How Mastercom Collaboration works
Mastercard's Mastercom documentation describes the sequence. When an issuer creates a first chargeback, the system places the chargeback temporarily on hold and generates a Collaboration request on the issuer's behalf. An issuer can also start Collaboration through Ethoca.
The acquirer receives the request through Mastercom, works with its merchant, and responds. The merchant may refund, or offer a voucher that the issuer accepts or rejects. A dispute that is not resolved moves on to the first chargeback.
How Collaboration relates to Ethoca alerts
Both aim at the same moment: after the cardholder has complained and before a chargeback is processed. An Ethoca alert goes from the issuer to the merchant over Ethoca's network. Collaboration is part of Mastercard's own dispute flow and travels from issuer to acquirer inside Mastercom.
A merchant enrolled in alerts may therefore see one dispute arrive by two routes, and has to avoid refunding it twice.
What Collaboration means for acquirers and merchants
The work falls on the acquirer first. It has to pick Collaboration requests out of its Mastercom queue, reach the merchant quickly and send the answer back. A payment provider that serves merchants exposes the request as an early dispute notification with a refund option.
For the merchant, a refund at this stage gives up the sale but avoids the chargeback and the fee that comes with it.
Mastercom Collaboration or Rapid Dispute Resolution?
- Rapid Dispute Resolution
- Verifi's service for Visa disputes, which resolves a dispute automatically by the merchant's own rules. Collaboration asks the acquirer and merchant to respond.
- First chargeback
- The stage that follows if Collaboration does not resolve the dispute: the issuer's chargeback is processed and the acquirer is debited.
Where Mastercom Collaboration shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- NotificationsEmail, SMS, push and in-app messages in your brand, through the providers you choose.
- Fraud & riskReal-time fraud scoring, limits and case management, with the risk engines you already trust.
Platforms that need it
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- Mastercom documentation, Dispute Resolution Cycle, read 13 October 2026 (Mastercard Developers)
- Mastercom documentation, Use Cases: Collaboration, read 13 October 2026 (Mastercard Developers)
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.