VAMP replaced Visa's two older programs, the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program and the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program, with one combined ratio. That change matters because fraud and disputes are now counted together, so a merchant that looked healthy under the old split can land in VAMP without any change in its business. This article explains how the ratio is calculated, which thresholds apply, what happens when you cross them and the practical steps that keep you below the line.
What Visa VAMP measures
VAMP looks at card not present activity, the channel where most fraud and disputes happen. Each month Visa counts two kinds of events against each merchant and divides them by the number of settled card not present transactions.
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Fraud reports, known in Visa systems as TC40 records. An issuer files one when a cardholder reports a transaction as fraudulent, whether or not the issuer also files a dispute.
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Disputes, known as TC15 records. These include both fraud disputes and non fraud disputes such as not received, not as described and canceled recurring.
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Settled transactions, known as TC05 records, form the denominator.
The result is a single VAMP ratio. Because fraud reports and disputes are both counted, one bad transaction can affect the ratio through a fraud report even if you refund it before a dispute is filed. Ask your acquirer how it counts a transaction that has both a fraud report and a dispute, because that detail changes your exposure.
How to calculate your VAMP ratio
- 1 Count the fraud reports Visa recorded against your merchant ID for the month.
- 2 Count the disputes filed against your merchant ID for the same month, fraud and non fraud.
- 3 Add the two counts together.
- 4 Divide by the number of settled card not present Visa transactions in that month.
- 5 Multiply by 100 to read the result as a percentage and compare it with the threshold that applies to your region.
A merchant with 100,000 settled card not present Visa sales, 700 fraud reports and 900 disputes in a month has 1,600 counted events and a VAMP ratio of 1.6 percent. That is above the US excessive threshold at the time of writing, and the event count is above the minimum that Visa uses before a merchant can be flagged.
VAMP thresholds for merchants
Visa publishes the thresholds in its program documents and updates them over time, so treat the figures below as a snapshot at the time of writing and confirm them with your acquirer. The structure has been stable since the program launched in 2025.
| Item | What Visa published | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Ratio formula | Fraud reports plus disputes divided by settled card not present transactions | Fraud and disputes share one limit |
| Excessive merchant threshold, US | 2.2 percent from the 2025 launch, lowered to 1.5 percent from April 2026 | The line most acquirers watch closely |
| Minimum count | At least 1,500 counted fraud reports and disputes in the month | Small merchants are rarely flagged by Visa directly, but acquirers still apply their own limits |
| Card testing measure | A separate enumeration ratio for merchants with very large volumes of testing attempts | Bot driven card testing can trigger action on its own |
| Fees | A per counted transaction fee for merchants in excessive status, assessed to the acquirer and usually passed on | Each additional dispute costs more than its face value |
Acquirers are also measured on their whole portfolio under VAMP, with their own lower thresholds. That is why many acquirers set internal limits for their merchants well below the merchant threshold. In practice, a ratio near 1 percent can already trigger questions from your processor, even though it is below the Visa merchant threshold.
What happens when you cross the threshold
A merchant identified as excessive is reported to its acquirer. Visa assesses fees to the acquirer based on the counted fraud reports and disputes, and acquirers generally pass those fees to the merchant under the processing agreement. At the time of writing the US fee is widely reported at around 8 US dollars per counted transaction, but the exact amount and how it is passed on depend on your contract.
The bigger risk is the acquirer's reaction. Expect a request for a remediation plan, closer monitoring, a rolling reserve, higher pricing, or in the worst case termination of the merchant account. A terminated account can also lead to a listing on the Mastercard MATCH list, which makes it hard to open a new account elsewhere.
How VAMP compares with Mastercard programs
Mastercard runs separate programs for chargebacks and fraud. The Excessive Chargeback Program flags an Excessive Chargeback Merchant, known as ECM, when chargebacks in a month reach 1.5 percent of the previous month's transactions and at least 100 chargebacks. A High Excessive Chargeback Merchant is flagged at 3 percent and at least 300 chargebacks. The Excessive Fraud Merchant program, known as EFM, looks at fraud volume and ratio together with how much of the merchant's volume uses 3D Secure.
Because the formulas differ, you need to watch both networks separately. A merchant can be fine on Mastercard and in VAMP at the same time, or the other way around. A chargeback ratio monitor that calculates each network the way the network does is the only reliable way to see that early.
