Visa and Mastercard monitor every merchant's dispute and fraud activity. Merchants that cross program thresholds face fines, required remediation plans, and — if the problem persists — account termination.
Thresholds and timelines change over time, so always confirm current figures with your acquirer. This guide explains how the programs work so you can track the right numbers.
Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)
In 2025 Visa replaced its separate dispute (VDMP) and fraud (VFMP) programs with VAMP. VAMP combines reported fraud (TC40) and disputes (TC15) into one ratio measured against settled card-not-present transactions.
Merchants above the 'excessive' threshold with enough monthly activity are identified and can face fees. Visa has announced that threshold will tighten, which makes monitoring your combined ratio essential.
Mastercard Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP)
Mastercard flags an Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM) at a 1.5% chargeback-to-transaction ratio with at least 100 chargebacks in a month, and a High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM) at 3% and 300 chargebacks. Mastercard also runs a separate Excessive Fraud Merchant program.
Mastercard calculates the ratio using this month's chargebacks divided by the prior month's transactions.
How to Stay Below the Thresholds
- Track your combined fraud and dispute ratio per card brand, not just overall.
- Use pre-dispute alerts and RDR — resolved alerts generally don't count as disputes.
- Screen for card testing and block bot traffic at checkout.
- Spread risk only through legitimate, disclosed accounts — never hide volume.
Key Terms in This Guide
- Card Testing
- Fraudsters running small transactions to check whether stolen card numbers work.
- Chargeback Ratio
- Chargebacks divided by transactions in a period; the key metric networks and acquirers monitor.
- Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM)
- Mastercard's program for merchants exceeding a 1.5% chargeback ratio and 100 monthly chargebacks.
- TC40
- A Visa fraud report filed by an issuer when a cardholder reports a transaction as fraudulent.
- VAMP (Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program)
- Visa's program combining fraud and dispute ratios to identify excessive-risk merchants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
In-depth answers to the questions high-risk merchants ask most.
Chargeback Management
The dispute lifecycle, prevention tools like alerts and RDR, and how to win representments with compelling evidence.
The MATCH List
Why merchants land on the Mastercard MATCH list, the reason codes, how long it lasts, and options if you're already listed.
3-D Secure & Liability Shift
How 3DS2 authentication works, what the liability shift covers, and how to use it without killing conversion.
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