As retailers prepare for that magic time of year called the Golden Quarter, it appears many of them have no clear view of their Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) exposure. A study performed by Chargebacks911 indicated that lack of transparency regarding fraud and dispute metrics can result in businesses being unprepared for the surge in chargebacks during the festive season.
Golden Quarter refers to the last few months of each calendar year (October to December), which is when the sales are at the highest levels due to peak shopping events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Christmas/holiday shopping.
In the newest 2026 Chargeback Field Report based on unique survey data of about 250+ merchants, only about a fifth of them stated that the recent VAMP changes had impacted them. However, these statistics may look misleading. Nearly one-third, however, could not say whether VAMP was affecting their business or not. Only 26.8% said they actively monitor TC40 fraud records, which are among the data points used to calculate the VAMP ratio.
“Merchants heading into Golden Quarter without visibility of their VAMP standing are taking a risk they may not fully understand,” said Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO of Chargebacks911. “Dispute volumes typically rise during peak trading periods. For merchants already approaching thresholds, that increase could push them into territory that carries real consequences. The time to understand your position is before the peak, certainly not after.”
What is the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)?
Visa introduced the current VAMP framework in April 2025, consolidating its Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP) and Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP) in one policy framework, among other changes. The program is designed to identify unusually high levels of fraud, disputes and card-testing activity and require risk-mitigation measures where thresholds are exceeded.
For card-not-present transactions, the core VAMP ratio is calculated using the number of fraud reports (TC40) plus disputes (TC15), divided by settled transactions (TC05). Visa also monitors enumeration, a form of automated card testing in which criminals rapidly submit authorization attempts to identify valid card details.
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.
VAMP Compliance Should Be Proactive, Argues Chargeback911
“You cannot manage a compliance threshold you don’t know you’re approaching,” said Eaton. “VAMP is a live program with real consequences for merchants who find themselves on the wrong side of the thresholds it sets. The merchants most at risk right now are not necessarily those with the highest dispute volumes but those with the least visibility into where those volumes are heading.”
The Chargebacks911 research indicates that this visibility gap extends beyond VAMP. More than half of surveyed merchants reported little or no knowledge of card-network rules, while only 23% considered themselves very informed. Among small businesses, the figure dropped to 17.4%.
“The challenge with compliance programs is that merchants often assume someone else is watching,” said Eaton. “Sometimes an acquirer provides some level of oversight, but the merchant still carries the exposure. Finding out you have a problem through a formal notice rather than through your own monitoring means the opportunity to act earlier has already been lost.”
“My advice to merchants is not to wait for a notice,” she added. “Monitor the data that determines your standing before anyone else flags it. That is the difference between managing compliance and being managed by it.”
