How the Visa VAMP Program Impacts Your Business

In 2024, Visa announced a major change to its fraud and dispute monitoring programs, combining them into a single, unified system: the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP). This new program was developed to help streamline fraud and dispute remediation and improve electronic payment security worldwide.

The changes that the VAMP program brings are huge, especially for merchants and processors. To weather the waves it brings, entire industries should become familiar with Visa's new fraud and chargeback monitoring requirements.

Fortunately, if you work with Adaptiv Payments, our payment processing services will help you stay ahead of the curve. To get things started, we detail everything you need to know about how the Visa VAMP program impacts your business, and what high-risk merchants can do to ensure the best outcomes going forward.

What Is the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)?

The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program, VAMP for short, is the card network's latest framework for tracking risk across acquiring banks and the merchants they work with. It combines their previous Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) into one streamlined system.

VAMP is designed to watch how well acquirers and merchants maintain their risk controls. Some of the different types of risks that Visa focuses on in this program include:

• Chargeback disputes
• Fraudulent transactions
• Shady card-not-present (CNP) transaction behavior
• Enumeration attacks, or brute-force card testing attacks

Checking for all of these risks at once, rather than separately, allows Visa to ensure acquirers keep themselves and their merchants more accountable. The end goal is to effectively manage and minimize digital fraud as much as possible.

And with VAMP comes even stricter standards, adding $5 to $10 in fees per disputed or fraudulent transaction an acquirer or merchant processes.

Why Is Visa Implementing the VAMP Program?

According to Visa, the various forms of risk shown above have cost entire industries billions in losses. To keep pace with evolving technologies and the broader electronic payment landscape while cracking down on fraud, the card network developed the VAMP program.

As we mentioned earlier, they used to have the VFMP and VDMP, each focused on tracking a single metric for either fraud or chargeback rates. This initially appeared to be a working model, but it wasn't enough to strengthen fraud prevention or maintain lower dispute rates as technological advancements rose across industries.

Today, there are numerous payment methods, and with those, new ways to commit fraud. And because so much business happens online, the risk of growing chargeback issues is something Visa can’t handle on its own anymore.

By creating the VAMP program, Visa is able to:

• Combine fraud, chargebacks, and other suspicious transactions into a unified risk profile
• Evaluate acquirers and merchants holistically rather than by separate metrics
• Apply consistent security and risk management standards across regions and industries

For Visa, VAMP is a complete solution that helps reduce risk for networks, acquirers, merchants, and consumers.

How the VAMP Program Calculates Risk

To avoid penalties, it's important to know how the VAMP program measures risk. Here's how Visa calculates its VAMP ratio, the primary metric for risk among card-not-present (CNP) transactions:

VAMP Ratio = (Monthly Total of Fraudulent CNP Transactions + Monthly Total of Disputed CNP Transactions)/Monthly Total of All Settled CNP Transactions

Using this calculation, Visa determines whether a merchant or acquirer has "Above Standard" or "Excessive" ratios based on how far above each VAMP threshold they are.

Once you pass the threshold, Visa will immediately add fees to your monthly statement. Here’s a breakdown of the different merchant and acquirer thresholds:

• Merchant “Excessive” Threshold (as of April 1, 2026) = 0.9%
• Acquirer “Excessive” Threshold (as of June 1, 2025) = 0.7%
• Acquirer “Above Standard” Threshold (as of January 1, 206) = 0.3%

In short, one way to avoid VAMP penalties is to regularly calculate your projected VAMP ratio and ensure your business practices reduce it as much as possible.

Impacts of the VAMP Program On Your Business

VAMP changes the payment processing landscape for processors, banks, and businesses. The program’s oversight requirements force acquirers to be much stricter with merchants. That means tougher standards, increased monitoring, and less forgiving policies, to name a few.

Here are some of the major impacts that VAMP may have on your business:

Stricter Underwriting

A trio of businesspeople scrutinizing merchants and payment processors.

Credit: Adaptiv Payments

One of the biggest changes VAMP brings is a much higher level of scrutiny on processing Visa payments between merchants and acquirers. That means processors will likely be especially stringent on high-risk industries like CBD, firearms, online, and subscription service businesses.

