Pre-Dispute Alerts (Growth & Enterprise)

Pre-dispute alerts let you resolve a dispute before it is officially filed as a chargeback.

How They Work
When a customer starts a dispute with their bank, the bank notifies Visa or Mastercard before officially filing the chargeback. Visa and Mastercard forward this to:

• Verifi — Visa's official pre-dispute alert service
• Ethoca — Mastercard's official pre-dispute alert service

Chargeback Dispute receives these alerts and notifies you. You then have 24–72 hours to resolve the issue — typically by issuing a refund — before the formal chargeback is ever filed.

Why This Matters

Without AlertsWith AlertsChargeback filed — you must fight itAlert received — resolve before chargeback is filedEvidence deadline: 7–21 daysNo deadline pressureChargeback fee charged ($15–$35)No chargeback fee if resolved earlyRisk to chargeback ratioNo chargeback = no impact on ratio

How to Respond to an Alert

1. Open the alert from the Alerts page in the left sidebar


2. Review the reason for the dispute


3. Decide: issue a refund or let it proceed as a dispute


4. If issuing a refund: go to your Shopify orders and process it


5. The alert will update automatically once the refund is processed

Most merchants resolve 80–90% of alerts with a refund. You avoid the chargeback fee, protect your ratio, and save the time of fighting a dispute.