The program no longer exists by that name, but the principles continue to guide retailers through the dispute process.
There's a good chance you've come across mentions of the Visa Chargeback Monitoring Program if you've been researching Visa chargeback rules. However, you should know that Visa retired that program name in 2019, so you won't find any official information on it. The term is still widely used in the payments industry, but Visa's approach to monitoring chargebacks and fraud has changed significantly.
A framework called the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program, or VAMP, is now responsible for chargeback oversight, among other things. This change was necessary as Visa put more focus on reducing fraud and holding merchants and acquirers accountable for excessive dispute activity.
In short, retailers that end up in too many disputes or on too many fraud reports will face serious consequences, including increased scrutiny from their acquiring bank and, in severe cases, the loss of payment processing privileges.
This guide explains what the Visa Chargeback Monitoring Program was and discusses what retailers need to know about Visa's current requirements under VAMP.
The Visa Chargeback Monitoring Program was meant to identify retailers that were generating too many chargebacks. The idea was that the program would help Visa and acquiring banks reduce fraud and protect cardholders from retailers that were causing problems.
Visa used the program to monitor retailer performance using metrics like chargeback counts and chargeback-to-transaction ratios. Merchants that went beyond the established thresholds could be flagged for excessive dispute activity and placed in a monitoring program.
Once a merchant entered the program, the acquiring bank was responsible for working with that business to identify the causes of chargebacks and come up with ways to improve.
Remediation efforts would depend on the severity of the issue and often included things like:
Retailers that failed to bring their dispute levels under control would face escalating consequences, including fines or even termination of their merchant account.
The phrase "Visa Chargeback Monitoring Program" is still used in the industry, but Visa's official terminology and its accompanying framework have changed over the years. In 2019, Visa renamed the program the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) as part of a shift toward dispute management.
Further updates eventually led to the creation of today's Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program.
Visa no longer evaluates retailers under a standalone chargeback monitoring program. Instead, they now combine fraud and dispute performance into a single framework known as the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program.
Visa had several long-standing risk monitoring initiatives that it brought together in 2025 to create an updated VAMP framework. This consolidation combined:
The result is a more streamlined approach that measures overall transaction risk, rather than evaluating disputes and fraud through separate programs with different thresholds and requirements.
The updated VAMP framework gives Visa and acquiring banks a more complete picture of retailer performance. It doesn't focus only on chargebacks or fraud incidents, as the program also evaluates how well merchants manage both issues together.
The reality is that fraud and disputes are often interconnected. A retailer experiencing elevated fraud levels will frequently see an increase in chargebacks and customer disputes as well, so managing both issues makes a lot of sense.
As a result, businesses can't look at fraud prevention and chargeback management as separate challenges. Under VAMP, both factors contribute to a merchant's overall risk profile.
The updated Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program has a new performance metric known as the VAMP Ratio. This ratio gives Visa and acquiring banks a single measurement that represents fraud activity and dispute performance.
The formula is:
VAMP Ratio = Fraud Reports (TC40) + Disputes (TC15) รท Settled Transactions (TC05)
The idea is that Visa adds the number of eligible fraud reports and disputes associated with a retailer together and then compares that total to the merchant's overall volume of settled transactions. The resulting percentage determines whether a retailer falls within acceptable risk thresholds.
This ratio is different than Visa's previous monitoring approach. For instance, the VDMP tracked disputes separately from fraud activity monitored under the VFMP, so businesses could focus on improving performance within one program without necessarily affecting the other.
Under VAMP, however, fraud and disputes are combined into a single performance metric. A rise in fraud reports can increase a business's VAMP Ratio, just as an increase in chargebacks or disputes can. This change means retailers have to look at their risk management profile as a whole, addressing fraud prevention and dispute reduction at the same time.
This new way of doing things means every transaction matters, because multiple risk factors now contribute to the same ratio. As a result, retailers have less room for error and must monitor transaction quality more closely than ever.
Business owners need to understand Visa's current thresholds, because many online resources still reference older monitoring programs and outdated compliance standards.
Retailers relying on outdated information may underestimate their risk exposure under the VAMP framework, which can create problems in the process.
Visa's current Excessive Merchant thresholds for Canada, the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region are:
Even small increases in fraud reports or chargebacks can impact a business's VAMP ratio, especially for small businesses that don't move much volume.
Regular monitoring and a dispute reduction plan can help businesses stay below Visa's thresholds, though, making them a necessity moving forward.
