Reference guide
Visa VAMP, in one ratio.
Visa's Acquirer Monitoring Program in Visa's published numbers, with Mastercard's program beside it.
- VAMP is Visa's single fraud and dispute program for acquirers and their merchants.
- VAMP ratio: fraud reports plus disputes, divided by settled card-not-present transactions.
- U.S. merchants are Excessive at 150 bps (1.5%) with at least 1,500 events a month.
- It absorbed the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) and Visa Fraud Monitoring Program.
The program
What Visa's VAMP is
- One program
- VAMP consolidated VAMP, the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program and the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program.
- Effective April 1, 2025
- Visa's announcement: five fraud and dispute programs became one acquirer program.
- Advisory period
- Enforcement waited for an advisory period that ended September 30, 2025.
- Monthly monitoring
- Visa checks fraud, dispute and enumeration levels each month, for acquirers and merchants.
- Outliers
- Visa says the program focuses on outliers and time-bound remediation of root causes.
- Regions still to come
- Visa says programs for Brazil and Chile will be announced later.
The VAMP ratio
How the VAMP ratio is calculated
Fraud and a dispute on the same sale count separately, Visa says.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| VAMP ratio | (Fraud TC40 + disputes TC15) ÷ settled transactions TC05 |
| VAMP count | Fraud reports (TC40) plus disputes (TC15) |
| Transactions in scope | Card-not-present VisaNet, domestic and cross-border |
| Excluded | Disputes resolved through pre-dispute solutions |
| Excluded | TC40 fraud that qualifies for Compelling Evidence 3.0 |
| Basis points (bps) | 100 bps equals 1% |
Published thresholds
VAMP thresholds Visa has published
Merchant thresholds apply when the acquirer is not itself Above Standard or Excessive.
| Identification | Applies to | VAMP ratio | Monthly count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Above Standard | Acquirer portfolio | 50 bps (0.5%) or more | 1,500 or more (U.S.) |
| Excessive | Acquirer portfolio | 70 bps (0.7%) or more | 1,500 or more (U.S.) |
| Excessive Merchant | Merchants in AP, Canada, EU, U.S. | 150 bps (1.5%) or more | 1,500 or more |
| Excessive Merchant | Merchants in Latin America and Caribbean | 150 bps (1.5%) or more | 1,500 or more |
| Excessive Merchant | Merchants in CEMEA | 220 bps (2.2%) or more | 150 or more, and USD 75,000 |
| Enumeration | Merchants | Enumeration ratio of 2,000 bps or more | 300,000 or more enumerated authorizations |
What changed
The April 1, 2026 merchant change
- Before
- Excessive Merchant meant a VAMP ratio of 220 bps or more in AP, Canada, EU, U.S.
- From April 1, 2026
- The threshold dropped to 150 bps in those four regions.
- Unchanged
- The 1,500 monthly count, and the acquirer levels of 50 and 70 bps.
- CEMEA
- Still 220 bps, with 150 events and USD 75,000 a month.
Who does what
Visa, acquirers and merchants
Visa tells merchants to ask their acquirer about its VAMP ratio performance.
| Party | Role Visa describes |
|---|---|
| Visa | Sets the program framework and thresholds |
| Acquirer | Monitors, engages merchants, runs remediation; may set its own thresholds |
| Merchant | Works with the acquirer on requirements, reporting and early warnings |
| Any identified entity | Must put risk mitigation controls in place |
Mastercard's program
Mastercard Excessive Chargeback Program
- Two categories
- Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM) and High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM).
- Basis points
- Chargebacks in a month ÷ Mastercard transactions the month before × 10,000.
- Where thresholds live
- In Mastercard's Data Integrity Monitoring Program manual, not among its public rules downloads.
- Acquirer monitoring
- Acquirers of ECM and HECM merchants monitor them in Mastercard's Data Integrity application.
- After six months
- Mastercard may advise the acquirer's action plan or require a risk review.
- MATCH reason code 04
- Excessive chargebacks is also a MATCH listing reason, with its own criteria.
Lowering the ratio
What Visa's own materials point to
- Pre-dispute resolution
- Disputes resolved through pre-dispute solutions are excluded from the VAMP ratio.
- Compelling Evidence 3.0
- TC40 fraud that qualifies for Compelling Evidence 3.0 is excluded from the ratio.
- Enumeration controls
- Acquirers must take proactive steps to keep merchants under enumeration thresholds.
- Business practices
- Visa points to product quality, marketing messages and proactive fraud tools.
- Early warning
- Visa says it warns clients approaching the Above Standard or Excessive levels.
Questions
What people ask about VAMP.
- What is Visa VAMP?
- The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program: Visa's combined fraud and dispute monitoring program.
- What is the VAMP ratio?
- Fraud (TC40) plus disputes (TC15), divided by settled card-not-present transactions (TC05).
- What replaced VDMP?
- VAMP. Visa consolidated its Dispute and Fraud Monitoring Programs into it in 2025.
- What is the VAMP threshold for merchants?
- In the U.S., 150 bps and 1,500 monthly fraud and disputes, since April 1, 2026.
- What are the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program thresholds for acquirers?
- Above Standard at 50 bps; Excessive at 70 bps, across the acquirer's portfolio.
- What is the Mastercard Excessive Chargeback Program?
- Mastercard's monthly chargeback monitoring of merchants, with ECM and HECM categories.
Sources
Where every fact comes from.
Primary sources only. Rules change, so check the date above.
- Visa: VAMP Overview fact sheet (updated May 2026, PDF)
- Visa: VAMP Overview fact sheet (May 2025, PDF)
- Visa: Introducing the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (update of March 24, 2025)
- Visa: Evolving the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (interview transcript)
- Visa: Program refresh takes aim at payments fraud
- Mastercard: Security Rules and Procedures, Merchant Edition, 4 August 2026, section 8.3
- Mastercard: Mastercard Rules, 2 June 2026 (ECM criteria reference)
- Mastercard: rules and compliance programs page
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