Understanding the Latest Changes in Visa’s Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)

We previously shared an overview of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP).
In this blog, we highlight the latest updates, explain how the new calculation differs from the previous approach, and explore what these changes may mean for your business.

Key Changes in VAMP

To better address consumer pain points related to fraud and disputes, Visa has updated the VAMP ratio to reflect a combined view of risk by measuring both fraud (TC40) and dispute (TC15) transactions against total Visa transaction count.

However, unlike before, both a fraud alert and a resulting chargeback for the same transaction are now counted separately, potentially increasing a merchant’s VAMP ratio. While Visa has raised the acceptable limit to offset this change from 0,3% to 0,5%, merchants not using mitigation tools such as Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) may experience higher ratios compared to the previous framework.

Before diving into the changes, it’s useful to understand the key transaction categories and terms used in Visa’s reporting:

• Reported Fraud: Fraud alerts reported by issuers when they suspect a transaction was unauthorized or involved fraudulent activity (commonly referred to as TC40).
• Reported Chargebacks: These represent chargeback (dispute) transactions initiated by cardholders (commonly referred to as TC15).
• Cleared Transactions: These include all settled Visa transactions and serve as the total volume used to calculate monitoring ratios (commonly referred to as TC05).
• Compelling Evidence 3.0: A rule allowing merchants to dispute fraud-related chargebacks by demonstrating a pattern of legitimate transactions with matching customer data (e.g., IP address, device, or email), which can lead to the chargeback being canceled and excluded from VAMP counts.

These codes and terms form the backbone of Visa’s risk monitoring processes.

What’s Changed in the VAMP Ratio?

Old VAMP Ratio:

The VAMP ratio previously measured:

Reported Fraud + Non-fraud Chargebacks
Divided by total Visa transactions for the Calendar Month

If a merchant exceeded 0.3%, they could be identified as above standard/excessive and subjected to additional fees or fines.

New VAMP Ratio:

The new ratio combines:

Reported Fraud + Reported Chargebacks
Divided by total Visa transactions for the Calendar Month

Calculated based on activity within a calendar month.

Key Changes in the Formula:

Fraud alerts and chargebacks for the same transaction are now counted separately, which was not the case before. This change can inflate the VAMP ratio, especially for merchants without RDR.

Changes in thresholds:

If a merchant’s VAMP ratio exceeds 0.5% (up from 0.3%), they could be identified as above standard/excessive and subjected to additional fees or fines.

Example Calculation:

Suppose a merchant has the following monthly data:

60 fraud cases (TC40)
40 dispute cases (TC15)
12,000 total Visa transactions (TC05)

The VAMP ratio would be calculated as follows:

Includes: All card-absent transactions regardless of region.
Excludes: Chargebacks (TC15) resolved through RDR and confirmed Compelling Evidence 3.0 transactions.

This means the merchant’s VAMP ratio for that month is 0.83%

Implementation Timeline:

Full Enforcement (October 1, 2025): Penalties begin for entities exceeding excessive thresholds. Businesses must be fully compliant by this date to avoid penalties.

How to Stay Compliant

• Monitor VAMP Ratios: Regularly review your fraud and dispute metrics to stay within the updated thresholds.
• Implement Proactive Measures: Enhance authentication, integrate velocity checks, and apply robust fraud detection tools to mitigate risks.
• Collaborate with Your Acquirer: TrustPay will provide guidance and tools to ensure that merchants adapt to these new changes smoothly.

Navigating Visa’s latest updates requires a proactive and informed approach. Now more than ever, it’s important for merchants to stay on top of transaction patterns, leverage available tools, and be ready to adapt to evolving risk benchmarks.

Keeping a close partnership with your acquirer and maintaining clear internal reporting practices can make a significant difference.

For tailored advice or further guidance, please reach out to your account manager.