As the payments industry evolves, Visa’s new Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is emerging as a transformative regulatory shift for card acceptance, especially in high-risk verticals. At TCBPay, we aim to empower merchants and acquirers with insight, strategy, and readiness. In this article, we’ll dissect VAMP, explain how it redefines risk metrics, and offer actionable guidance to help you thrive under the new regime.

What Is VAMP?

Under the legacy system, Visa oversaw fraud and disputes/chargebacks via separate programs: VFMP (Visa Fraud Monitoring Program) and VDMP (Visa Dispute Monitoring Program). But in practice, fraud and disputes are often interlinked, test transactions trigger fraud attempts, refund claims follow, and this segmentation created gaps in oversight.

Enter VAMP: a unified framework that consolidates fraud, disputes, and enumeration (card-testing) metrics into a single risk metric and reporting structure. The principle is clear: Visa now holds upstream entities (acquirers, ISOs, gateways) accountable for the aggregate risk posture of their merchant portfolios, not just individual merchants.

Key Features & Changes Under VAMP

• The core metric is now a unified ratio:
  VAMP Ratio = (Fraud [TC40] + Disputes [TC15]) ÷ Settled Transactions [TC05] 

• Enumeration monitoring: Low-dollar or failed “card testing” attempts now feed into a separate Enumeration Ratio, which can also trigger scrutiny. (Chargeback Gurus)

• Minimum event thresholds: Only merchants/acquirers with a base minimum number of fraud + dispute incidents (e.g. 1,500 per month) are eligible for VAMP classification. (Chargebacks911)

• Simplified enforcement tiers and penalties: Entities exceeding thresholds face per-event fees or contractual enforcement. (Chargebacks911)

• Staged rollout with advisory period: VAMP rules went live on April 1, 2025, with an advisory (non-enforcement) period through September 30, 2025. 

• Threshold tightening over time:

  • Initially, the merchant “excessive” threshold is 2.2%, dropping to 1.5% on April 1, 2026. 

  • Acquirer-level thresholds begin in the 0.5%–0.7% band. 

  • Enforcement for “Above Standard” acquirers begins January 1, 2026. 

Visa asserts that VAMP could detect four times more fraud than the legacy approach, potentially safeguarding over US $2.5 billion annually in losses. 

Impact on High-Risk Payments: Challenges & Elevated Stakes

High-risk merchants already endure elevated dispute and fraud rates. Under VAMP, those dynamics tighten:

• Smaller margins for error: A merchant running 2% disputes + 0.5% fraud might have been acceptable under old rules, but under VAMP’s unified metric, that 2.5% combined becomes instantly noncompliant.

• Enumeration effects magnified: Frequent card-testing (even failing transactions) now contribute to your Enumeration Ratio, which can trigger enrollment.

• Accelerated termination risk: Exceeding thresholds may cause acquirers to terminate accounts swiftly to protect their portfolio.

• Fee pass-downs: Per-event fees from Visa may cascade downstream to merchants.

• Stricter underwrites & controls: Acquirers will tighten KYC, merchant profiling, and portfolio monitoring.

• Processor attrition in risky verticals: Some processors may withdraw support from the riskiest segments, narrowing merchant options.

In short: the stakes are higher, and risk tolerance is lower.

How TCBPay Helps Merchants Stay VAMP-Compliant and Resilient

TCBPay operates in the payments risk space — VAMP is not just compliance but a structural shift in measurement and enforcement. Here’s how we support merchants:

1. Real-time Monitoring & Alerts
   Dashboards tracking combined VAMP ratio, enumeration, and trend anomalies.

2. Transaction Filtering & Risk Scoring
   Inline systems to block suspicious enumeration/fraud attempts before settling.

3. Chargeback / Dispute Mitigation & Recovery
   Help with pre-dispute resolution, representment strategy, and mitigation playbooks.

4. Acquirer / Processor Relationships & Advocacy
   Partnerships with acquirers familiar with high-risk verticals and advocacy for account health.

5. Onboarding & Underwriting Best Practices
   Structuring descriptors, refund policies, KYC gating, controls to reduce VAMP exposure.

6. Strategic Advisory & Stress Testing
   Simulations of merchant ratios under VAMP to guide mitigation and growth paths.

Strategic Moves Your Business Should Make Now

To stay ahead of enforcement and safeguard your operations:

• Audit current metrics: Combine past fraud + chargeback data to simulate where your VAMP ratio sits today.

• Strengthen dispute prevention flows: Use pre-dispute tools, friendly refund options, proactive support, and crystal-clear billing descriptors.

• Detect & block enumeration attacks: Employ velocity limits, CAPTCHAs, behavioral filtering, device/IP reputation tools.

• Segment high-risk lines: Consider isolating riskier flows into separate merchant entities to insulate other operations.

• Maintain fallback rails / alternative processors: Always have contingency merchant accounts or alternative acceptance paths.

• Negotiate risk-sharing clarity: Align terms with acquirers about who bears fees, enforcement exposure, and thresholds.

• Implement continuous monitoring & alerts: Stay agile, detect shifts early.

• Stay updated & adaptive: VAMP is new and evolving, monitor Visa updates, consult your acquirers, and iterate practices.

Sample Data & Illustrative Scenarios

Illustrative example: A merchant processes 10,000 settled Visa transactions in a month and receives 150 TC15 disputes + 50 TC40 fraud reports:

• Under old rules, they might have looked only at the 150 disputes (i.e. 1.5% dispute rate).

• Under VAMP, (150 + 50) / 10,000 = 2.0% potentially putting them close to or above thresholds.

• If in April 2026 thresholds tighten to 1.5%, even this level of combined activity becomes dangerous.

Visa’s VAMP is more than a new compliance memo, t’s a paradigm shift: a tighter, unified, and upstream enforcement of payment risk. For high-risk merchants, the stakes are elevated, but so is the opportunity: merchants that stay vigilant, surgical in risk controls, and backed by payment partners who understand VAMP will be best positioned to navigate this new landscape.

At TCBPay, our mission is clear: to serve as your payments risk partner, not just your processor. As VAMP’s mandates come into effect, we’re here to help you preserve account integrity, minimize penalties, and scale with confidence.