Visa Acquirer Monitoring ProgramMajor Updates Adopted in April 2025 are Transforming the Merchant-Acquirer Relationship

Important Developments for Acquirers & Merchants: Major Updates for the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)

Visa maintains strict monitoring on the number of chargebacks an acquirer and their merchants are allowed to receive each month.

As a merchant, this could mean incurring added fees and restrictions on your activities. If the problem remains persistent, your bank may be forced to freeze or terminate your bank account entirely.

At least, that was the way it worked.

However, with a recent overhaul of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program ( or “VAMP”), we will soon see changes which will simplify and evolve this process. This program update will transform the way both merchants and acquirers interact with the Visa risk ecosystem.

What is the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program?

Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program

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The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is a consolidated initiative that tracks acquirer activity related to fraud and chargebacks. It leverages a transaction count-based metric and the Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) Score system to offer better risk-based enforcement and improved fraud coverage.

Before going into the details of the program updates, it will be helpful to have a working knowledge of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program.

The VAMP is designed to help acquirers, their designated agents, and merchants maintain robust controls and oversight of risk. The ultimate aim is to protect the Visa brand from undesirable fraud and chargeback activity by deterring fraudulent and compromising business practices in the Visa ecosystem.

Each month, Visa will examine the performance of acquirers and their merchants. The card network will conduct a thorough review of non-fraud disputes filed on card-not-present transactions, as well as fraud incidents and enumeration performance. Visa will gauge performance conduct on the previous month's overall sales activity.

Visa aims to collaborate with acquirers to ensure the security of the payments environment. To this end, a Visa representative may reach out to discuss the program's performance, the remediation plan, and any relevant issues to assist acquirers.

What's Changing?

Visa phased out the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) for merchants operating in most global regions as of April 2025. The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program was enhanced to effectively replace these two programs.

Under former Visa rules, the program thresholds were as follows:

VDMP

Program	Monthly Threshold
VDMP Early Warning	0.65% chargeback ratio and 75 chargebacks
VDMP Standard	0.9% chargeback ratio and 100 chargebacks
VDMP Excessive	1.8% chargeback ratio and 1,000 chargebacks

VFMP

Program	Monthly Threshold
VFMP Early Warning	$50,000 and 0.65% of sales value
VFMP Standard	$75,000 and 0.9% of sales value
VFMP Excessive	$250,000 and 1.8% of sales value

VAMP

Program Level	Program Threshold
VAMP Card-Absent Dispute Threshold	750 disputes and 1% dispute ratio
VAMP Card-Absent Fraud Threshold	$500,000 in card-absent fraud and 1% fraud-to-sales ratio

The revised VAMP program features a new transaction count-based metric which counts reported fraud and disputes (both fraud and non-fraud). This will be accompanied by new criteria based on confirmed enumerated transactions, identified and confirmed by the Visa Account Attack Intelligence (VAAI) Score system, rather than Risk Operations Center (ROC)-blocked transactions.

Additionally, the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program will transition from non-compliance, assessment-based enforcement to risk-based enforcement. This will provide greater flexibility for clients and accommodate varying levels of risk appetite.

What is Visa OneERS?

Another major change to come as a part of this update will be the introduction of the Visa’s OneERS technology.

OneERS is a new risk technology tool being introduced by Visa. It’s a case management apparatus that will allow Visa acquirers to independently monitor their portfolio performance. These acquirers can then automate key aspects of case management, with the goal being to improve operational efficiencies for all parties.

Visa will use OneERS to provide access to a performance tracking dashboard, enabling acquirers to understand the key drivers of their performance. They can then engage in more self-service management of cases.

OneERS is designed to be usable for all risk management services in the Visa ecosystem. The tool uses a Microsoft Dynamics interface and is accessible through Visa Online for ease of use.

Revised VAMP Program Thresholds & Enforcement Levels

An acquirer is identified as being in the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program if they meet or exceed either the new fraud and disputes ratio, or the new enumeration ratio. These are calculated as follows:

In the table below, I’ve outlined the former program thresholds, as well as the new thresholds that took effect in April 2025, to make it easier to understand the changes taking place:

See the full version of the table

Acquirer Criteria	Former Program Design				Updated Program Design (Effective June 1, 2025)
Definition	Fraud Non-fraud disputes				Fraud All disputes
Single Ratio	No change (The core program metric continues to be a single, count-based ratio, the VAMP ratio.)
Monthly Thresholds for Identification in Program	Early Warning	Above Standard	Excessive	Merchant Excessive	Early Warning	Above Standard	Excessive	Merchant Excessive
	≥ 20 bps to < 30bps	≥ 30 bps to < 50bps	≥ 50 bps	AP, Canada, CEMEA, Europe, U.S: ≥ 150 bps LAC: ≥ 90bps	≥ 40 bps to < 50bps	≥ 50 bps to < 70bps	≥ 70 bps	AP, Canada, CEMEA, Europe, U.S: ≥ 220 bps1 LAC: ≥ 150bps
Minimum Count of Fraud & Disputes	1,0002				1,5003
Pre-Dispute Products	No change (Disputes resolved through pre-dispute resolution products are excluded.)
Fees	Fees are assessed on merchant volume exceeding monthly threshold of ≥ 30bps (if acquirer is identified in VAMP)				Fees are assessed on merchant volume exceeding monthly threshold of ≥ 50bps and VAMP count of ≥ 5 (if acquirer is identified in VAMP)
	Per monthly count of fraud and disputes: USD 5/USD 10/USD 104 (no fees for Early Warning)				Per monthly count of fraud and disputes: USD 4/USD 8/USD 85 (no fees for Early Warning)
Grace Period	No change (Clients are eligible for a 90-day grace period for every 12 months they are not identified in the program.)

