Starting April 1, 2025, Visa consolidated its dispute and fraud monitoring programs (VDMP and VFMP) into the enhanced Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP). This update aims to strengthen acquirer risk controls, improve the safety of the Visa payment network, and especially target card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
What Is Changing?
Unified Framework: VDMP (dispute monitoring) and VFMP (fraud monitoring) have been retired; VAMP will now track both fraud and non-fraud disputes through a single ratio, simplifying compliance and enforcement for acquirers and merchants.
Monitoring Focus: Acquirers—not merchants—are directly monitored, but merchant activity impacts acquirer compliance.
Why should merchants care?
VAMP fundamentally changes the game. Unlike previous programs that primarily monitored merchants individually, VAMP assesses acquirers based on their entire merchant portfolio. This means that even compliant merchants can face consequences if their acquirer’s portfolio exceeds thresholds, creating a shared responsibility model that requires strategic thinking.
Monitoring and Advisory Period
- Advisory Phase: From April 1, 2025, through June 2025, merchants and acquirers identified by Visa were in an advisory period—no fines were assessed, but acquirers had to ensure risk controls were in place.
- Enforcement: From July 2025, acquirers and merchants breaching VAMP thresholds will face fines and potential remediation or restriction requirements
SMBs: Immediate Prevention Tools (Budget-Friendly Focus)
- Implement Chargeback Prevention Alerts: Small businesses should prioritize enrolling in tools such Verifi CDRN and Ethoca alert systems. These services intercept disputes before they become formal chargebacks, giving merchants 72 hours to issue refunds and prevent disputes from counting toward VAMP ratios. Many payment processors offer these services as add-ons at reasonable monthly fees.
- Deploy Order Insight: This Visa tool helps prevent disputes by providing enhanced transaction details to issuing banks when customers inquire about charges. Implementation typically requires working with your payment processor to push order details in real-time.
- Optimize Billing Descriptors: Ensure your business name on customer statements is immediately recognizable. Many SMB chargebacks result from customers not recognizing the merchant name on their statements. This simple change can significantly reduce the volume of disputes.
If Your Processing is Through an ISO (or an ISV like Square, Clover, or Toast)
- Understand Your ISO/ISV Relationship related to VAMP
- Portfolio Risk Sharing: When working with an Independent Sales Organization, SMBs must understand that their activity contributes to the ISO/ISV’s overall portfolio risk.
- Internal Threshold Management: ISOs typically implement internal VAMP thresholds below Visa’s official limits to protect their portfolios. Small businesses should proactively ask their ISO/ISV about these internal limits and monitoring practices, as they may face restrictions even while staying under Visa’s published thresholds.
- Limited Risk Absorption: Unlike major acquirers with thousands of merchants, ISOs have less ability to absorb high-risk merchants. This means SMBs working with ISOs face higher risk of account termination if their VAMP ratios deteriorate.
- Leverage ISO Support
- Educational Resources: SMBs should actively engage their ISO for VAMP compliance training, access to tools, and assistance with monitoring.
- Technology Integration: ISOs often have partnerships with specialized compliance and fraud prevention vendors. SMBs should ask their ISO about access to chargeback management tools, fraud screening services, and automated alert systems that might be cost-prohibitive to purchase individually.
- Relationship Management: Maintain regular communication with your ISO/ISV about VAMP performance. Request monthly ratio reports and discuss joint strategies for staying compliant. ISOs are incentivized to help merchants succeed since portfolio health directly impacts their business.
Implementation Strategy for Resource-Constrained SMBs
Phase 1 (Immediate – Low Cost):
- Optimize billing descriptors and customer communication
- Implement basic fraud prevention through payment gateway settings
- Enroll in alert services through your existing payment processor
- Establish monthly VAMP ratio monitoring
Phase 2 (Short-term – Moderate Investment):
- Deploy Order Insight integration
- Implement 3D Secure 2.0 for higher-risk transactions
- Consider basic chargeback management software for smaller portfolios
Phase 3 (Long-term – Higher Investment):
- Advanced fraud prevention tools and machine learning systems
- Comprehensive dispute management platforms
- Multiple acquirer relationships for risk distribution
Cost-Effective Tool Selection
- Consolidated Platforms: Look for providers offering multiple VAMP compliance tools in single packages rather than purchasing individual point solutions. Many smaller compliance vendors cater specifically to SMB budgets and needs.
- ISO-Sponsored Solutions: Many ISOs offer group pricing or sponsored access to compliance tools for their merchant portfolios. This can provide enterprise-grade solutions at SMB-friendly pricing.
Bottom Line for SMBs
Small businesses working with ISOs/ISVs need to be particularly proactive about VAMP compliance because they have less margin for error than merchants working with large, diversified acquirers. The key is implementing a layered prevention strategy that prioritizes cost-effective tools while maintaining strong relationships with ISO partners. Success requires viewing VAMP compliance not as a compliance burden but as fundamental business risk management that protects both processing relationships and revenue streams.
If you have questions about the impact of VAMP on your business or the best risk-mitigation tools to fit your needs, please contact dtrue@paygility.com or d.sheaffer@teampaytech.com