Chargeback Report Flags Visa VAMP Compliance Risk for Merchants Heading Into the Golden Quarter

Chargebacks911 says many merchants are heading into the Golden Quarter without a clear read on their Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) exposure. For PSPs, acquirers, and high-risk merchants, that matters because peak-season volume can turn a borderline fraud and dispute profile into a threshold problem very quickly.

1. The 2026 Chargeback Field Report is based on unique survey data from about 250+ merchants. Only about a fifth said the recent VAMP changes had affected them, while nearly one-third could not say whether VAMP was affecting their business at all. That is the real signal here: a lot of merchants are not managing to the metric Visa is actually using to judge them.
2. Only 26.8% said they actively monitor TC40 fraud records, which are one of the inputs used to calculate the VAMP ratio. In card-not-present transactions, Visa calculates the core VAMP ratio as fraud reports (TC40) plus disputes (TC15), divided by settled transactions (TC05). If a merchant or acquirer is not watching those inputs, the ratio is not a surprise later; it is a surprise now with a delay.
3. Visa introduced the current VAMP framework in April 2025, consolidating its Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) into one policy framework, along with other changes. The program is designed to flag unusually high levels of fraud, disputes, and card-testing activity, then require risk-mitigation measures where thresholds are exceeded.
4. Thresholds vary by market and by whether Visa is assessing an acquirer portfolio or an individual merchant. In the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia Pacific, the excessive-merchant VAMP ratio threshold was reduced to 150 basis points from April 1, 2026, subject to minimum transaction-count requirements. In CEMEA, the threshold is 220 basis points, with additional minimum fraud-and-dispute count and value requirements.
5. Visa also monitors enumeration, the automated card-testing activity where criminals rapidly submit authorization attempts to identify valid card details. For high-risk verticals that already live closer to the edge on fraud and disputes, that means VAMP is not just a reporting exercise; it is part of the operational risk stack that can affect merchant acceptance, monitoring load, and remediation work.

Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO of Chargebacks911, put it plainly: “Merchants heading into Golden Quarter without visibility of their VAMP standing are taking a risk they may not fully understand.” Her point is practical: dispute volumes typically rise during peak trading periods, and merchants already near thresholds can move into a zone that carries real consequences. The time to understand the position is before the peak, not after.