The Visa VAMP program changes how merchants should approach chargebacks. A dispute is no longer just a support issue, and fraud is no longer just a fraud-team issue. Under VAMP, fraud reports, disputes, and card-testing activity all affect processor confidence.
That is why merchants need a monthly monitoring routine. The goal is to spot risks early, understand what is driving the ratio, and fix the source before the acquirer issues a warning, reserves, or reviews the account.
Why Monthly Visa VAMP Monitoring Matters
The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) is Visa’s fraud and dispute monitoring program. The VAMP ratio is the number of fraud and non-fraud disputes divided by the total number of settled Visa transactions. TC40 is the number of fraud reports that Visa records, and TC15 is the number of Visa disputes or chargebacks.
Visa reviews the VAMP ratio each month. However, merchants should not wait for an email from the processing company to discover a problem with their store. By monitoring the number of fraud incidents, disputes, refunds, failed transactions, and complaints each month, a merchant can address issues before the account reaches the warning zone.
Visa VAMP Metrics Every Merchant Should Track
Merchants should build their monthly template around the numbers that affect VAMP and the operating signals that explain why those numbers moved.
| Metric | What to Track | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Settled Visa Transactions | Total settled Visa transaction count for the month | This is the denominator used to estimate the VAMP ratio |
| TC40 Fraud Records | Fraud reports tied to Visa transactions | Fraud can affect VAMP even before the merchant thinks of it as a chargeback |
| TC15 Disputes | Visa disputes and chargebacks | These are part of the combined fraud-plus-dispute ratio |
| Estimated VAMP Ratio | TC40 plus TC15 divided by settled Visa transactions | Shows whether the account is trending toward the VAMP chargeback threshold |
| Refunds | Refund count, refund amount and refund reason | Refund spikes can signal dissatisfaction or billing confusion |
| Failed Authorizations | Declines, repeated attempts and velocity spikes | May indicate card testing or checkout abuse |
| Enumeration Signals | Suspicious bot attempts, repeated card testing and VAAI-related alerts | Enumeration is monitored separately under VAMP |
| Chargeback Root Cause | Fraud, friendly fraud, fulfillment, refund delay, subscription confusion or descriptor issue | Helps the merchant fix the source instead of only responding to disputes |
| Product or Campaign Source | Product, plan, affiliate, ad campaign, offer or payment page tied to risk | Shows whether the issue is isolated or account-wide |
| Remediation Action | Refund, alert rule, 3DS, fraud rule, cancellation fix, support change or evidence update | Creates a record of what changed before processor review |
This template does not replace the acquirer’s official VAMP reporting. It gives merchants a practical working view so they can investigate problems before the monthly file becomes a surprise.
Understanding the VAMP Chargeback Threshold
The term VAMP chargeback threshold is common but slightly misleading. VAMP does not measure the number of chargebacks. Instead, it measures the number of fraud and non-fraud chargebacks and compares that figure to the total number of settled Visa transactions.
For merchants in AP, Canada, the EU, and the US, the threshold is 220 basis points with a reduction to 150 basis points on April 1, 2026. Additionally, merchants in these regions require at least 1,500 fraud and chargeback transactions per month. Other regions have different thresholds and transaction requirements.
The threshold is the maximum percentage of chargebacks allowed for merchants. Acquirers will usually hit the threshold earlier due to their own transaction data. If a merchant is trending toward the threshold, the acquiring organization will approach the merchant with questions before they hit it.
Monthly Visa VAMP Monitoring Checklist
Use this checklist once per month, then review higher-risk categories weekly if the business has card-not-present volume, subscriptions, paid traffic, digital products, high tickets or prior processor warnings.
Monthly VAMP Monitoring Template
Month:
Merchant Name:
MID(s):
Gateway(s):
Processor / Acquirer:
Primary Sales Channels:
1. Visa Volume
- Settled Visa transactions:
- Settled Visa sales amount:
- Average Visa ticket:
- Largest Visa ticket:
- Major volume changes from prior month:
2. Fraud and Disputes
- TC40 fraud records:
- TC15 disputes:
- Total fraud + disputes:
- Estimated VAMP ratio:
- Change from prior month:
- Products, plans or campaigns driving the increase:
3. Enumeration and Card Testing
- Failed authorization spike? Yes / No
- Repeated low-dollar attempts? Yes / No
- Bot traffic or velocity issue? Yes / No
- Payment page affected:
- Action taken:
4. Refunds and Customer Service
- Refund count:
- Refund amount:
- Top refund reasons:
- Support response-time issues:
- Cancellation or refund-policy issues:
5. Chargeback Root Cause
- Fraud:
- Friendly fraud / first-party misuse:
- Product dissatisfaction:
- Fulfillment delay:
- Subscription confusion:
- Descriptor confusion:
- Refund delay:
- Other:
6. Remediation Actions
- Fraud rules changed:
- 3DS rules changed:
- Verifi / Ethoca / alert actions:
- Refund workflow changes:
- Cancellation workflow changes:
- Customer communication changes:
- Evidence records updated:
7. Next-Month Watchlist
- Product or offer to monitor:
- Campaign or affiliate to monitor:
- Payment page to monitor:
- Support or refund process to monitor:
- Owner responsible:
- Review date:The most useful version of this template is not just a spreadsheet of numbers. It should explain what changed, why it changed and what the merchant did to reduce risk.
