# Use Cases
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/use-cases/index.md

## How the Ethoca Alerts for Merchants Push, Pull, and Outcome APIs work {#how-the-ethoca-alerts-for-merchants-push-pull-and-outcome-apis-work}

The Ethoca Alerts for Merchants API supports two operational patterns for receiving alerts and one shared pattern for reporting the action taken on those alerts.

Use the following pages to choose the flow that matches your integration model:

* [Receive alerts through a webhook and submit outcomes](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/use-cases/push-alert-processing/index.md) for Push integrations that accept `POST /api/push/alerts` deliveries from Ethoca.
* [Retrieve alerts with the Pull API, acknowledge them, and submit outcomes](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/use-cases/pull-alert-processing/index.md) for integrations that call `GET /alerts`, `POST /alerts/acknowledges`, and `POST /outcomes`.

Across both use cases, the core business goal is the same: receive an issuer alert early enough to investigate the transaction, stop fulfillment or resolve the dispute when possible, and return an outcome that helps prevent an unnecessary chargeback.

## Next Steps {#next-steps}

Now that you have an understanding of the different use cases that Ethoca Alerts for Merchants uses, see the [API Reference](https://developer.mastercard.com/ethoca-alerts-for-merchants/documentation/api-reference/index.md) section to inspect endpoint definitions and schemas.