Skip to main content

Dispute Responder

Updated

Overview

Dispute Responder provides end-to-end dispute management inside Merchant Central, including instant notifications for new disputes, paperless electronic responses, and complete record management for Fiserv and TSYS FSP merchants.

With Dispute Responder, partners and merchants can act faster on chargebacks and retrievals—reducing missed deadlines, improving win rates, protecting revenue, and strengthening merchant retention and long-term residuals.

Prerequisites

  • Access to Merchant Central with permission to view merchant dispute and chargeback information.
  • Processor eligibility and setup (varies by processor):
    • Fiserv: Dispute Manager enabled on the BusinessTrack account used as a data source.
    • TSYS FSP: Merlink enabled and transmitted via SFTP (requires a TSYS project).
  1. In the left sidebar, open My Merchants and select the merchant you want to review.
  2. In the merchant record, select the Chargebacks tab to view incoming disputes. 
    Chargebacks tab in a merchant record
  1. In the left sidebar, expand My Merchants.
  2. Select Dispute Reporting to view disputes across your portfolio. 
    Dispute Reporting menu option

How Dispute Responder works

Dispute Responder connects your Merchant Central environment with your processor’s dispute-management channel, so disputes can be received, reviewed, and responded to without leaving Merchant Central.

Instant notifications and automatic follow-ups

When a new dispute or retrieval is entered into Fiserv or TSYS FSP, Dispute Responder sends an instant notification to the merchant and logs the activity in Merchant Central.

In-app dispute notification popup

To open the dispute, select View in the notification popup.

Unless a response has already been submitted, Dispute Responder also sends automatic follow-ups to the merchant during the response window to help reduce missed deadlines.

You can view the email templates used for follow-ups under the Dispute Responder Emails tab on the Email Templates page (Manage → E-Mail & SMS → Email Templates).

12.png

Detailed integrated notifications

Dispute notifications include key details at a glance so partners and merchants can begin preparing evidence immediately, including:

  • Merchant ID and business name
  • Response due date and case number
  • Transaction date, dispute type (chargeback or retrieval), and amounts
  • Card details (last four digits), reason, and dispute status

  • Attached messages (if applicable)

    Example notification email details

Easy, paperless electronic responses

Each new dispute includes a Reply action so the merchant (or ISO) can start an electronic response with a single click.

Reply action within the dispute record

The reply window includes:

  • Incoming chargeback files
  • Chargeback reply options
  • Chargeback details
    Chargeback details panel

Expand any accordion to view additional detail. 

When replying to a dispute, select the reply type, choose the appropriate options, and upload supporting files:

Reply form showing reply type, options, and file upload

Portfolio reporting for ISOs

Dispute Responder provides a portfolio view of disputes for all enabled merchants, with filtering and sorting (including custom date ranges and groups).

Portfolio dispute reporting dashboard

This helps you stay on top of disputes, support merchants who need guidance, and identify merchants with elevated chargeback volume.

Access to historical documentation

You can access documentation for previously submitted, decided, and expired disputes. Disputes are displayed in chronological order, and selecting Details provides access to related documentation.

Dispute details view with historical documentation

Export for external use

Dispute history can be exported from the Dispute Responder dashboard in spreadsheet-friendly formats for recordkeeping or external workflows (for example, accounting reconciliation).

Exported disputes spreadsheet example

To export dispute history, select Export on the dashboard.

Export button on the dashboard 

Dispute Responder Open API

Dispute Responder functionality is also available via the Merchant Central Open API. This enables ISOs to build external tools and workflows for dispute management using data from their Merchant Central site.

Open API documentation showing Dispute Manager endpoints 

Enabling the service

Enable for Fiserv

  1. Confirm Fiserv Dispute Manager is enabled on the BusinessTrack account used as a data source.
  2. If a BusinessTrack login is already used on a data source, create a dedicated login for Dispute Responder to avoid conflicts.
  3. Contact Support to complete enablement (if required for your environment).

Enable for TSYS FSP

  1. Open a project with TSYS to enable Merlink (dispute manager tool) transmission via SFTP.
  2. Once Merlink is enabled, contact Support to complete the setup in Merchant Central.

Frequently asked questions

  • Who can respond to disputes? Merchants can respond directly. ISOs can also respond on behalf of merchants, depending on your permissions and setup.
  • Which processors are supported? This article covers Dispute Responder for Fiserv and TSYS FSP environments.
  • What happens if a merchant misses the response deadline? Missing a response deadline can result in an unfavorable outcome. Dispute Responder helps reduce misses by sending instant notifications and follow-ups.
  • Can we build our own dispute workflow? Yes. Dispute Responder is available via the Merchant Central Open API, enabling you to build custom tools and notifications around dispute events.