# Alerts (https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/merchants/alerts)



You want fewer chargebacks to ever reach your account. **Alerts** is Chargeflow's pre-chargeback product: when a cardholder complains to their issuer, an alert arrives through Verifi (RDR / CDRN) or Ethoca **before** the chargeback posts, leaving a short window to resolve the case - usually with a refund - so it never counts against you.

## When to use Alerts [#when-to-use-alerts]

* You want to protect your dispute ratio, not just win disputes after they are filed.
* You want eligible Visa disputes resolved automatically against your rules (RDR), with no manual action.
* You want alert data and outcomes in your own systems via API and webhooks.
* You want to run custom logic (subscription cancellation, customer tagging) when a complaint arrives.

## How it works [#how-it-works]

Chargeflow receives alerts from the networks, matches each one to a merchant and transaction via the Chargeflow Network matching layer, resolves the case, and reports the outcome back to the issuer. Two integration models are supported - fully Chargeflow-managed (most common) or merchant-managed refunds. The model, the outcome flow, and how to choose are covered canonically in [Alerts model](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/reference/concepts/alerts-model).

## Work with the API [#work-with-the-api]

The Alerts API lets you list alerts, fetch one by id, and post an outcome update (for merchant-managed handling). See the [Alerts API reference](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/api/2025-04-01/merchants/alerts).

Real-time events:

<Cards>
  <Card title="alerts.created" href="/docs/merchants/webhook-events#alerts-created">
    A new alert has arrived.
  </Card>

  <Card title="alerts.transaction.linked" href="/docs/merchants/webhook-events#alerts-transaction-linked">
    The alert was matched to a transaction.
  </Card>

  <Card title="alerts.updated" href="/docs/merchants/webhook-events#alerts-updated">
    The alert reached an outcome.
  </Card>
</Cards>

## Start integrating [#start-integrating]

<Card title="Manage pre-chargeback alerts" href="/docs/merchants/alerts/manage-alerts">
  **Start here** - choose an integration model, wire the endpoints, and handle outcomes.
</Card>

Then run the [Deflect chargebacks with alerts](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/merchants/alerts/prevent-with-alerts) recipe end-to-end. Alerts reach you through the [Ethoca](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/reference/integrations#mastercard-ethoca) and [Verifi RDR](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/reference/integrations#visa-verifi-rdr) networks.

## Where Alerts fits [#where-alerts-fits]

Alerts acts at stage 3 of the [transaction lifecycle](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/reference/start-here/transaction-lifecycle) - after the complaint, before the chargeback. Disputes that slip past the window are picked up by [dispute automation](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/reference/concepts/dispute-automation); risky orders are caught even earlier by [Prevent](https://docs.chargeflow.io/docs/merchants/prevent), before they ship.