Navigating Visa’s New VAMP: Is Your Business Ready?

In April 2025, Visa officially launched the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), a powerful compliance and risk management framework aimed at reducing fraud and chargebacks in card-not-present (CNP) environments. This initiative represents a consolidation of Visa’s existing monitoring frameworks, including the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) and the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP).¹

This integration signals a more unified and comprehensive approach by Visa to ensure the integrity of its payment system by actively detecting and preventing fraudulent activities.¹ As global payment systems continue to evolve, the need for stricter fraud controls has become more urgent than ever. VAMP represents Visa’s next-generation effort to improve the integrity of the ecosystem, but it also brings significant consequences for merchants who don’t adapt quickly.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key features of the new VAMP program, the direct impact it will have on merchants and acquirers, and how 3D Secure 2 plays a critical role in meeting these new expectations.

What is VAMP?

VAMP is a risk-based initiative launched by Visa to reduce excessive fraud and dispute rates among merchants by holding acquirers and their sub-merchants more accountable. It replaces Visa’s legacy fraud monitoring structures and brings more precision, greater scrutiny, and harsher penalties, particularly for online merchants processing high volumes of CNP transactions.

What’s Changed? Key Aspects of VAMP

1. Stricter Thresholds

At the heart of VAMP is a new metric called the VAMP ratio. This ratio is calculated by combining the total count of reported fraudulent transactions (identified through TC40 data) and non-fraud disputes (including TC15 messages and specific reason codes such as 11, 12, and 13) and dividing this sum by the total number of settled card-not-present transactions.² Merchants are now classified as “Excessive” if their fraud-to-sales or dispute-to-sales ratios exceed 1.5% starting April 2025. However, this bar becomes significantly tighter from January 2026, when the maximum allowable VAMP ratio will be reduced to 0.9%. This means that even merchants with moderate chargeback levels may fall into the high-risk category.

2. New Risk Calculation Method

Unlike previous programs that looked only at raw fraud volumes, VAMP now uses data-driven ratio-based metrics that take into account the volume of fraud and disputes relative to total sales. This provides a clearer picture of merchant performance but also means even small numbers of fraudulent transactions can push a low-volume merchant over the limit.

3. End of the Notice Period (“Yellow Card”)

Historically, Visa provided a grace period, often referred to as the “yellow card”, which gave merchants time to rectify their ratios before being penalised. Under VAMP, this leniency has been removed. Merchants can now face immediate penalties and reputational risk once they exceed the thresholds.

4. Revised Chargeback Fee Structure

Visa has introduced a tiered chargeback fee model, increasing fees for merchants who remain non-compliant or fall into the Excessive VAMP classification. These escalating fees are intended to incentivise proactive fraud prevention, while also compensating issuing banks for the cost of handling disputes.

5. Specific Monitoring for Enumeration Attacks (Card Testing)

VAMP also introduces a dedicated monitoring mechanism for card enumeration attacks, where fraudsters test stolen card credentials by sending a rapid burst of low-value transactions. Merchants flagged for enumeration activity will now be closely monitored, and potentially fined, even if those transactions do not result in successful purchases.

The Direct Impact: Penalties and Increased Scrutiny

VAMP introduces real financial consequences for merchants who don’t adapt. These include:

• Fines and processing penalties
• Reputational risk, including merchant account termination
• Increased acquirer oversight, requiring tighter fraud controls
• Potential listing as a high-risk merchant, affecting partnerships and processing rates

Acquirers will now be expected to monitor their sub-merchants more closely, report non-compliance, and work actively to remediate issues: meaning merchants can no longer operate in silos when it comes to fraud management.

3D Secure 2: A Shield Against VAMP Risks

While VAMP raises the bar, it also underscores the importance of strong payment authentication practices and that’s where 3D Secure 2 becomes indispensable.

3D Secure 2 is a modernised protocol for verifying cardholders during online purchases, offering smoother user experiences, biometric capabilities, and, most critically, fraud reduction and liability shift benefits. For merchants now facing VAMP’s tighter thresholds, 3DS2 can play a pivotal role in reducing both fraud and disputes.

Here’s how 3D Secure 2 can directly support VAMP compliance:

Stakeholder	Threshold (April 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2025)	Designation if Exceeded	Threshold (Jan 1, 2026 Onwards)	Designation if Exceeded
Acquirers	0.5%	Excessive	0.3%	Above Standard
Acquirers	N/A	N/A	0.5%	Excessive
Merchants	1.5%	Excessive	0.9%	Excessive
Enumeration	>300,000 transactions & >20% ratio	Excessive	>300,000 transactions & >20% ratio	Excessive

Conclusion

Visa’s Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) signals a new era of accountability in the payments ecosystem. With stricter thresholds, detailed metrics, and the removal of second chances, the pressure on merchants is undeniable. However, this also represents an opportunity to build more resilient fraud defences and elevate the customer experience.

3D Secure 2 is not just a compliance checkbox, it’s a strategic asset. By combining strong authentication with real-time fraud analytics and customer-centric policies, merchants can not only meet VAMP’s demands but also turn compliance into competitive advantage.

Now is the time to act – before the thresholds tighten further in 2026.

Team up with GPayments to ensure your business stays on top of the new regulations. Our solutions are designed to help you adapt quickly, keep friction to a minimum, and keep your customers happy.

References

1. Insight: The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) | Kount, accessed on April 24, 2025, https://kount.com/blog/insight-visa-acquirer-monitoring-program-vamp
2. Visa Announces New Change to VAMP Rules – Chargeback Gurus, accessed on April 24, 2025, https://www.chargebackgurus.com/blog/visa-announces-new-change-to-vamp-rules