Exceeding Visa's VAMP thresholds doesn't automatically result in fines or the loss of a merchant account. However, it does place a business on Visa's radar and can trigger a series of escalating consequences if the company doesn't address the underlying issues.
First, Visa notifies the acquiring bank and asks it to take corrective action whenever a retailer exceeds VAMP thresholds. This action often begins with increased monitoring and a review of the merchant's fraud prevention and dispute management practices.
Acquirers may also require businesses to submit plans outlining specific steps to reduce fraud reports and disputes.
Retailers may face more scrutiny from Visa and their acquiring bank at this point, too. The bank might implement additional reporting requirements or impose processing restrictions until performance improves. Visa could also assess fines against the acquiring bank if the merchant doesn't address these problems, which the bank will pass on to the merchant.
Perhaps most importantly, persistent compliance issues can damage a merchant's relationship with its acquirer. Many acquiring banks have internal risk thresholds that are more conservative than Visa's official standards. In other words, a merchant may face intervention from its processor before it ever reaches Visa's published VAMP limits.
Ongoing fraud and dispute problems can result in merchant account termination in the most severe cases. Businesses that lose processing privileges due to excessive risk may also face a greater likelihood of being added to industry risk databases, making it more difficult to secure payment processing in the future.
The most effective way to avoid VAMP enrollment is to reduce the fraud and disputes that contribute to your VAMP Ratio. The program combines multiple risk indicators into a single metric, so merchants need a strategy that addresses fraud prevention and dispute reduction throughout the customer journey.
The best chargeback is the one that never happens.
Modern fraud prevention solutions can identify high-risk transactions before they are approved, reducing fraud losses and the disputes that often follow. Some of the most advanced tools on the market use behavioral analysis and AI-powered fraud detection to help retailers distinguish between legitimate customers and fraudsters.
Solutions that combine artificial intelligence and human expertise are also available. These solutions can improve fraud detection while minimizing the number of false declines a business encounters, which can protect revenue while reducing the fraud reports that contribute to a merchant's VAMP ratio.
Not all disputes are criminal fraud. Friendly fraud and first-party misuse are major contributors to chargeback volume.
Retailers can reduce these disputes by improving transaction transparency and providing card issuers with more information before a chargeback is filed.
Clear billing descriptors and easy-to-access order information can also help prevent customers from turning directly to their bank when questions arise.
Many businesses don't realize they have a dispute problem until they receive a warning from their acquirer. By that point, though, corrective action can be significantly more difficult and expensive.
As a result, it's very important that retailers keep an eye on their chargeback ratio at all times. Having a system that gives an early warning gives businesses time to investigate the causes and develop a plan.
The earlier a trend is identified, the easier it is to reverse.
Managing fraud and disputes internally can be challenging, particularly as Visa's standards continue to evolve. The good news is that an experienced fraud prevention partner can help retailers reduce risk while giving customers a positive experience.
ClearSale combines AI-driven fraud detection with human analyst review to help businesses prevent fraud before it becomes a chargeback. Contact ClearSale today to learn how a stronger fraud prevention strategy can help protect revenue, or request a demo today.
What Was Visa's Original Chargeback Monitoring Program?
The Visa Chargeback Monitoring Program would identify merchants generating excessive chargebacks and disputes. Retailers that exceeded Visa's thresholds could be placed into monitoring programs and required to work with their acquiring bank to reduce disputes.
What Does VAMP Stand For?
VAMP stands for Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program. It is Visa's current framework for monitoring merchant and acquirer performance related to fraud and other payment risk indicators.
How Is Merchant Performance Measured Under VAMP?
VAMP uses a single metric called the VAMP ratio to evaluate retailer risk. The ratio combines fraud reports and disputes and compares them to settled transaction volume, providing Visa with a more complete view of merchant performance.
What Are Visa's Current VAMP Compliance Thresholds?
The current Excessive Merchant threshold is a VAMP ratio of 1.50% with at least 1,500 fraud reports and disputes per month.
What Happens When a Merchant Exceeds VAMP Limits?
Merchants that don't meet VAMP thresholds will have to deal with increased monitoring and remediation requirements. Continued noncompliance can lead to fines and processing restrictions or, in the most severe cases, merchant account termination.
What Can Merchants Do to Avoid VAMP Enrollment?
Merchants can reduce their VAMP risk by preventing fraud before authorization and monitoring dispute activity. Working with a fraud prevention provider such as ClearSale can also help businesses reduce fraud losses.