What Is Visa's VAMP? 2026 Guide for Ecommerce Merchants
Written by Jazmin A., Compliance Auditor
How Visa's monitoring program counts your fraud reports and disputes, the 2026 thresholds, and what actually moves the number.
Back to the VAMP guideKey takeaways
- VAMP replaced Visa's VDMP (disputes) and VFMP (fraud) programs on April 1, 2025. Enforcement of the Excessive tiers began October 1, 2025.
- The ratio counts both fraud reports (TC40) and disputes (TC15), of every reason code.
- Refunds and dispute wins don't lower your count. Only preventing disputes, or resolving non-fraud disputes through pre-dispute tools in time, does.
- The US merchant Excessive threshold dropped from 2.2% to 1.5% on April 1, 2026. Your acquirer may apply stricter limits.
- Fees are reported by processors, not published by Visa. Check with your acquirer or processor.
What does VAMP stand for, and when did it start?
VAMP stands for Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program. Visa announced it on August 30, 2024, and it took effect April 1, 2025. Visa describes it as consolidating several existing fraud and dispute programs into a single acquirer program. In plain terms: on April 1, 2025, Visa replaced its separate dispute (VDMP) and fraud (VFMP) monitoring programs with VAMP.
VAMP monitors at two levels. Your acquirer (the bank behind your merchant account) is measured across its whole portfolio. You are measured as a merchant. It also tracks card testing, which Visa calls enumeration.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2024 | Visa announces VAMP |
| Apr 1, 2025 | VAMP takes effect; advisory period begins |
| Mar 2025 | Visa says fraud disputes resolved through RDR or CDRN will no longer be excluded; non-fraud ones still are |
| May 2025 | Visa revises the program: all disputes and all fraud reports count, the minimum count rises from 1,000 to 1,500, and thresholds phase down into 2026 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Advisory period ends |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Enforcement of the Excessive tiers begins |
| Jan 1, 2026 | Acquirer Above Standard enforcement begins |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Merchant Excessive threshold drops to 1.5% in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific |
How is the VAMP ratio calculated?
Visa's 2025 fact sheet gives the formula:
VAMP ratio = ( Fraud reports (TC40) + Disputes (TC15) ) ÷ Settled card-not-present transactions (TC05)
- Fraud reports (TC40) are filed by the card issuer when a cardholder reports fraud. They count even if no chargeback follows.
- Disputes (TC15) include every reason code, fraud and non-fraud. Stripe notes that a transaction in both reports "will be counted twice."
- Settled transactions (TC05) are your card-not-present Visa sales, domestic and cross-border, in the same calendar month.
- Timing: an event counts in the month Visa receives it, not the month of the sale. A dispute about a March order that arrives in May counts in May.
What counts toward VAMP, and what doesn't?
| Situation | Counts? |
|---|---|
| You refund after a dispute is filed | Still counts. Stripe: "Monitoring programs don't consider refunds when identifying disputes." |
| You win the dispute | Still counts. Monitoring programs "don't consider dispute outcomes" (Stripe). |
| Fraud report on a refunded order | Still counts. Issuers must report possible fraud even if the payment was refunded. |
| Non-fraud dispute resolved through Rapid Dispute Resolution (RDR) | Excluded, if timing lines up with Visa's data extract |
| Fraud dispute resolved through RDR or CDRN | Counts (since Visa's March 2025 change) |
| Fraud report that qualifies for Compelling Evidence 3.0 | Excluded |
| Customer never disputes because the problem was solved first | Nothing to count |
What are the VAMP thresholds in 2026?
| Who | Level | Ratio | Minimum monthly count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant (US, Canada, Europe, Asia Pacific) | Excessive | 2.2% until Mar 31, 2026; 1.5% from Apr 1, 2026 | 1,500 fraud reports + disputes |
| Merchant (Latin America & Caribbean) | Excessive | 1.5% | 1,500 |
| Merchant (CEMEA) | Excessive | 2.2% | 150 and USD 75,000 |
| Acquirer | Excessive | 0.70% | 1,500 (US, Canada, Europe, AP) |
| Acquirer | Above Standard | 0.50% | 1,500 (US, Canada, Europe, AP) |
What happens if you're flagged as Excessive?
Visa's public fact sheet does not list fees. Processors, including Stripe and Checkout.com, report:
- About $8 per counted event for merchants at Excessive.
- About $4 per counted event for merchants whose acquirer is Above Standard, from January 1, 2026.
- A 3-month grace period for first-time identification within a rolling 12 months.
- Acquirers can also require reserves or remediation plans, or end the relationship.
Where do delivery problems fit in?
Packages that never arrive or arrive broken usually become reason code 13.1 (not received) or 13.3 (received damaged) disputes. Both count toward VAMP even if you win them. These are the only part of the ratio that shipping insurance can touch, and only by deflection: a customer who opted in to coverage can file an insurance claim instead of a chargeback. InsureShip recommends, and configures by default, an opt-in (unchecked) offer.
Insurance does nothing for fraud reports, card testing, disputes already filed, buyers who didn't opt in, or "not as described" complaints. The full breakdown is on our VAMP and delivery chargebacks guide.
What should you do this month?
- Ask your processor for your VAMP ratio and which tier, if any, your acquirer is in.
- Split your disputes by reason code. Fraud and delivery problems need different fixes.
- Turn on pre-dispute tools such as RDR and Order Insight if your processor supports them.
- Tighten delivery proof: tracking, AVS-matched addresses and signature for higher-value goods.
- Give covered customers a claims link in every shipping email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is VAMP the same as a chargeback ratio?
Not quite. VAMP adds fraud reports (TC40) to disputes, so a fraud report that never became a chargeback still counts, and a transaction in both reports can count twice.
Does Mastercard have its own program?
Yes. Mastercard's Excessive Chargeback Program uses this month's chargebacks divided by the previous month's transactions, according to Stripe. Its thresholds and fines differ from VAMP.
Do refunds reduce my VAMP ratio?
Refunding before a dispute is filed can prevent it. Refunding after a dispute or fraud report is filed does not remove it from the count.
I have fewer than 1,500 disputes a month. Am I safe?
Not necessarily. If your acquirer is flagged, processors report a stricter merchant tier at a 0.5% ratio with a much lower count. Ask your acquirer.
Can shipping insurance lower my VAMP ratio?
It can reduce delivery-related disputes by giving covered customers an insurance claim path. It can't remove filed disputes and has no effect on fraud reports.
Does the shipping insurance charge count toward my VAMP ratio?
No. The insurance charge is processed on InsureShip's merchant account, so it is not counted in your sales or your VAMP ratio. This only describes which merchant account the charge falls under. It is not a way to lower your ratio: disputes and fraud reports on your own orders count the same either way.
Cut delivery disputes at the source
InsureShip is licensed by the California Department of Insurance (license #0G55434) and covers loss, damage and theft up to $5,000 per shipment, with claims filed online. Established in 2009. Underwritten by Navigators, a Hartford company, rated A+ by AM Best (Navigators Insurance Company, as of 2024).
Talk to InsureShipSources
Last checked October 8, 2026. General information, not legal or financial advice. Visa: Introducing VAMP (2024) · Visa VAMP fact sheet (2025) · Visa: program revision (May 2025) · Visa VAMP update (Oct 2025) · Stripe: monitoring programs · Checkout.com: VAMP · Merchant Risk Council (Apr 2026) · Chargeback Gurus: RDR change (Mar 2025) · The Hartford: Navigators fact sheet (Apr 2025)