The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP): What New Rules Mean for Acquirers and Merchants

Highlights: 

• The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is replacing the separate VDMP and VFMP with an integrated system and is introducing significantly stricter dispute ratio thresholds for acquirers (0.5%-0.7% for 'Above Standard') and a single 'Excessive' threshold for merchants (starting at 2.2%). This necessitates urgent review and enhancement of fraud and dispute management systems to avoid severe penalties.

• Maintaining compliance and mitigating risk requires the adoption of proactive fraud and dispute resolution technologies, such as Visa Order Insight to stop disputes before they become official chargebacks (TC40), and Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) to automatically handle refunds and reduce the total number of disputes that impact VAMP ratios.

The primary goal of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is to ensure the integrity of the Visa payment system. This program continuously monitors transaction activities to detect and prevent fraudulent behavior, ensuring that both merchants and consumers can trust the system. For acquirers and merchants, this means adhering to a set of stringent standards to maintain a high level of transaction security.

Acquirers are responsible for ensuring that their merchants comply with VAMP standards and remain below specific thresholds. This compliance includes implementing robust monitoring systems, conducting regular reviews of transaction data, and taking corrective actions when potential actions are identified. Failure to meet these standards can result in penalties, increased scrutiny, and potential loss of the ability to process Visa transactions.

Visa plans to deploy new changes to VAMP globally beginning June 2025. However, at this time the compliance will not be enforced until October for merchants and acquirers. 

How VAMP Currently Works

• Monitoring metrics and criteria: VAMP uses various metrics to monitor the performance of acquirers, including transaction volumes, fraud rates, and dispute occurrences. These metrics help Visa evaluate how well acquirers maintain transaction safety and security. Acquirers must have robust systems in place to track these metrics accurately, ensuring they stay within acceptable limits to avoid penalties.

• Reporting and compliance requirements: Visa evaluates transaction data monthly for compliance with VAMP expectations. This reporting helps detect and rectify potential issues. Non-compliance with reporting requirements can lead to penalties. Acquirers invest heavily in advanced data management and reporting systems to ensure accurate analysis and use of reported information. Merchants must ensure their data is accurately captured as reported by acquirers, requiring clear communication and cooperation.

• Penalties for noncompliance: If an acquirer fails to meet VAMP standards, they face penalties ranging from fiend to more severe actions. These penalties help maintain the integrity of the payment system. The threat of penalties motivates both acquirers and merchants to prioritize compliance and maintain high standards when dealing with chargebacks and related fraud.

What You Need to Know About Upcoming VAMP Compliance

In June 2025, we began to see the elimination of the separate VDMP and VFMP programs for merchants. A combined VAMP system with integrated and simplified metrics will replace these programs.

The new changes include stricter thresholds for acquirers from June 2025 to April 2026:

• The new “Early Warning” threshold of 0.4%-0.5% will be set which can result in an early warning notification from Visa, but zero fees will be assessed at that time.

• The new “Above Standard” threshold will be set to 0.5%-0.7% for Acquirers dispute ratios. This significant reduction means acquirers must be more vigilant in monitoring and managing their transaction processes to stay compliant, and Visa will expect proof of enhanced dispute management. Merchants will also need to ensure their operations are efficient and transparent to avoid contributing to their acquirer’s risk of exceeding these thresholds.

• “Excessive” categorization thresholds, those above 0.7%, will place acquirers at risk of severe penalties. At this level, Visa may begin to look into specific merchants or payment providers to help the acquirer bring down their thresholds. Acquirers may need to take drastic actions against merchants violating these standards.

• Merchants will also have new standards, there will be a single “Excessive” threshold of 2.2%. Merchants who reach this threshold will be subject independently of their Acquirer to severe penalties.

• The minimum requirements for all programs will kick in at 1,500 disputes. But these dispute totals will also include non-fraud related reason codes 11,12, and 13 as well as TC40 fraud disputes.

• All of the above thresholds will decrease in April of 2026 to the following:

  • Merchant Excessive will reduce to 1.5% from 2.2% for all regions except CEMEA Visa plans to provide clear guidelines to help acquirers transition smoothly to the new standards. Acquirers and merchants should plan for these changes by reviewing current practices and identifying areas that need improvement to meet the new requirements.

