Visa VAMP Rules: What to Know | Iron Rock Payments

Understanding Visa VAMP: What Merchants & Acquirers Need to Know

Visa’s new Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), which launched on April 1, 2025, marks a major shift in how Visa monitors fraud and disputes. Merging the former Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP), VAMP establishes unified, stricter thresholds for both fraud and chargebacks—intensifying scrutiny for merchants, acquirers, ISOs, and payment service providers.

This post explains VAMP’s structure, thresholds, enforcement mechanisms, tools for compliance, and strategies to prepare. Our goal at Iron Rock Payments is to help you navigate VAMP so you’re not just compliant but confident in your fraud and dispute management processes.

1. What Is VAMP?

Visa’s VAMP combines fraud and dispute monitoring into a single ratio-based metric applied to card-not-present (CNP) transactions. Previously segmented under VFMP and VDMP, VAMP unifies the objective:

VAMP ratio = (Fraudulent transactions [TC40] + Non-fraud disputes [TC15]) ÷ total settled CNP transactions.

This ratio is calculated monthly and applies only when at least 1,000 transactions are processed in a given reporting period. It provides a clear overview of merchant risk, driving Visa toward more holistic fraud and dispute oversight.

Extras:

A separate enumeration ratio measures card testing activity—when testers submit multiple small transactions to validate card data.
Numeric thresholds are calibrated to curb both unconventional fraud and low-dollar transaction abuse.

2. VAMP Thresholds & Enforcement Timeline

Visa has established progressive thresholds to enable adjustment time:

📊 Merchant Thresholds

Initial (April 2025):
- VAMP ratio: 1.5%
- Enumeration ratio (if >300,000 transactions): 20%
From January 1, 2026:
- VAMP ratio: 0.9%
- Enumeration ratio remains 20%

💳 Acquirer Thresholds

Initial (April 2025):
- Excessive: 0.5%
From January 1, 2026:
- Above Standard: 0.3%
- Excessive: 0.5%

🛡 Advisories & Penalties

A six-month advisory period (Apr–Sept 2025) offers grace before fees are enforced
Post-advisory, Excessive accounts face penalties:
- Merchants: $10 per over-threshold transaction
- Acquirers: $5–$10 depending on status

3. Why VAMP Matters

🔍 Holistic Oversight

By merging fraud and disputes, Visa makes the VAMP ratio a powerful risk metric. All chargebacks, not just fraud, count—making dispute management critical.

⚠️ Reduced Thresholds Increase Risk

Thresholds drop from 1.5% to 0.9%, mandating tighter controls. Even small changes in dispute rates can trigger a VAMP alert .

🤝 Acquirer Accountability

Acquirers must manage their merchant portfolios to remain below thresholds or face penalties—leading to stricter monitoring at the acquirer level.

4. Key Components of VAMP and Merchant Responsibilities

📌 Core Metrics

VAMP Ratio (TC40 + TC15 / total CNP transactions)
Enumeration Ratio (small‐ticket transactions / total settled transactions)

📌 Inclusion of Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR)

As of April 1, 2025, fraud cases resolved using Visa’s RDR are included in VAMP calculations—previously excluded.

📌 Exclusions

Non-fraud disputes resolved via RDR, Order Insight (OI), Compelling Evidence 3.0 (CE 3.0), and CDRN are still excluded.

5. Enforcement and Compliance Timeline

Period	Details
Apr–Sept 2025	Advisory Period – Monitoring without fees
Oct 2025–Dec 2025	Observational Phase – Penalties begin for Excessive cases
Jan 2026 onward	Stricter thresholds enforced – Merchant ratio ≤ 0.9%, acquirer ≤ 0.3%

6. Tools & Best Practices for Compliance

🛠 Risk Management Tools

Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR): Auto-refunds to prevent disputes from escalating.
Order Insight (OI): Sends transaction data to issuers, reducing “unrecognized” disputes.
Compelling Evidence 3.0: Strong evidence for responding to unauthorized transaction disputes.
CDRN Alerts: Provides immediate dispute notifications from banks.

📊 Monitoring & Reporting

Use dashboards, alerts, and transaction analytics.
Generate monthly VAMP reports/deep dives.
Perform root cause analysis on spikes and create corrective plans.

🎯 Strategic Prevention

Improve transaction clarity—reduce confusion around subscriptions or pricing.
Enhance UX: Better descriptions, cancellation flows, and shipping transparency.
Use fraud filters: AVS, CVV validation, device fingerprinting.

7. Consequences of Non-Compliance

💸 Financial Impact

$10 fee per Escalated transaction post-advisory period.

🚫 Processing Disruption

Visa may suspend merchant capability until metrics improve or evidence of controls is provided .

🌐 Industry Perception

A high VAMP ratio signals poor fraud control; acquirers may impose stricter limits or higher fees.

8. What Merchants & Acquirers Should Do Now

✅ Audit Current Metrics

Pull historical data to understand your baseline:

VAMP ratio, enumeration ratio, dispute trends.

✅ Deploy Risk Tools

Activate RDR, OI, CE 3.0, and CDRN across affected transaction channels.

✅ Define Internal Thresholds

Set internal triggers (e.g., 0.5%) to stay ahead of new limits.

✅ Educate Staff

Ensure stakeholders understand VAMP, dispute resolution best practices, and escalation protocols.

✅ Monitor Continuously

Use near real-time analytics and automated alerts.

✅ Update Policies

Adjust billing/outhood communication and dispute resolution workflows.

9. Why Iron Rock Payments Recommends VAMP Readiness

As your payments partner, Iron Rock Payments provides:

Integrated solutions: CDRN, OI, RDR, and CE 3.0 support.
Analytics dashboards: Monthly VAMP scorecards and alerts.
Consulting support: Program remediation, policy design, and staff training.

We offer proactive compliance support—not just reactive fixes—so you can continue processing Visa transactions without disruption.

Conclusion

Visa’s VAMP is not just a policy update—it represents a pivotal shift toward unified fraud and dispute oversight. With declining thresholds, expanded score inclusion, and instated penalties, it’s essential for merchants, acquirers, and ISOs to proactively:

Understand VAMP definitions and ratios
Activate fraud/dispute tools
Audit and monitor metrics closely
Develop internal escalation flows

IronRock Payments is committed to guiding you through these requirements—ensuring VAMP compliance while keeping your business secure and operational.