What are EFWs in the context of Stripe payments?

EFWs, or Electronic Fraud Warnings, refer specifically to notices generated by card issuers to flag potentially fraudulent payments. They serve as a critical mechanism for enhancing the security of payment transactions. When a card issuer suspects that a transaction may involve fraud, they send an EFW to the payment processor, which can help alert the merchant of potential risks associated with the transaction. This allows merchants to make informed decisions about whether to proceed with the transaction or take additional steps to verify its legitimacy.

The other options do not capture the essence of what EFWs are. While emails or alerts related to transactions may be important in their own right, they do not pertain to the specific function of notifying about potential fraud, which is the primary focus of EFWs. Similarly, subscriptions that are automatically renewed are a different aspect of payment processing, unrelated to the security measures that EFWs provide in monitoring for fraudulent activity.