Webhook Definition

Webhooks are custom callbacks that notify you about certain events. In Voucherify’s context, webhooks can inform you about redemption status, reward redemption, or a successful rollback. Webhooks can be used for real-time data synchronization and as a means of distribution.

How do webhooks differ from API?

Similar to APIs, webhooks make communication between systems possible. However, they take a slightly different approach. The webhook mechanism is often called the Reverse API because it usually doesn't require any interaction from the client side. To put it simply, webhooks allow you to notify the client application about certain events without actively asking for information.

From the implementation side, webhooks are a bit simpler, as they just send a request to a given address, as a result of a specified event. The whole integration is about providing the URL address to which the HTTP request should be sent. 

Webhooks are very useful in situations when you expect information from an external application about a specific event, as they let you limit the number of API requests sent to ask about the event – you simply receive information when the event occurs. 

To learn more about webhooks in Voucherify, read this article.