--- title: "Changes to dispute thresholds: What should merchants & acquirers do about Visa’s new VAMP?" date: 2025-06-03T10:30:00+01:00 author: Mark Barlow canonical_url: "https://www.ravelin.com/blog/visa-vamp-changes-chargeback-disputes" section: Blog --- Blog /[Payments & payment fraud](/resources?search=&category%5B0%5D=189241#resourceContainer "Go to Payments & payment fraud"), [3DS & SCA](/resources?search=&category%5B0%5D=134550#resourceContainer "Go to 3DS & SCA"), [Ravelin University](/resources?search=&category%5B0%5D=257999#resourceContainer "Go to Ravelin University") # Changes to dispute thresholds: What should merchants & acquirers do about Visa’s new VAMP? Visa is consolidating its dispute monitoring programs and introducing new metrics. What's new and how does it affect you? 03 June 2025 ![Changes to dispute thresholds: What should merchants & acquirers do about Visa’s new VAMP?](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_blogSmall/244589/Visa-VAMP-Blog-images-Feature-885-x-505-1.webp) **Note: In March 2025 and then May 2025, Visa announced further changes to VAMP. We updated this guide to reflect them. This guide was last updated in January 2026.** As one of the leading payment card issuing schemes, Visa makes decisions and announcements that can affect merchants significantly. One such development came on May 9, 2024, when a bulletin announced changes to the way Visa keeps tabs on merchants with high dispute rates – including a lot of chargebacks, in efforts to further curb [payment fraud](https://www.ravelin.com/old-pages-and-duplicates/solutions-o/online-payment-fraud). Further updates and clarifications came from Visa in March, April and May of 2025. Let’s take a deep dive into what’s changed and, importantly, what it could mean for all those who accept payments online. ## Key takeaways - **VDMP, VFMP and VAMP have combined into a new VAMP** - **New thresholds and metrics: VAMP rate and enumeration rate** - **Rolling out in Europe on April 1, 2025** - **VAMP enforcement officially started on October 1, 2025** - **All fraud reports (TC40) and fraud and non-fraud disputes (TC15) count in the VAMP ratio** ## What happened to VDMP and VFMP? According to the Visa Business News bulletin, Visa is consolidating its three payment integrity and dispute monitoring programs currently in effect into one: a boosted version of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), to be used both for merchants and acquirers. The changes roll out in the Visa Europe area first, then to the rest of the world. - The Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) is retiring on March 31, 2025. - The Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) is retiring on March 31, 2025. - The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is being updated, with the updates effective on April 1, 2025. - There is no longer an “above standard” threshold for merchants (it remains for acquirers). - A new indicator metric is introduced that looks at the transaction count and combines all disputes, both fraud and non-fraud. Old indicators are going away. - Visa is now focusing on risk-based enforcement rather than non-compliance assessment, citing “client flexibility” and “varying levels of risk appetite”. - There was a transitional period from April 1st, 2025 to December 31st, 2025. - VAMP enforcement started officially on October 1, 2025. ### Merchant thresholds (excessive VAMP ratio) RegionJune 2026 – March 2026April 2026 onwardsAP, Canada, EU, US2.2% (1500+ cases to qualify)1.5% (1500+ cases to qualify)LatAm (LAC)1.5% (1500+ cases to qualify)1.5% (1500+ cases to qualify)CEMEA2.2% (1550+ cases and $75,000 to qualify)2.2% (1550+ cases and $75,000 to qualify) ## What are the VAMP changes for merchants? Dispute thresholds are shifting, with the various metrics of other programs combining into a more rounded payment integrity approach. Some requirements are being streamlined as well. ### **1. Merchants now have one dispute ratio to keep track of.** Retiring older ways to calculate [chargebacks](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/chargeback-vs-refund-abuse) and other disputes, the new VAMP ratio is total disputes (**all TC40 fraud alerts and all TC15, including fraud and non fraud**) divided by total sales. ![new visa vamp ratio for fraud and disputes](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/321-VAMP-Blog-images-Blog-885-x-505.png)The new VAMP threshold for merchants is now **2.2% from June 2025, then dropping to 1.5% for some regions from the first day of April 2026**. Anything higher than that will be classed as “excessive”. The drop to 1.5% only applies to North America, the EU and Asia Pacific. Latin America and the