Visa VAMP’s New Regulations – What This Means for Chargeback Management

Strong relationships with payment card networks and acquirers are essential for any merchant aiming to maintain smooth, secure payment operations. A major part of sustaining those relationships is keeping fraud and dispute levels low through effective detection and prevention strategies.

The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) was introduced as a unified framework for evaluating acquirer and merchant fraud performance.¹ VAMP has been active since June of last year, with enforcement fines beginning in October. With the program now well underway, Visa is preparing to introduce updated thresholds in April 2026.

As Visa has gathered months of performance data from enrolled acquirers and merchants, the ability of your business to adapt to VAMP’s evolving requirements will play a significant role in shaping your future standing with both acquirers and Visa.

VAMP Ratios: What’s Changing in 2026

The consolidated VAMP model launched in 2025 was meant to simplify fraud and dispute reporting, but also introduced tough and tightening thresholds for merchants trying to avoid strict protocols and restrictions from acquirers.

Those thresholds are based on a consolidated number, called the VAMP ratio. It’s calculated by adding the number of fraudulent transactions based on Visa’s TC40 reporting to the number of disputed transactions based on Visa’s TC15 reporting, then dividing it by the number of settled transactions based on Visa’s TC05 reporting by merchant descriptor. The threshold for what constitutes an acceptable VAMP ratio differs by region, and the numbers are set to change in April 2026 across three of those regions.

Regions with threshold changes

Merchants in the following areas see their Excessive Merchant threshold lowered from 220 basis points to 150 basis points²:

• U.S.
• Canada
• European Union
• Asia-Pacific

Meeting this more stringent threshold may require merchants to reassess and strengthen their fraud-prevention and dispute-management practices² and may require changes relative to current practices around fraud prevention and reporting. 

• Regions with no changes:  Latin America & the Caribbean: Already at 150 basis points
• Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa (CEMEA): Remains at 220 basis points, but with a lower allowable monthly fraud count than in other regions.³

Ensuring your business remains below these thresholds and preparing for the upcoming restrictions is essential for avoiding corrective actions and maintaining operational stability. 

There is another consideration beyond individual ratios, as well. Acquirers’ whole portfolios are also assessed for merchant risk, and risk mitigation control measures can be handed down for acquirers or merchants that exceed thresholds.

If an acquirer’s whole portfolio of merchants has a VAMP ratio of 50 basis points or more, it is tagged as Above Standard, and if it’s 70 basis points or more, it’s labeled Excessive.⁴ For acquirers that are within these thresholds, we expect them to actively push the merchants within their portfolio with the highest ratios to lower their ratio through a myriad of different levers.  This could include higher reserves, increased processing fees, and potentially even informing the merchant they will need to find a new payment provider. 

Making the most of VAMP

While new thresholds can feel daunting, VAMP also offers clarity. With unified metrics and predictable updates, merchants have a clear target to work toward. Staying below Excessive thresholds not only avoids penalties but also helps ensure a secure, trustworthy experience for your customers.

Challenges and risks

Once merchants exceed the Excessive threshold, they’re in line to pay fees of $8 USD for every fraud and dispute. With the Excessive threshold lowering for merchants in multiple regions on April 1st, avoiding these fees is becoming more challenging.⁵

VAMP fees were deferred for enrolled merchants through October 1st, 2025 which was during the first months of VAMP. They are now in force, and merchants with VAMP ratios over the threshold are now liable.⁶ There is also a second tier of lower fees for acquirers who have an Above Standard VAMP ratio, but not Excessive, at $4 per transaction. That came into force in January 2026.⁷

Beyond these fees, there is the danger of experiencing a deteriorating relationship with acquirers based on a merchant’s VAMP ratio. Your company should try to avoid these issues preemptively whenever possible.

Keys to success

One of the most effective ways to keep your VAMP ratio low is to leverage Compelling Evidence 3.0, Visa’s enhanced data-sharing framework. Fraud reports resolved through preventative tools or Compelling Evidence 3.0 do not count toward your VAMP ratio.

If your organization doesn’t yet share data with Visa via its Compelling Evidence framework, now is a good time to start. Many merchants have taken this step, with 87% of companies globally using this method to dispute first-party misuse cases, 85% aware of the latest updates to the system, and 79% using the updated rules to their advantage to block or reverse first-party misuse cases.⁸

In addition, by embracing modern anti-fraud technology and streamlined data exchange, merchants can reduce disputes, strengthen their fraud defenses, and improve outcomes in cases of first-party misuse as well as true hostile fraud.

These improvements don’t just support VAMP compliance, they help futureproof your business as digital commerce continues to evolve.

Additional Considerations for Merchants Preparing for 2026

As thresholds tighten and enforcement expands, merchants should be aware of several operational factors that can influence their VAMP performance beyond fraud-prevention and dispute management tools alone.

Clarifying what counts toward your VAMP ratio

Not all fraud and dispute categories impact the VAMP ratio equally. Understanding which transaction types that Visa includes, such as card not present unauthorized fraud categories and first-party misuse disputes, helps merchants pinpoint the true drivers of their ratio and prioritize corrective action.

What happens if you exceed thresholds

Visa’s corrective action process escalates over time. Merchants who cross Excessive thresholds may face increased monitoring, mandated remediation plans, or acquirer-driven controls. These steps can add operational friction and may affect a merchant’s long-term relationship with its acquirer.

How acquirer-level performance affects you

Even if your own VAMP ratio is below threshold, your acquirer’s portfolio-level status can still trigger additional oversight. Acquirers labeled Above Standard or Excessive may impose stricter requirements on all merchants in their portfolio to bring ratios down.

The importance of data accuracy

Misclassified MCCs, uneven settlement timelines, and inaccurate fraud reporting can all distort a merchant’s VAMP ratio. Ensuring clean, accurate data flows between systems reduces the risk of avoidable penalties.

Practical tactics to reduce your ratio

Beyond CE 3.0, merchants can strengthen their position by implementing other screening capabilities such as device intelligence, velocity checks, pre-authorization screening, and enhanced customer authentication for all or some of their sales. These measures help to reduce both fraud and disputes, directly improving VAMP performance.  And in some cases, such as device intelligence, help to provide the key attributes which are part of Visa’s CE3.0 framework.

In Closing

The updated VAMP framework presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Merchants that fail to adapt may find themselves slipping above the new thresholds, but those that invest in modern fraud prevention, dispute-reduction strategies, and chargeback management will be well positioned to stay compliant and deliver secure, seamless customer experiences. Proactive steps such as implementing advanced fraud-prevention platforms, using delayed strategies, and adopting Compelling Evidence 3.0 within your chargeback management approach can make all the difference. Choosing a holistic fraud-prevention and chargeback management partner plays a major role in how effectively you navigate these changes today and into the future.

Meet Accertify at MRC Vegas 2026.  You will find us at Booth #211.

 ¹Visa, 2025
²Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Update May 2025 report
³Visa, 2025
⁴Visa, 2025
⁵Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Update May 2025 report
⁶Visa’s Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP): Updated 2025 Guide for Merchants Ahead of Enforcement | Optimized Payments
⁷Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Update May 2025 report
⁸Visa, 2025, report page 31