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Getting Started
Protect Your Business in as Little as 48 Hours. Getting started doesn't have to be complicated: our phased onboarding approach delivers protection quickly while letting you expand your dispute management strategy over time.
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Start with the fastest protection first
Rather than waiting several weeks to implement every available solution, we recommend starting with products that deliver the fastest protection and quickest return on investment. For most merchants, this means activating dispute alerts first, followed by prevention and recovery solutions.
Phase 1 — Immediate Protection
Be Protected Within 48 Hours
If you’re looking for the fastest way to begin reducing chargebacks, start with alert solutions. Ethoca Alerts can typically activate in approximately 48 hours, while Rapid Dispute Resolution is typically activated within 5–7 business days, subject to approvals and processing times.
Ethoca Alerts
Implementation time: approximately 48 hours.
Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR)
Implementation time: typically 5–7 business days.
Why Start Here?
These solutions immediately begin working for your business by creating opportunities to resolve eligible cases before they enter the formal chargeback process. Benefits include immediate dispute protection, lower workload, reduced chargeback ratios, faster return on investment, and minimal implementation effort.
What We Need From You?
To activate Ethoca Alerts and RDR, we’ll first collect basic information about your payment environment and the people who can support configuration, testing, and implementation.
Merchant Information
Legal company name, MID, CAID, acquiring bank, PSP, and supported card schemes.
Technical Contact
A business or technical contact who can assist with configuration, testing, and implementation if required.
Operational Preferences
Preferred refund strategy, alert handling process, notification contacts, and reporting preferences.
Already Using Another Alert Provider?
If you’re currently enrolled with another Ethoca or Verifi alert provider, we can assist with a seamless migration. For each Merchant ID being transferred, we’ll need the billing descriptor, BIN, CAID, current alert provider, and MID.
Case IDs keep coverage continuous
Once the current provider submits the migration request to Ethoca and/or Verifi, the card schemes generate Case IDs. These are required to complete enrolment and help ensure there is no interruption in alert coverage during migration.
What Happens Next?
Once we’ve received the required information, we validate the merchant and acquiring information, submit enrolment or migration requests, coordinate activation with Ethoca and Verifi, perform any required testing, and take your alert protection live.
Merchant Information
Whether you’re implementing alert services for the first time or migrating from another provider, the goal is the same: begin receiving dispute alerts as quickly as possible while maintaining uninterrupted protection throughout onboarding.
Phase 2 — Enhanced Protection
Build a Proactive Dispute Prevention Strategy
Estimated implementation time: 2–6 weeks. Once dispute alerts are active, the next step is preventing customers from contacting their bank in the first place through Order Insight, Customer Clarity, Mastercard Collaboration, and Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0.
Benefits
Reduced customer confusion
Fewer friendly fraud disputes
Better customer experience
Stronger fraud evidence
Lower dispute ratios.
Phase 3 — Complete Dispute Management
Full Payment Lifecycle Protection
After prevention solutions have been deployed, merchants can further optimise payment operations through Chargeback Recovery, Representment Support, Analytics & Reporting, Decline Defence, and Debt Collection Services. This creates protection across the complete payment lifecycle — from authorisation through dispute recovery.
Typical Merchant Timeline
After prevention solutions have been deployed, merchants can further optimise payment operations through Chargeback Recovery, Representment Support, Analytics & Reporting, Decline Defence, and Debt Collection Services. This creates protection across the complete payment lifecycle — from authorisation through dispute recovery.
Week 1
Merchant onboarding and Ethoca Alerts activation, typically within 48 hours.
Week 2
RDR activated, typically within 5–7 business days.
Week 3-6
Order Insight and Customer Clarity implementation.
Week 4-8
CE 3.0 and Mastercard Collaboration rollout.
Ongoing
Recovery optimisation, analytics, decline defence, and debt collection.
Why We Recommend This Approach?
Merchants should begin receiving value as quickly as possible. Phased onboarding lets you start protecting transactions within days, reduce chargebacks almost immediately, expand capabilities at your own pace, minimise implementation risk, spread operational change across manageable phases, and achieve faster return on investment.