Caribbean, on the other hand, have had a 1.5% threshold since April 2025, and they will remain on it. For clarity, - **"fraud disputes"** are defined by Visa as "number of card-absent fraud (TC40) by fraud post date" **as well as** the number of TC15 dispute condition 10 by central processing date – CPD; - **"non-fraud disputes"** are the "number of of non-fraud disputes (TC15, dispute condition codes 11, 12 and 13) by central processing date – CPD". - Total sales count is also calculated by CPD. Once a merchant (or acquirer) is labeled as excessive, they are enrolled into the VAMP program, which comes with additional fees and penalties. This applies to each merchant ID (MID) or each acquiring entity separately. This is a way to incentivize merchants and acquirers’ implementation of [payment fraud prevention](https://www.ravelin.com/old-pages-and-duplicates/solutions-o/online-payment-fraud-old) and to provide better protections to consumers. ### **2. A new enumeration ratio is introduced to incentivize detecting card testing.** Sometimes called card testing, enumeration transactions are performed by fraudsters in an attempt to validate and identify stolen card details. For merchants, not identifying and preventing these transactions could spell trouble, with the new enumeration ratio positing that if over 20% of submitted transactions are enumeration attacks, the merchant will be enrolled into VAMP. The enumeration ratio is global and applies to all regions. A minimum of 300,000 enumerated authorization transactions need to be identified via VAAI for penalties to apply. The formula to calculate the enumeration ratio is: ![enumeration ratio formula for new VAMP visa](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/321-VAMP-Blog-images-Blog-885-x-505-2.png)### **3. Resolved/refunded disputes resolved through pre-dispute products are excluded (as of June 2025)** There have been some changes in exclusions since the program was first announced. Previously, Visa had announced that VAMP ratio calculations would exclude disputes resolved through Visa’s Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) tool and Verifi's Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network (CDRN). Then, in March 2025, Visa announced that TC40 records would not be excluded after all. This has now changed again – please see below. The latest information from Visa is that **the following are excluded**: - TC15 non-fraud disputes resolved through pre-dispute solutions, including but not limited to RDR. - Disputes resolved through pre-dispute solutions will be excluded (contingent upon the timing of the data extract). - TC40 fraud qualified for Compelling Evidence 3.0 (contingent upon the timing of the data extract). ### ****4. The “above standard” enrollment stage is going away.**** Merchants are only enrolled into VAMP if they have excessive VAMP or enumeration ratios – no provisions are made for “above standard” or “early warning”. For acquirers, “above standard” VAMP ratio is between 0.5% and 0.7% (since January 1st, 2026). ## Our new chargeback ratio analysis for merchants In light of these developments, we’ve consulted Ravelin’s leading payments experts to answer some pressing questions for merchants. If you have any questions we haven’t answered below, [please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team](https://www.ravelin.com/contact-us) for help. ### **How can merchants be proactive?** The first thing to keep in mind is that owing to the EU’s PSD2 (and upcoming [PSD3](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/psd3-and-psr)) regulation, many organizations are likely to already be up to Visa’s updated standards. For example, some merchants might be using TRA (transaction risk analysis) to get fraud rate exemptions, thus achieving frictionless checkout for the customers. Therefore, they are unlikely to be letting through fraudsters. In fact, some industry insiders have already commented on how this seems to be Visa’s way of aligning its policies with the EU's regulation ecosystem. Another thing to remember is that although the focus of the changes is on the acquirers, who are the main liable entity, **acquirers are likely to pass on the costs** to merchants. In fact, as of late 2025, we are already seeing this phenomenon. The alternative would be that acquirers route more transactions through [3DS](https://www.ravelin.com/old-pages-and-duplicates/solutions-o/3ds-product-3d-secure-server-sdks), which is likely to introduce more friction, depending on how it’s done. - What do you already know about your chargeback rates and fraud rates? Try to match these to the new calculations. Are you close to the new thresholds? Could a massive fraud attack tip