# What Is Ethoca Alerts for Merchants?
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/what-is-ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/index.md

## What Is Ethoca Alerts for Merchants? {#what-is-ethoca-alerts-for-merchants}

Ethoca Alerts for Merchants is a fraud and dispute alert solution that helps you prevent chargebacks. The service delivers near real-time fraud and customer dispute alerts from participating card issuers, allowing you to take corrective action before a dispute progresses through the traditional chargeback process.

Using near real-time alerts from participating card issuers, you can review transactions, stop fulfillment when appropriate, issue refunds, or take other corrective actions before a formal dispute is processed. This can help reduce chargeback costs, prevent unnecessary operational work, and improve customer outcomes.

### How Ethoca Alerts works {#how-ethoca-alerts-works}

Ethoca Alerts connects you with participating card issuers through a network that shares information about transactions that might be disputed or associated with fraud.

When a cardholder reports a transaction to their issuer, the issuer might generate an alert and send it through the Ethoca network. Merchants who receive the alert can review the transaction and determine the most appropriate response.

Depending on the situation, you can:

* Stop fulfillment of an order
* Cancel a shipment
* Issue a refund
* Investigate potential fraud
* Record the outcome of their review

By addressing issues early, you might be able to prevent some disputes from progressing to chargebacks.

### Benefits of Ethoca Alerts {#benefits-of-ethoca-alerts}

Ethoca Alerts helps you:

* Receive notification of potential fraud and disputes earlier in the dispute lifecycle
* Reduce chargeback exposure
* Minimize operational costs associated with dispute handling
* Improve customer experience through faster issue resolution
* Automate alert management through API integrations
* Incorporate dispute prevention into existing fraud and risk workflows

### Fraud alerts and dispute alerts {#fraud-alerts-and-dispute-alerts}

Ethoca Alerts can provide information related to different types of transaction issues.

#### Fraud alerts {#fraud-alerts}

Fraud alerts indicate that a cardholder has reported a transaction as potentially unauthorized or fraudulent. You can use this information to investigate the transaction, stop fulfillment when appropriate, and prevent additional losses.

#### Dispute alerts {#dispute-alerts}

Dispute alerts indicate that a cardholder has contacted their issuer regarding a transaction that might become a chargeback. You can review the transaction and determine whether corrective action, such as a refund or cancellation, should be taken.

### Typical merchant workflow {#typical-merchant-workflow}

A common workflow follows these steps:

1. An alert is received from Ethoca.
2. You review the transaction details.
3. You determine the appropriate response.
4. Corrective action is taken when necessary.
5. You record or report the outcome through supported workflows and APIs.

This process helps you address transaction issues earlier than traditional chargeback procedures.

### Integrating with Ethoca Alerts {#integrating-with-ethoca-alerts}

You can integrate with Ethoca Alerts using APIs that support automated alert processing and outcome management.

Depending on business requirements, integrations might allow you to:

* Receive alerts automatically
* Retrieve alert information programmatically
* Submit alert outcomes
* Incorporate alert processing into existing fraud, risk, and dispute-management systems

For implementation details, see our [Quick Start Guide](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/quick-start-guide/index.md) and [Reference Application](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/reference-app-tutorial/index.md).

### When should you use Ethoca Alerts? {#when-should-you-use-ethoca-alerts}

Ethoca Alerts can be valuable for merchants that:

* Process card-not-present transactions
* Experience fraud or chargeback activity
* Want earlier visibility into potential disputes
* Need automated dispute prevention workflows
* Operate high-volume e-commerce environments
* Work with fraud, risk, operations, or chargeback-management teams

### Frequently Asked Questions {#frequently-asked-questions}

#### Is Ethoca Alerts a chargeback management system? {#is-ethoca-alerts-a-chargeback-management-system}

No. Ethoca Alerts provides advance notification of potential fraud or disputes so you can take action before some issues progress to chargebacks.

#### Does receiving an alert guarantee a chargeback will occur? {#does-receiving-an-alert-guarantee-a-chargeback-will-occur}

No. An alert indicates a potentially disputed or fraudulent transaction. You should review the transaction and determine the appropriate response based on their business policies.

#### Can Ethoca Alerts be integrated with existing fraud systems? {#can-ethoca-alerts-be-integrated-with-existing-fraud-systems}

Yes. Many organizations incorporate Ethoca Alerts into existing fraud, risk, fulfillment, customer service, and dispute-management workflows.

## Related resources {#related-resources}

* [Quick Start Guide](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/quick-start-guide/index.md)
* [Reference Application](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/reference-app-tutorial/index.md)
* [How Push API Works](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/index.md#how-push-api-works)
* [How Pull API Works](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/index.md#how-pull-api-works)