Implications for Acquirers and Merchants

Acquirers will need to adjust their operations to meet the new standards. This might involve investing in better fraud detection tools or updating reporting and analysis systems to comply with the enhanced requirements. Merchants must ensure their business practices are transparent and efficient to avoid contributing to their acquirer’s risk of non-compliance. 

To stay compliant, acquirers and merchants should adopt best practices that include regular training for staff, investing in robust fraud prevention technology, and maintaining clear communication with customers or clients. These strategies help ensure compliance with VAMP requirements to reduce the risk of penalties. Continuous monitoring and proactive management of all transactions are essential to meet the stricter thresholds and reporting standards.

How the VAMP Updates Impact Visa Services Worldwide

The integration of VDMP and VFMP into the overall VAMP program delivers a comprehensive approach to monitoring both disputes and fraud losses, providing a robust security framework for Visa transactions.

• Enhanced fraud detection: The new VAMP rollout includes additional measures intended to drive safer transactions globally. These changes — including anticipated updates to the new Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) Score —  will enhance Visa’s ability to detect and prevent fraud, protecting all parties involved. Acquirers and merchants need to stay informed about best practices and technological advancements in fraud detection to remain effective and compliant.

• Consistency in standards: By aligning regional standards, Visa ensures a consistent approach to transaction monitoring. This consistency helps maintain a uniform level of security and reliability. Acquirers and merchants globally will benefit from clear, standardized expectations, making it easier to comply with Visa’s requirements following the initial adoption period.

• Regulatory alignment: The changes also help align Visa’s practices with regional regulations, providing a smoother, more unified approach to compliance. This alignment will likely reduce the complexity of managing compliance across different regions, simplifying integration between these different markets. This benefits acquirers and merchants who operate in multiple regions.

The new, stricter requirements and removal of early warning thresholds may also provide Visa providers worldwide with insight into future rollouts. By aiming to ensure they remain below the strictest requirements Visa offers, acquirers can stay ahead of the curve and align their practices with emerging global standards.

Best practices and tools for managing VAMP requirements

Managing VAMP requirements effectively requires the right tools and practices. Look for a solutions provider that can help grow your protection as your business scales. Quick and simple onboarding combined with around-the-clock protection is essential. Handling chargebacks and similar disputes in real-time gives you an edge that can help keep your company far from VAMP thresholds.

Fraud Detection and Prevention tools

A bevy of fraud solutions exist, and the right option is often a mix of critical components.

1. Real-time fraud detection: A detection and prevention tool helps you stop transactions that are likely to result in chargebacks. These work by identifying suspicious transactions, vetting purchasers, or a combination of these operations. Many have advanced features that can help prevent unauthorized account access and otherwise safeguard against fraud.

2. Address Verification Service (AVS): Cut down on fraud and get information critical for Visa CE 3.0 disputes through AVS. Check with your payment processor or gateway for AVS access.

3. Security code validation: Your processor or gateway can also provide verification through CVV2, CVC2, CID and similar services that help validate card-not-present transactions.

4. Order validation: Certified solutions providers can set up Visa Order Insight for another level of transaction validation. Order Insight simplifies the process of preventing disputes before they become official chargebacks. This product will be crucial to merchants' success in avoiding TC40s. As it is one of the few products that stops potential disputes before they can be reported as fraud. 

5. Prevention alerts: Your solution provider can also set up prevention alerts, such as those offered by Verifi, that notify you of chargebacks immediately. This gives you time to respond and potentially stave off additional disputes before they hit your ratios. Prevention alerts will be particularly important at reducing the number of non-fraud disputes that add to your VAMP ratio. 

6. Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR): RDR offers a final chance at avoiding chargebacks by having acquirers automatically handle transaction refunds using specific guidelines. Solutions providers should offer this along with additional tools to help keep chargeback ratios where they belong. This solution will additionally be particularly effective at reducing the number of non-fraud disputes. 

Tips For Maintaining Compliance

Regularly review and update your compliance strategies, stay informed about regulatory changes, and ensure clear and transparent communication with customers. This helps maintain compliance and ensure smooth, secure transactions. Acquirers and merchants should engage in continuous learning and improvement to stay ahead of regulatory changes and technical advancements. Fraud solutions providers should also help educate their clients about emerging threats and trends that threaten their revenues.