you over? - If your metrics are, or are expected to be, a problem, this probably means your block rate is too low or that you’re not blocking the right people. You’ll have to think about a strategy of preventing more fraud. But keep in mind that there’s always [a tradeoff between risk aversion and growth](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/success-of-fraud-prevention-tools). Being aware of the company’s current goals will help you match your fraud appetite with it, and implement this into thresholds. - Make sure to check what your acquirers’ terms and conditions say about chargeback ratios and who picks up the bills. This is a good starting point to managing your expectations. - Importantly, make sure your acquirer sends you all your chargebacks, so you are aware of how many you have and what fraud you might be missing. Transparency is key to prevent becoming part of the VAMP program, especially for disputes where the issuer takes liability. - Ask your acquirer if they are planning any changes due to Visa VAMP updates. Consider a switch if the answer is not to your liking – the earlier you start, the more time you will have to make the switch smoother. - Are you using a fraud prevention tool, and if so, is it standalone or via your acquirer? Ask your teams whether it will continue to support your needs with these changes, and how: Will the providers be addressing tweaks to the settings or will you need to make them? Would you be able to support this or do you need external help? - Consider [3D Secure](https://www.ravelin.com/old-pages-and-duplicates/solutions-o/3ds-product-3d-secure-server-sdks). There is a strong case for good fraud prevention no matter who you are. And 3DS is one way to do that – and in some cases, it might be the simpler solution. Is it more beneficial for you to address your ratios through fraud prevention or through 3DS? - This is a good time to evaluate how you’re counting [the cost of chargebacks](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/how-are-you-counting-the-cost-of-chargebacks) and setting your fraud thresholds. Doing so correctly can not just make your company compliant with card schemes’ expectations but also save you a lot of money. ### **Why healthy merchants can struggle with VAMP** Some merchants with stable fraud rates are still struggling with VAMP. Merchants may look healthy under older fraud/chargeback thinking, but still become exposed under these new VAMP calculations. This is because VAMP combines both fraud and service-related disputes into one broader performance review. A major challenge is lack of access to TC40 and TC15 data, which makes it difficult to know one's current VAMP exposure – which is such a challenge that some merchants are building predictive VAMP models, utilizing historical chargebacks, dispute trends, campaign plans, traffic forecasts, etc. The increased focus on consumer fraud also complicates things. [First-party abuse](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/friendly-fraud-consumer-fraud-survey) is a major concern because legitimate-looking customers may still later claim fraud, misrepresenting the truth to get a chargeback. While fraud tools are good at detecting stolen cards, they are weeker at detecting customers who will abuse the dispute process. Compelling Evidence 3.0 can help in some cases but it's not suitable for every business model. **VAMP shifts disputes from downstream recovery to upstream prevention**. [Even your refund policy can land you in VAMP hot water](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/refund-policy-vamp-ratio). ![Ravelin Logo](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/ravelin-symbol-logo-transparent.webp) ## Stop VAMP double-counting With Ravelin, you can stop fraudulent traffic from ever reaching the acquirer – preventing both TC40s and enumeration attacks and empowering post-authorization processes. [Find out how ](https://www.ravelin.com/contact-us) ### **Which transactions qualify for VAMP?** For purposes of calculating the new VAMP rates and enumeration rates, only VisaNet card-not-present (CNP) transactions, domestic, and cross-border transactions are considered. Fraud disputes, condition code 10, are included in the calculation. Non-fraud dispute condition codes 11 – Authorization, 12 – Processing Error and 13 – Customer Disputes are included in the calculation. To be considered for VAMP, a merchant needs to have a minimum of 1500 combined fraud and non-fraud disputes each month, which are then used to calculate the VAMP ratio. ### **Is this the time to sign up for Visa’s resolution and evidence tools?