For years, Visa has maintained strict limits on the number of fraud and chargebacks that a merchant may receive. Now, though, with the introduction of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program, the card network is overhauling their approach.
The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program is an initiative designed to oversee and regulate the activities of acquiring banks that process Visa card transactions. This program aims to ensure that acquirers — and the merchants that work with them — adhere to Visa’s risk management standards and mitigate potentially fraudulent activities.
By monitoring transaction patterns, the program identifies irregularities and implements corrective actions when necessary. Ultimately, the program enhances the integrity and security of the payment ecosystem, reducing potential financial losses for all parties involved, and maintaining consumer trust in the Visa brand.
How Does the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Work?
The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) monitors transaction data from acquirers and their associated merchants to detect patterns indicative of fraud or high chargeback rates. When such patterns are identified, the program flags these transactions for closer scrutiny.
Acquirers are then required to take appropriate measures. For example, implementing enhanced verification procedures or providing additional merchant training, to address the identified issues.
Visa collaborates closely with acquirers throughout this process. They offer guidance and set timelines for corrective actions. Regular audits and performance reviews are conducted to ensure compliance, and persistent non-compliance may result in penalties or other sanctions. Through this intricate system of detection, prevention, and corrective action, VAMP effectively upholds the standards of transaction security and operational integrity.
New Program Thresholds
As part of this initiative, Visa will begin phasing out their Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) in April 2025. Crucially, this only applies to merchants operating in the Visa Europe region.
All preexisting fraud and chargeback thresholds will be replaced with simplified and streamlined thresholds for card-present and card-not-present merchants and acquirers:
| Acquirer — Above Standard | Acquirer — Excessive | Merchant — Excessive | Merchant — Excessive (+300,000 enumerated transactions) | |
| Threshold Effective Date: April 1st, 2025 | N/A | greater than 0.5% | greater than 1.5% | greater than 20% |
| Threshold Effective Date: January 1st, 2026 | greater than 0.3%, but less than 0.5% | greater than 0.5% | greater than 0.9% | greater than 20% |
VAMP will have two enforcement tiers. First is the “Above Standard” level, which indicates a significant increase in fraud, dispute, or enumeration activities relative to market norms. Acquirers at this level are required to conduct investigations and implement remediation measures to reduce these activities to acceptable levels. Visa closely monitors the acquirer’s portfolio to ensure adherence to these standards.
VAMP will also have an “Excessive” level. This tier signifies the most critical escalation in fraud, dispute, or enumeration activities compared to market standards. Visa will closely examine the performance of specific merchants within an acquirer’s portfolio. Merchant descriptors may be aggregated to identify and scrutinize larger or grouped merchants. Furthermore, Visa will employ strategies to assess the performance of payment facilitators and other stakeholders.
What Happens if You Breach These Thresholds?
Acquirers identified in the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program will receive a notification from Visa regarding their status and will be required to respond. This notification will detail:
- The reason for their identification
- The timeline for response
- The consequences of non-compliance
- Best practices, if applicable
In response, acquirers must strengthen their risk control environment and resolve the issues that led to their identification. They are required to submit a remediation plan within 15 calendar days that tackles the root causes of the performance problems.
Acquirers that are noncompliant under VAMP standards could see added fees and restrictions on their operations. This applies to merchants working with VAMP-listed merchants.
Merchants & Acquirers Must be Ready
After April 1, 2025, tools such as CDRN, RDR, and Order Insight with CE3.0 will become increasingly vital for Visa Europe merchants in reducing dispute exposure.
Using these platforms to resolve disputes will not result in penalties. Merchants can also expect enhanced benefits, including higher authorization rates and lower reserve requirements, due to reduced dispute ratios.
The updates to VAMP mark a significant advancement in compliance activities related to dispute management. European merchants can anticipate the continued protection offered by CDRN, RDR, and Order Insight, now coupled with greater flexibility in managing their processing ratios through VAMP.