• ¹ Effective 1 April 2026 for the AP, Canada, Europe and U.S. regions, this threshold will be lowered to 150 bps.
• ² For CEMEA merchants, the current minimum count of fraud and disputes is 100 or more combined fraud and non-fraud disputes with the amount totaling ≥ USD 75,000.
• ³ Effective 1 June 2025 for CEMEA merchants, the minimum count of fraud and disputes will be 150 or more combined fraud and non-fraud disputes with the amount totaling ≥ USD 75,000.
• ⁴ Above Standard: USD 5 / Excessive: USD 10 / Merchant Excessive: USD 10.
• ⁵ Above Standard: USD 4 / Excessive: USD 8 / Merchant Excessive: USD 8.

Identified acquirers will receive notification of their status from Visa and are expected to make a response. This notification will explain:

• The reason for the identification
• Response timeline
• Consequences for noncompliance
• Best practices (when applicable)

In response, acquirers must enhance their risk control environment and address the issues that led to their identification. They are required to submit a remediation plan within 15 calendar days that addresses the root causes of the performance issues.

VAMP Enforcement Levels

Acquirers who surpass the identification thresholds are flagged for the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program and are required to take corrective actions. VAMP identifies two levels of performance issues:

Acquirers identified as Above Standard or Excessive due to fraud and disputes will be subject to fines. These fines are intended to encourage acquirers (and by extension, their merchant clients) to behave responsibly in regards to fraud and dispute management.

First-time violations within a rolling 12-month period will result in an acquirer being given a three-month grace period in which to fix the problem. After that grace period ends, fines may be applied to every dispute or TC40 received involving any merchant with a Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program ratio above 0.3% of transactions. Fines can also be applied to the acquirer if a specific merchant exceeds the thresholds.

Different fees will be applied at different levels of the program. As of this writing, these are the fees that will be assessed, effective as of the dates in the table in the above section.

When Do All These Changes Take Effect?

Visa is going to take a gradual approach to the enforcement of these new rules and processes.

The rollout will begin with a six-month advisory period, extending from April 1 through September 30. Visa had previously stated that this advisory period would last for 90 days. But, they decided to extend the period after consulting with merchants and trade groups.

Visa will not assess any fines to acquirers during the advisory period. But, acquirers should take this time as an opportunity to ensure that they have appropriate risk controls in place.

Visa will start assessing fines to acquirers, in line with the table in the Revised VAMP Program Thresholds & Enforcement Levels section, beginning on October 1, 2025.

What Do Merchants & Acquirers Need to Do?

In short: make sure you’re using all the tools at your disposal.

As we mentioned above, disputes resolved through Verifi CDRN or Visa Rapid Dispute Resolution will not be included in Visa acquirer monitoring ratios. The same applies to inquiries resolved during the pre-dispute stage using Order Insight or Compelling Evidence 3.0.

At present, all chargebacks count against your chargeback ratio. Even if you refund a dispute to prevent a chargeback, it can still adversely affect your fraud-to-sales ratio and/or dispute-to-sales ratio. Plus, like we mentioned above, you will face higher processing fees and penalties if either of those indicators surpass a specific limit.

The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program will offer merchants a way to avoid the restrictions associated with VDMP and VFMP, provided disputes are resolved through designated Visa and Verifi channels. It will also lead to enhanced fraud coverage across the ecosystem.

The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program program aims to assist acquirers in managing the levels of risk, fraud, and disputes in their portfolio.

These changes give acquirers more flexibility to manage their overall portfolio. It also enhances their ability to manage and maintain effective oversight of individual merchants.

In Conclusion...

Tools like CDRN, RDR, and Order Insight with CE3.0 are more crucial than ever in helping Visa merchants minimize dispute exposure. Moreover, resolving disputes through these platforms will not invite penalties.

Merchants can also expect additional benefits like increased authorization rates and lower reserve requirements owing to reduced dispute ratios.

The changes to the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program represent a significant evolution in compliance activity associated with dispute management. Our European clients can look forward to the same protective measures offered by our integrated tools of CDRN, RDR, and Order Insight, but now with additional flexibility in managing their processing ratios courtesy of VAMP.

Not currently using tools like CDRN or RDR? You’re leaving money on the table. Talk to one of our experts today to get started and see your fraud and chargeback liability shrink by as much as 90% overnight.