** Generally speaking, if you do fraud prevention properly, then you are unlikely to have to worry about these ratios in the first place. The June 2025 updates to Visa's VAMP calculations show there are benefits to adopting such tools, but they don't have to be Visa tools exclusively. Previously, Visa had announced certain exclusions only applicable to disputes going through Visa's own resolution and evidence tools, which were going to be excluded from ratio calculations. Therefore, it was a tempting suggestion for merchants. However, as of June 2025, this doesn't only apply to Visa's tools but others as well – including, for example, both Verifi and Ethoca. ### **What if my dispute ratio is only high because I have few CNP transactions?** As previously was the case with Visa’s monitoring programs, so too the new VAMP will have a minimum number of transactions to calculate disputes and enumeration transactions against. From April 1st, 2025, a minimum of 1500 disputes apply to acquirer and merchant thresholds. Therefore, smaller merchants who have fewer than 1500 disputes a month will not be taken into account for enrollment in the VAMP program – which is good news for those SMEs who may have worried about having to pay additional fees. ### **Why did Visa introduce an enumeration ratio?** The enumeration ratio was introduced because this type of attack never affected amount-based programs. Visa is targeting card testing with the enumeration ratio, because as a card scheme, they arguably have more of a vested interest in preventing these types of attacks than merchants. Enumeration attacks involve very small amounts of money, with the fraudster often using different online shops to test the card and to actually commit [payment fraud](https://www.ravelin.com/insights/online-payment-fraud) with those cards that have been found to work. Because of this, merchants are not affected as badly, as they incur minuscule losses when they do – but trust in Visa still deteriorates for the legitimate cardholders. In reality this is unlikely to be of relevance to most merchants that deploy fraud protection, as card testing attempts are relatively easy to detect and block. ### **What are the (new) fees for merchants on VAMP?** Fees and penalties imposed on merchants and acquirers on the VAMP program are now focused on enforcement rather than non-compliance. For merchants, it’s $8 per CNP per dispute (be it fraud or non-fraud). Visa noted that these fees are subject to change. Also announced were the specific criteria for exactly when the fees apply, in addition to the new thresholds. For instance, there is a 3-month grace period for first-time identifications. As previously, the worst case scenario for merchants on VAMP is that they can even lose their ability to accept payments with Visa cards. With Visa being the top card scheme worldwide, with roughly 39% of global transactions according to [Capital One Shopping](https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/credit-card-market-share-statistics/), it’s not a risk worth taking for most merchants. Enforcement for excessive VAMP came into effect in October 2025 and for "above standard" in January 2026. There are no "early warning" fees. ## How can merchants stop double-counting due to TC40s? TC40s can be opened on any authorized transaction. And All TC40s are included in the VAMP ratio. This means a single fraud dispute can count twice (as TC40 and TC15). [Traditional post-auth scoring](https://developer.ravelin.com/merchant/guides/other-guides/checkpoints/) might identify the fraud but if the authorization is not voiced (at extra processing cost), then a TC40 might still be opened. VAMP is penalizing merchants and acquirers for processing bad transactions – and post-auth doesn't stop that. With Ravelin, **merchants can score both pre- and post-authorization at no extra cost**, ensuring fraudulent traffic never reaches the acquirer, preventing both TC40s and enumeration attacks while empowering post-authorization processes. ## Why did Visa change its dispute monitoring programs? The reasoning provided by Visa includes “the rapidly evolving payments ecosystem, technological advancements in payment methods, and the potential for fraud, disputes and enumeration”. As always, consumer confidence in card payments, and especially so card-not-present payments, is a key motivator for Visa. Payment fraud is on the rise, with [69% of merchants reporting an increase](https://pages.ravelin.com/fraud-trends-2024-report) in the past year. In practical terms, Visa is simplifying and rationalizing its dispute monitoring programs, but also incentivizing merchants to make use of proprietary tools such as Verifi and add-ons. ### Acquirer thresholds for VAMP VAMP level designationJune 2026 onwardsEarly warning0.4 – 0.49%Above