Fraud caught before it's billable. Not after it's paid.
Bot-filtered clicks, self-referral flags, and a review queue run before any commission is created — not after it's already been paid out and you're stuck asking for it back.
if it smells like fraud, it never becomes a payable commission.
- Free plan, no card required
- Runs before a commission is owed, not after
- Custom fraud rules + team seats from Growth ($99/mo)
Most tools pay first. Chase the fraud later.
Approve every click and conversion by default, and a fraudulent one looks exactly like a good sale until someone notices — usually after the affiliate has already been paid, and the clawback conversation gets awkward. Here's the difference in when a bad actor actually gets caught:
Pay-then-chase tools
Clicks and conversions are approved automatically, and fraud gets sorted out afterward — a clawback request, an uncomfortable email, and money that's often already gone.
Qanary
Bot-filtered clicks, self-referral flags, and a review queue run before a commission is created — so most fraud never turns into money you owe at all.
From click to conversion. Checked at every step.
1. Every click gets filtered first — traffic is scored for bot behavior the moment it hits an affiliate link.
2. Self-referrals get flagged — matching signals between an affiliate and their supposed referral get flagged automatically.
3. Suspicious conversions wait for review — anything not automatically cleared parks in a queue before the commission accrues.
Three checks. One gate before payout.
Bot-filtered clicks
Automated traffic is scored and filtered before it can start an attribution window — a crawler hammering a link never turns into a commission.
Self-referral flags
When the signals on both sides of a conversion match — same affiliate, same buyer — it's flagged instead of silently approved, before any payout is calculated.
Review queue before payout
Anything that doesn't clear automatically sits in a queue before it becomes a commission. Review it on your own schedule — nothing gets paid while it's waiting.
Four moments the gate matters.
A click-farm traffic spike
A sudden burst of automated clicks gets scored and filtered before any of it can open an attribution window — no commission ever accrues on it.
An affiliate buying from themselves
Matching signals between the affiliate and the buyer get flagged automatically, before any payout math runs — not caught after the fact.
A launch-day traffic surge
Anything uncertain waits in the review queue instead of auto-approving everything just because volume spiked.
Scaling past DIY fraud rules
Growth ($99/mo) and up add custom fraud rules and extra team seats to share the review queue as the program grows.
See it side by side.
| Capability | Pay-then-chase tools | Qanary |
|---|---|---|
| Bot traffic filtered before it counts as a click | Often billed as a click | Yes, scored and filtered automatically |
| Self-referral detection | Manual only | Yes, flagged automatically |
| Suspicious conversions held before payout | No, approved by default | Yes, review queue before commission accrues |
| Fraud checks included on the free tier | Often an add-on | Included on every plan, including Free |
| Custom fraud rules | Enterprise tier, usually | Growth plan ($99/mo) and up |
| Recovering commission already paid on fraud | Clawback request, chase the affiliate | Rare — most fraud is caught before it's payable |
| Price tied to your affiliate-driven revenue | Often, past a tier | Never — flat, event-based |
"Pay-then-chase tools" describes any fraud handling that approves clicks and conversions by default and only investigates after a payout — the common baseline unless a review step is built in up front. See the full pricing for how fraud rules line up by plan.
Because it stops fraud before money moves.
- Nothing gets approved by default. Bot-filtered clicks, self-referral flags, and a review queue all run before a commission exists — not as a check bolted on after payment.
- Self-referrals don't sneak through. Matching signals between an affiliate and their buyer are flagged automatically, before any payout math runs.
- A review queue, not an autopilot. Anything uncertain waits for a human decision before it becomes billable — you stay in control of what gets paid.
- Rules that grow with you. Growth and up let you tune fraud rules to your program and add team seats to share the review queue.
- Clawbacks handled right, on the rare case money already moved. Refunds reverse at the original accrual FX rate, prorated to your provider's refund policy, and clawback debt nets against the next payout batch automatically.
Fraud detection is one layer — Qanary also attributes every sale two ways so nothing gets miscredited in the first place. See every feature on the features hub, or the full mechanics in the REST API reference.
Fair questions.
What exactly counts as a "self-referral"?
Matching signals between the affiliate and the person they supposedly referred — the same account, or an affiliate using their own link or coupon to buy from themselves. It gets flagged automatically, before a commission is calculated.
Does fraud filtering cost extra, or is it bolted on as an add-on?
No. Bot filtering, self-referral flags, and the review queue ship on every plan, including Free. Custom fraud rules and extra team seats to share the review queue arrive on Growth ($99/mo) and up.
Does a bot-filtered click still count against my usage?
Yes — a bot-filtered click is one of the two event types Qanary meters, alongside a new conversion, because it still had to be evaluated. It just never turns into a commission you owe an affiliate. See the full pricing for how meaningful events are counted.
What happens if fraud is only caught after a commission was already paid?
It's rare, since most checks run before the commission accrues — but if a refund or clawback does land after the fact, it reverses at the original accrual FX rate, prorated to your provider's refund policy, and nets against the affiliate's next payout batch automatically.
Everything you need to turn it on.
Stop paying for clicks that were never real.
Fraud checks run before a commission is owed — free, on every plan, no card required.
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