VISA Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)

How VAMP Ratio is Calculated 

Reported fraudulent transactions + Non-fraud disputes 
_____________________ ÷ ____________________
Total settled transactions 

Additional Details 

Only card-absent transactions are included when calculating VAMP Ratio. The number of reported fraudulent transactions is based on TC40 data. Non-fraud disputes include those under reason codes 11, 12, and 13 as well as TC 15 messages. Disputes that are resolved through Rapid Dispute Resolution, Verifi CDRN, or Compelling Evidence 3.0 are excluded from the count. VAMP Ratio is calculated monthly based on Central Processing Date. Merchants with fewer than 1,000 applicable fraudulent or disputed transactions will be excluded. 

VAMP Enumeration Ratio 

VAMP also includes a separate ratio for enumerated transactions, also known as card testing fraud. This ratio is calculated by the number of confirmed enumerated transactions divided by total settled transactions. Enumerated transactions will be confirmed by the new Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) system, which Visa claims will reduce false positives by 85%. Merchants with fewer than 300,000 enumerated transactions will be excluded. 

VAMP Thresholds

Visa announced two sets of thresholds for acquirers and merchants, the first of which will go into effect at launch. A second, stricter set of thresholds will be imposed beginning in 2026. 

VAMP Fees 

Acquirers and merchants identified as being “Above Standard” or “Excessive” under the new VAMP framework may be subject to enforcement fees. For first-time offenders within a rolling 12-month period, Visa will grant a three-month grace period during which enforcement actions will not be applied. After this grace period, however, fees may be enforced for each dispute: 

• Acquirers – Above Standard: $5 per fraudulent or disputed transaction 

• Acquirers – Excessive: $10 per fraudulent or disputed transaction 

• Merchants – Excessive: $10 per fraudulent or disputed transaction 

The first three months after VAMP’s launch will be considered an advisory period. During this time, any acquirers or merchants who exceed the VAMP thresholds will receive notifications labeled “Advisory,” signaling that their activity has triggered potential enforcement actions. However, no penalties will be applied during the advisory period, allowing acquirers and merchants time to adjust their risk management practices before enforcement begins on July 1 2025. 

VAMP’s Impact on Merchants 

For merchants with experience being enrolled in Visa’s monitoring programs, the prospect of the current $50 dispute fee being reduced to $10 is a welcome relief. However, other merchants may face a less positive outlook. At first glance, it might seem like not much will change for merchants with regard to the thresholds they need to comply with:

However, the drop from 1% to 0.3% for acquirers is a huge change, and one that will likely affect merchants as well. In order to comply with this new threshold, many acquirers will impose limits on their merchants’ chargeback ratios that are even stricter than Visa’s. For example, an acquirer might set a VAMP ratio threshold of 0.5% for its merchants in an attempt to ensure that the average across its portfolio remains below the 0.3% required by Visa. 

Acquirers are responsible for the overall performance of their portfolios, meaning that any merchant whose VAMP ratio exceeds acceptable levels could potentially jeopardize the acquirer’s compliance with VAMP. Some acquirers may levy fines against merchants with a VAMP Ratio exceeding their stricter limits or even terminate merchant accounts. 

Merchants will need to be mindful of these changes and adjust their fraud prevention and dispute management practices accordingly to avoid falling afoul of the acquirer-imposed limits, even if they remain under Visa’s 0.9% threshold. It may be worth considering tools like Smart Prevention Alerts and Order Intelligence that can divert potential chargebacks, reducing the merchant’s VAMP Ratio.  

To help your company prepare for VAMP by finding ways to prevent chargebacks, speak to one of our industry experts.