standard0.5 – 0.69%Excessive VAMP ratio0.7% and higher ## How does the new VAMP work for acquirers? Any discussion of the effect of this change on acquirers has to consider first that the program starts in the European continent, where most acquirers are already monitoring and reporting because of [PSD2](https://www.ravelin.com/insights/ultimate-guide-psd2-strong-customer-authentication) requirements. Therefore, it’s only high-risk specialty acquirers who might need to reconsider their strategy, such as those dealing with online gambling or certain financial products. At the same time, Visa seems to be **shifting the focus further on acquirers**. They will be impacted the most, and are expected to be proactive in managing their overall ratios and to work more closely with their merchants. In terms of the rest of the world, it seems that Visa is testing the waters with its European deployment, both in terms of practical adoption and of reactions. It remains to be seen whether the changes will be implemented as-is to the US and elsewhere, or be adapted and reconsidered. ### What are the new Visa VAMP thresholds for acquirers? Note that the new thresholds for acquirers are also different to merchants and stay the same throughout the transitionary period: From June 1, 2025, over 0.7% is “excessive” and 0.5% to 0.7% is defined as “above standard”. This means that just 0.5% will be sufficient to designate an acquirer as having “above standard” VAMP dispute rates – down from the current 0.9%. If an acquirer exceeds the threshold, a fee of $4 (for above standard) or $8 (for excessive) will apply to each dispute for all the merchants on the acquirer’s portfolio. ### How can acquirers be proactive? There are also actionable steps for acquirers to be better prepared for when these changes kick in: - **Assess the impact on your merchants**. Look at existing ratios with your merchants, and calculate whether they would be in trouble with the new metrics. Also think about your ideal customer profile: Even if your current merchants are in the clear, are the sectors and industries you work with likely to incur more chargebacks? Are they a traditional target of enumeration attacks? - **Look into your anti-fraud and supporting infrastructure**. Depending on your situation, you might want to consider better fraud prevention tools. This is an investment that could help in the long run. - **Reach out to the various providers of your payments, fraud and dispute support stack**. Ask them what specific steps they are taking to address the changes, and make sure you can support any changes they are asking you to make. - **Ask yourself, "Am I giving my merchants all the information they need?"** For example, some acquirers tend not to give merchants dispute data when the liability has shifted to the acquirer. However, for purposes of dispute ratio calculation, these disputes are still linked to the merchant and affect the ratio. Sharing the right data with your merchants not only helps them stay off the VAMP program but can help them understand their payments landscape better. - **Consider customer experience**. Think: If my merchants end up on this program, how can I support them? Will your merchants be happy with the way you are responding to their needs, from a technical perspective and customer support? ## In summary Visa’s changes to the VAMP and other dispute monitoring and resolution programs follow three main trends: 1. They simplify and consolidate monitoring for merchants 2. They shift the focus to large transaction volumes – and from smaller merchants to acquirers 3. They promote proactiveness **The merchants best positioned under VAMP will be those that can see the right data, understand their acquirer’s expectations, prevent avoidable disputes upstream, and coordinate action across fraud, payments, operations, and customer support.** Merchants are advised to speak to their fraud prevention and payments partner to assess how the changes are likely to affect them. Providers who are proactive in [supporting merchants with investigations and optimization](https://www.ravelin.com/support) will likely bring this to the table themselves, to help safeguard your revenue and growth. If you don’t yet have a trusted partner to discuss how changes to chargeback ratios and Visa’s thresholds could affect your bottom line and standing with Visa and other card schemes, **[book a call with the Ravelin team](https://www.ravelin.com/contact-us).** ![Ravelin Logo](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/ravelin-symbol-logo-transparent.webp) ## Struggling with chargeback rates? Ravelin's AI-native fraud detection solution can help you accept more payments with confidence. [Book a chat ](https://www.ravelin.com/contact-us) ## Frequently Asked Questions **What is VAMP?