder problem when it originated at the processor.

Is retrieval rate the same as an interest rate?

Retrieval rate is defined above; if you are comparing it against a rate, check whether the two measures share a time dimension before you put them side by side.

Which products does retrieval rate apply to?

Merchant Cash Advance, Credit Card Processing.

Is there a worked example of retrieval rate?

Yes, on this page, and it is labelled illustrative. It shows the arithmetic, not a quote from any lender.

What else should I read alongside retrieval rate?

Chargeback, Merchant account, Merchant processing statement, Monthly deposit average, Reserve.

Has this definition been checked?

Not yet. This entry is drafted and live, and the notice at the top says so. Confirm anything you are about to act on.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a definition. What a clause does in your contract, in your state, is a question for a lawyer licensed where you are.

Can I suggest a term?

Yes — [email protected]. The glossary grows from what people are actually shown in contracts.