Lower Tolerance of Chargeback Rates

VAMP standards may also mean even less leniency for merchants with high chargeback rates, especially in 2026. Visa stated they will tighten limits on their "Excessive" VAMP ratio category from 2.2% to 1.5%.

This means disputed companies will have to work out how to manage disputes effectively to avoid customers seeking chargebacks from Visa itself.

More Monitoring of Card-Not-Present Transactions

A close-up shot of a person observing something closely off-screen.

Credit: Adaptiv Payments

Card-not-present transactions, such as subscription service payments and online purchases, are among the riskier types. In fact, they account for a large amount of real fraud losses across industries, according to FICO.

VAMP intends to focus on these types of transactions to proactively address fraud, chargebacks, and enumeration attacks. They'll require businesses to implement better fraud detection tools and step up authentication for high-risk transactions.

Increased Chance of Account Freezes & Penalties

Stricter rules under VAMP also mean processors will have to be tougher on non-compliant businesses. Even modest increases in chargeback rates or shady transactions can lead to temporary revenue holds and small caps on transaction volume.

Less reliable processors may also pass on the VAMP enforcement fees to you, cutting deeper into your revenue. Others may simply terminate your account for remaining too long above the Excessive threshold.

Ways To Stay Compliant With VAMP

A person standing before a painted line on the pavement with the words "Do Not Cross" above it

Credit: Adaptiv Payments

Staying compliant with VAMP can be tough, but it is possible with the right operational discipline and a solid payment partner by your side. Here are some strategies that can minimize risk and keep your payment processing with Visa:

Improve Your Chargeback Management Process

Chargebacks are likely the best issue businesses can avoid by changing their practices. Customer claims can provide valuable insights into mitigating chargebacks, helping your business avoid financial penalties.

Some other effective strategies that can enhance your chargeback management process for rapid dispute resolution are:

• Establishing clear refund and cancellation policies
• Ensuring quick response times for customer support
• Using accurate billing descriptors
• Setting up proactive alerts for disputes

A good example is a subscription-based supplement company that makes it easier for users to cancel their memberships, leading to a noticeable drop in disputes.

Tighten Fraud Detection & Prevention Systems

With the implementation of VAMP, fraud prevention becomes a must-have. Merchants need to implement a variety of security measures to stay protected and, therefore, reduce risk for their customers, banks, processors, and card networks.

Some of these solutions include address verification services (AVSs), which confirm a debit or credit cardholder's billing address before accepting a payment.

Another excellent fraud detection method is a velocity check. This mechanism monitors the speed and frequency of digital events, such as transactions or login attempts. Velocity checks help track and protect against potential fraud and enumeration attacks.

There are many different anti-fraud measures you can implement, especially if you are working with a knowledgeable and reliable processor like Adaptiv Payments. Now more than ever, high-risk merchants should look for providers with advanced technology already built into their platform.

Regularly Monitor Risk Metrics & VAMP Ratios

Don't wait until the end of the month for Visa to make its VAMP ratio evaluations. Be more proactive by keeping an eye on major risk metrics from one week to the next.

Some key metrics to monitor include chargeback ratios, fraud rates, and abnormal transaction patterns. Keeping track of these ahead of time will ensure you and your customer support team can strategize and effectively manage disputes, identify and prevent fraud, and reduce your overall risk profile.

Make sure all your Visa transactions run smoothly, and you won't have to worry about reaching any VAMP thresholds.

Minimize Risk with Enhanced Fraud Prevention & Security From Adaptiv Payments

The Visa VAMP program really sets a new standard for everyone involved. For merchants, this means there's less wiggle room for mistakes and more serious consequences if risks aren't managed properly.

At Adaptiv Payments, we partner with businesses navigating complex, high-risk environments every single day. We understand how Visa assesses risk, how acquirers respond, and how merchants can stay ahead of compliance challenges before they affect revenue.

If your business is feeling the effects of VAMP or gearing up for the upcoming Visa threshold changes, now is the perfect time to take action. Sign up with Adaptiv Payments, chat with our team, and discover how we help merchants process payments securely, consistently, and with confidence.