Date Published : 17th March 2025

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What are Visa's VAMP Rules?

Visa is introducing the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) starting April 2025, consolidating their fraud and chargeback monitoring into a single, unified program.

Key Points of VAMP:

1. Unified Fraud & Chargeback Monitoring

   • Visa previously managed fraud and chargeback monitoring under separate programs.
   • Under VAMP, both are merged, meaning total dispute activity (both fraud and non-fraud) impacts a merchant's compliance status.

2. New Dispute Thresholds

   • Merchants will have stricter dispute thresholds to maintain compliance.
   • Starting April 2025:
     • Merchants must actively control dispute ratios below set thresholds, or face increased monitoring, fines, or other compliance actions.
     • Initially, the threshold details haven't been widely publicized yet, but businesses must now count all disputes combined toward these ratios.

3. Impact on Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR)

   • Previously, disputes resolved proactively via RDR did not count toward chargeback ratios.
   • Under VAMP, RDR cases will now count toward overall dispute ratios.
   • This removes merchants' ability to use RDR to keep dispute ratios artificially low.

4. New Challenges for Merchants

   • Subscription-based services, digital goods merchants, and businesses categorized as high-risk face heightened scrutiny and potential increased compliance costs.
   • Such businesses must now enhance their dispute-management processes and customer communication practices.

Implications for Merchants:

• Merchants will need:
  • Stronger fraud prevention and detection methods.
  • Enhanced customer communications and clearer billing practices.
  • Better management of customer relationships, especially for subscription and recurring billing models.
• Failure to adapt could lead to increased compliance costs, fines, or higher merchant category risk ratings.

Strategic Recommendations for Businesses:

• Review & Strengthen Internal Processes:

  • Invest in comprehensive fraud prevention tools.
  • Update terms and conditions clearly, ensuring transparency in billing.

• Proactive Customer Engagement

  • Increase communication and make refund or cancellation policies simpler and clearer.
  • Encourage customers to resolve issues directly, minimizing disputes.

• Review & Optimize Dispute Handling

  • Develop efficient processes to handle disputes promptly and professionally.
  • Leverage data analytics to identify dispute trends and address underlying causes.

Conclusion:

Visa’s VAMP represents a shift towards heightened compliance requirements that will demand proactive, comprehensive risk management from every merchant, particularly those with higher dispute exposure.

Your Next Steps:

• Assess Current Processes:
  Immediately audit your current fraud monitoring and chargeback management procedures.

• Invest in Prevention:

  • Upgrade fraud detection software.
  • Provide staff training focused on dispute mitigation.

• Communicate with Your Acquirer:
  Clarify how these rules specifically impact your industry and business model, ensuring you're prepared ahead of April 2025.