How to stay under the VAMP threshold
The VAMP ratio has two levers: fewer counted events and, to a lesser degree, more settled transactions. The practical work is almost all on the first lever.
- 1 Stop disputes before they are filed. Verifi Rapid Dispute Resolution, known as RDR, resolves eligible Visa disputes with an automatic refund based on rules you set, before a dispute is created. A case resolved through rapid dispute resolution does not become a dispute record.
- 2 Share order data at the inquiry stage. Verifi Order Insight lets the issuer see your order details while the cardholder is on the phone, which can end a misunderstanding before a dispute is filed. It is also the channel through which Compelling Evidence 3.0 can block a qualifying fraud dispute.
- 3 Act on alerts quickly. Ethoca alerts and Verifi CDRN alerts tell you about a coming dispute so you can refund in time. A refund through an alert can prevent the dispute record, although an issuer's fraud report may still have been filed.
- 4 Fix card testing. Add rate limits, bot checks and velocity rules at checkout, because enumeration attempts can produce fraud reports and their own measurement.
- 5 Use 3D Secure on risky orders. Authenticated transactions shift fraud liability to the issuer and reduce fraud disputes.
- 6 Make your billing recognizable. A clear descriptor with your brand name and a support contact cuts disputes from cardholders who simply do not recognize the charge.
What to do if you are already over the threshold
If your ratio is already above the threshold, act on both sides at once. Switch on alerts and RDR immediately with broad refund rules, because every dispute prevented this month lowers the count. Talk to your acquirer before it contacts you, with a written plan that names the causes you found and the tools you turned on. Acquirers respond better to a merchant that shows the numbers and a timeline than to one that waits for the warning letter.
Watch the ratio daily, not monthly
VAMP is calculated monthly, but the events that drive it arrive daily. If you only look at the ratio after the month closes, the month is already lost. Track fraud reports, disputes and settled transactions every day, project the end of month ratio, and switch on stricter alert rules when the projection crosses your internal limit. Our chargeback alerts and ratio monitor are built around exactly that projection.
Which merchants are most exposed to VAMP
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Subscription and SaaS businesses with free trials, where canceled recurring and unrecognized disputes cluster after the first charge.
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Digital goods sellers, who receive many fraud reports when stolen cards are used for instant delivery.
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High volume, low ticket merchants, where card testing can generate thousands of fraud reports in days.
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Merchants with a single large promotion, where a spike in disputes lands in a month with normal settled volume.
Each of these profiles needs a different mix of prevention tools, but all of them benefit from seeing the ratio before the acquirer does.
A simple VAMP action plan
Start by pulling the last three months of fraud reports, disputes and settled card not present sales from your processor. Calculate the ratio per month with the formula above and compare it with both the Visa threshold and the limit in your processing agreement. Then split the counted events by reason code to see whether fraud or non fraud disputes drive the number.
If fraud dominates, focus on authentication, card testing controls and Compelling Evidence 3.0. If canceled recurring and not recognized disputes dominate, focus on descriptors, renewal reminders, easy cancellation and RDR rules. In both cases, put alerts in front of disputes so you have a chance to refund before a record is created. This is the practical core of chargeback prevention for any merchant that sells online.
See how a dispute affects your win chance
Enter a reason code, an amount and the evidence you hold. NoChargeback drafts the evidence list and the opening of your rebuttal letter in seconds.
Does VAMP apply to card present transactions?
VAMP focuses on card not present activity, which is where most fraud reports and disputes come from. Card present merchants are covered by other Visa rules and by their acquirer's own risk limits.
Do refunds through Ethoca or CDRN alerts count in VAMP?
A refund made through an alert can stop the dispute from being filed, so no dispute record is created. A fraud report the issuer already filed may still count, which is why alerts reduce the ratio but do not always remove an event completely.
Does RDR reduce my VAMP ratio?
Yes. A case resolved through Rapid Dispute Resolution ends before a dispute record is created, so it does not count as a dispute in VAMP.
What is the VAMP fee per dispute?
Visa assesses a per counted transaction fee to the acquirer for merchants in excessive status. At the time of writing it is widely reported at around 8 US dollars in the US, and your acquirer decides how it is passed on under your contract.
How is VAMP different from the old VDMP and VFMP?
The old programs measured disputes and fraud separately with their own thresholds. VAMP combines fraud reports and disputes into one ratio, so both types of events now push against the same limit.
