Card scheme's monitoring program
Card schemes (like Visa and Mastercard) monitor your monthly dispute activity in relation to your sales volume. If the number of chargebacks you receive exceeds the levels deemed acceptable by the scheme, you may be placed on their monitoring program.
Once you’re on a program, the scheme can charge you fines and additional fees, until you reduce the dispute activity back down to acceptable levels. We will notify you if you are at risk of or have been enrolled in such a program and collaborate with you in reducing your disputes.
In this document, we list Visa and Mastercard's monitoring programs to enhance your understanding of these programs.
Visa monitoring program
Starting April 2025, Visa has launched the enhanced Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), consolidating the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) and the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) into a unified framework. VAMP introduces dispute and transaction-based metrics called the VAMP ratio and VAMP enumeration ratio, and evaluates the performance of merchants and acquirers based on these ratios:
- Metrics and Definitions: Visa relies on VisaNet transaction data to determine the performance metrics associated with VAMP. These metrics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Card-not-present settled transactions (TC05): Transactions submitted and processed through Visa in the previous calendar month, based on the Central Processing Date (CPD). For example, transactions settled through Visa in March will appear in the VAMP Identification notification issued in April.
- Card-not-present disputes (TC15): Dispute cases submitted and processed through Visa in the previous calendar month, according to the CPD.
- Card-not-present fraud transactions (TC40): Fraudulent transactions reported to Visa by issuers in the previous calendar month, based on the fraud post-date.
- Ratio calculation: Count of [Fraud (TC40) + Disputes (TC15)] divided by Count of settled transactions (TC05)
Please refer to the Chargeback reason codes - Visa.
VAMP threshold
Visa will also consider the fraud and dispute count thresholds of the acquirer. Therefore, Antom is responsible for ensuring that it does not exceed the established VAMP thresholds.
Through the VAMP program, Visa will assess the ratios of Antom and merchant accounts based on the following thresholds. Once these thresholds are exceeded, it may result in penalties.
In cases where Antom is not within the Above Standard or Excessive performance thresholds, the Excessive Merchant performance thresholds are applied. When you are included in the VAMP program, Antom will provide you with detailed information regarding remedial measures.
Threshold level | VAMP ratio | Monthly count of fraud and disputes | Enforcement Fees |
| Above Standard | ≥ 0.5% |
|
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Excessive | ≥ 0.7% | Acquirer breaches excessive ratio & merchant ratio is >=0.5%: USD 8 per dispute/fraud |
Notes:
In addition to the threshold ratio specifications outlined above, the following criteria apply:
- Applies only to VisaNet transactions and covers card-not-present activity for both domestic and cross-border transactions.
- Minimum of 1,500 monthly combined fraud (TC40) and disputes (TC15).
- TC15 disputes that are resolved via pre-dispute products are excluded from VAMP calculations, contingent upon the data extract timing.
- TC40 fraud cases that qualify under Compelling Evidence 3.0 are similarly excluded, depending on when the data is extracted.
- Starting from the date when a merchant first triggers the VAMP regulatory process, the merchant will be granted a 90-day compliance adjustment period during which no penalties will be imposed.If the merchant fails to meet compliance requirements after this period, penalty procedures will be initiated. This 90-day grace period is applicable only if the merchant has no VAMP exceedance records in the 12 months prior to the first trigger.
Mastercard monitoring program
Mastercard uses the Acquirer Chargeback Monitoring Program (ACMP) to monitor merchants that receive an excessive number of chargebacks monthly. Mastercard's ACMP consists of two programs, the Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) and the Excessive Fraud Merchant (EFM) program.
The following table shows the thresholds of both monitoring programs:
Monitoring program | Monitoring metrics | Threshold |
ECP (Excessive Chargeback Program) | Both: 1. CTR = CB count received on the reported month/payment count of the preceding month 2. CB count | Chargeback-Monitored Merchant (CMM), if both: |
Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM), if both: 1. CTR: 1.5%-2.99% 2. CB count: 100-299 | ||
High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM), if both: 1. CTR: 3% 2. CB count: 300 | ||
EFM (Excessive Fraud Merchant Compliance Program) | N/A | If all the following conditions are met:
|