What to Investigate When Your VAMP Ratio Increases
When the ratio rises, first investigate whether there are fraudulent transactions or disputes.
Fraud suggests the merchant has too many fraud transactions due to stolen cards, poor fraud filters, bots, card testing, or risky traffic sources.
Disputes indicate there may be problems with the merchant’s products or customer service.
Segment the data to investigate each area of the business. Investigate each product, subscription plan, affiliate, campaign, country, BIN, payment page, gateway, MID, and customer type. One bad offer or payment page can skew the ratio for the entire account if the merchant only reviews the ratio for each account’s total transactions.
Finally, document any changes the merchant makes to the account. If the merchant changes its refund policy, implements 3D Secure, blocks a traffic source, changes its descriptor, or improves its cancellation policy, it should be documented. This ensures the merchant has a clear story to tell the payment processor should their account ever be reviewed.
Tools That Support Visa VAMP Monitoring
VAMP monitoring typically involves several different tools. However, Verifi also offers several tools to resolve Visa pre-disputes, such as Rapid Dispute Resolution and CDRN. Additionally, Ethoca Alerts allows merchants to be notified of potential fraud or disputes in near real time, enabling them to take action to stop fulfilments or issue refunds.
Additionally, merchants should also review their gateway reports, fraud-scoring tools, 3DS rules, chargeback-management software, customer-support software and tags, and refund and payment analytics software. The best chargeback monitoring process for a merchant will link all of these tools to provide a monthly report, rather than leaving it to each team alone.
Common VAMP Monitoring Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest mistake is focusing on only the chargebacks. There are also fraud reports and enumeration activity on the VAMP platform that can expose a merchant to a much bigger problem.
Another mistake is waiting until the end of the month. It’s best to review the VAMP platform each week if you are experiencing high sales volumes, many product launches, or chargebacks. By catching and correcting problems each week, you can avoid dealing with them for an entire month.
FAQs About the Visa VAMP Program
Q: What is the Visa VAMP program?
A: The Visa VAMP program is the organization’s combined program to monitor for fraud and disputes. It has replaced the separate programs for fraud and dispute monitoring and gives Visa a monthly view of the merchant’s fraud, dispute and enumeration activities.
Q: What is the VAMP ratio?
A: The VAMP ratio is the number of fraud reports and non-fraud disputes divided by the number of settled Visa transactions. This number provides merchants and Visa with insight into the ratio of fraud and disputes to total transaction volume.
Q: What is the VAMP chargeback threshold?
A: The VAMP chargeback threshold is typically the same as the VAMP merchant threshold. The VAMP program is not limited to chargebacks; it also includes fraud and disputes. For the U.S., Canada, AP and the EU, the merchant excessive threshold will drop to 150 basis points on April 1, 2026.
Q: What is merchant chargeback monitoring?
A: Merchant chargeback monitoring is when a business reviews the various indicators of potential chargebacks in order to take steps to reduce those potential chargebacks before the payment processing company does.
Q: How often should merchants review their VAMP metrics?
A: Merchants should review their VAMP metrics at a minimum every month. However, merchants with high volumes of high-risk transactions should review these metrics weekly.
Q: What is an enumeration attack?
A: An enumeration attack is when bots attempt to use various credit cards on a merchant’s checkout or payment page. Visa collects information regarding these attempts via the enumeration ratio, which calculates the number of suspected enumeration attempts relative to total authorization attempts.
Q: Do Verifi and Ethoca play a role in the VAMP program?
A: Verifi and Ethoca play a role in helping to respond to fraud and disputes earlier in the process. However, they do not factor into the root-cause prevention required to effectively monitor merchant chargebacks.
Q: Can Payment Nerds play a role in VAMP program monitoring?
A: Payment Nerds can assist with VAMP program monitoring by providing merchants who are eligible for the program with an understanding of the program, the process of monitoring it each month, their VAMP ratio and trends, and their various chargeback controls and processors.
Conclusion
Assessing chargebacks, fraud, disputes, and testing data allows merchants to better understand these issues as one concern. Using a monthly checklist enables merchants to track these issues.
Payment Nerds can assist eligible merchants with building a Visa VAMP program checklist and reviewing chargeback monitoring processes and tools to reduce fraud, chargebacks, and enumeration issues.