** VAMP stands for Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program. It was first introduced in April 2025 as a new way to monitor merchants and acquirers that exceed certain dispute (chargeback) thresholds, as well as enumeration (carding) threshold. **What happens to merchants on VAMP?** If they exceed the dispute or enumeration thresholds set by Visa, per the VAMP program, a merchant or acquirer has to pay additional fees and penalties for each Visa transaction they accept. In extreme cases, they might even be blocked from accepting Visa payments altogether. This applies to each merchant ID (MID) or each acquiring entity separately. **What is the VAMP threshold for merchants?** From June 2025, merchants with a VAMP ratio of over 2.2% are classed as "excessive". In certain regions, including North America and the EU, this will drop to 1.5% from April 2026. **What is the VAMP threshold for acquirers?** - Acquirers with VAMP ratios between 0.5% and 0.7% are deemed "above standard". - Acquirers with VAMP ratios exceeding 0.7% are "excessive". ## Further reading - [How are you counting the cost of chargebacks?](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/how-are-you-counting-the-cost-of-chargebacks) - [Refund vs chargeback: Why it pays to know the difference](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/chargeback-vs-refund-abuse) - [The false promise of chargeback guarantee models in fraud detection](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/the-false-realities-of-chargeback-guarantee-models-in-fraud-detection) - [Video on demand: Exemptions optimization under PSD2](https://pages.ravelin.com/exemption-optimization-under-psd2) - [Podcast: Chargebacks 101 with Monica Eaton-Cardone](https://www.ravelin.com/podcast/monica-eaton-cardone-discusses-the-impact-of-chargebacks-for-merchants) - [PSD2 and PSPs: Understanding how fraud rate exemptions deliver competitive advantage](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/psd2-and-psps-understanding-how-fraud-rate-exemptions-will-deliver-competitive-advantage) - [What do PSD3 and PSR mean for your business?](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/psd3-and-psr) - [3DS Server & SDKs](https://www.ravelin.com/old-pages-and-duplicates/solutions-o/3ds-product-3d-secure-server-sdks) ## Authors ![Mark Barlow](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_avatarSmall/175066/RAVELIN_STAFF_Mark_Barlow_Head_Of_product_website.webp) Mark BarlowChief Product Officer Joining Ravelin in 2018, Chief Product Officer Mark Barlow oversees the development of a suite of fraud detection and payment acceptance products… [More from this author](https://www.ravelin.com/author/mark-barlow) ![Catherine Jones](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_avatarSmall/76597/kit-photo.webp) Catherine JonesProduct Director Product Director Catherine has been with Ravelin for over six years and likes to call herself a payments and authentication nerd. Across… [More from this author](https://www.ravelin.com/author/catherine-jones) ## Related content [Blog / Payments & payment fraud ### Card payment liability shift – everything you need to know to reduce chargeback burden The knowledge you need to make the most of liability shifts and reap the benefits for your company – including saving money on chargebacks. ![Freddie burgess](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_33x33_crop_center-center_none_ns/281707/freddie-burgess.webp)Freddie Burgess,Senior Product Support Analyst](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/card-payment-liability-shift-for-chargebacks) [Blog / Fraud analytics ### Refund abuse KPIs: How to measure and reduce refund fraud rates What you need to know to assess and quantify refund abuse – as well as to measure whether your refund abuse solution and strategy are delivering results. ![Can](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_33x33_crop_center-center_none_ns/280078/can.webp)Can Colak,Senior Product Manager](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/how-to-measure-refund-abuse-kpis) [Blog / Press release ### Driven by AI, customers now rival criminals for ecommerce fraud, say merchants Global ecommerce fraud enters a new phase as losses continue to climb. Merchants now view criminals and their own customers as presenting a comparable risk, and there's a gap in AI adoption. ![Ravelin Symbol Blue 1](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_33x33_crop_center-center_none_ns/187712/Ravelin-Symbol-Blue-1.webp)Ravelin Technology](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/ravelin-fraud-survey-2026-press-release)