Visa's 1.5% Chargeback Threshold (VAMP): How to Stay Under It

If you sell online, take orders over the phone or key in card numbers, there's a number Visa is watching that you may never have heard of: your VAMP ratio. Since April 1, 2026, U.S. merchants whose ratio reaches 1.5% can be labeled "excessive" by Visa, which can mean extra fees, a required fix-it plan and, in the worst case, losing the ability to take cards.

Here's what VAMP is, how the ratio is calculated, and the practical habits that keep you well under the line.

What is VAMP?

VAMP stands for the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program. In 2025, Visa replaced several older fraud and dispute monitoring programs with this single program. It tracks how often a merchant's card-not-present transactions turn into fraud reports or disputes, and it holds acquirers (the banks behind your processor) responsible for the merchants they board.

The threshold for U.S. merchants dropped from 2.2% to 1.5% on April 1, 2026, which is why more merchants are hearing about it now.

How the VAMP ratio is calculated

The formula is simpler than it sounds:

VAMP ratio = (fraud reports + disputes) ÷ settled card-not-present transactions

A few details matter:

• It counts transactions, not dollars. Ten disputed $5 orders weigh more than one disputed $500 order.
• Fraud reports count even without a chargeback. When a cardholder tells their bank a charge was fraud, the bank files a fraud report. That report counts toward your ratio whether or not it turns into a dispute.
• One bad sale can count twice. If a fraud report later becomes a dispute, both are counted.
• It focuses on card-not-present sales: online, phone, mail order and keyed-in transactions.

Visa formally flags U.S. merchants once they also reach a minimum of 1,500 combined fraud reports and disputes in a month, so very small merchants aren't caught by a handful of bad orders. But that minimum doesn't protect you from your own processor, which is the part most merchants miss.

Why your processor may act long before 1.5%

Visa also measures each acquirer across its whole merchant portfolio, at much lower ratios than the merchant threshold. Acquirers that land in the program face their own fees and remediation, so many set stricter internal limits for the merchants they serve.

In practice, that means your processor may ask questions, add a reserve or hold funds when your fraud and dispute levels are climbing, even if you never come close to 1.5% or the 1,500-event minimum. A rising ratio is often the first step toward a funds freeze.

What happens if you're flagged

If a merchant is identified as excessive, Visa can assess fees to the acquirer, reported at $8 per fraud report or dispute, and those fees are typically passed on to the merchant. The acquirer will also expect a remediation plan, and merchants that stay above the threshold risk having their account closed.

Visa also runs a separate check for card testing (also called enumeration), where fraudsters run large numbers of stolen card numbers through a checkout page to see which ones work. That part of the program applies to merchants with very high volumes of these attempts, but even a smaller attack can drive up fraud reports and declines. If you see bursts of tiny or failed authorizations, tell your processor right away.

Mastercard runs its own chargeback and fraud programs with different thresholds, so a high dispute rate can cause problems with both networks.

How to stay well under the threshold

1. Make your billing descriptor recognizable. Many disputes start because a customer doesn't recognize the charge. The name on their statement should match your business or website name, ideally with a phone number or URL.
2. Make refunds easier than disputes. A clear refund policy and quick customer service turn would-be disputes into refunds, which don't count toward VAMP.
3. Use fraud tools for online orders. Address verification (AVS), CVV checks and 3-D Secure authentication help stop stolen cards before they're approved. Ask your processor what's turned on for your account.
4. Watch for card testing. Add CAPTCHA or rate limits to your checkout and watch for clusters of small or declined charges.
5. Be clear about subscriptions and trials. Disclose recurring charges plainly, send reminders before renewals and make cancellation easy. Forgotten subscriptions are a common source of disputes.
6. Ask about dispute alert and resolution tools. Some services let you refund a transaction before it becomes a formal dispute, and disputes resolved through Visa's Rapid Dispute Resolution are excluded from the dispute count. Your processor can tell you what's available.
7. Track your own ratio monthly. Your statement or processor portal should show disputes and fraud. Our guide to reading your processing statement shows where to look. Don't wait for your processor to bring it up.

High-risk businesses need a processor that plans for this

Some industries naturally see more disputes: subscriptions, nutraceuticals, peptides, travel, online coaching and others with delayed delivery or recurring billing. That doesn't make you a bad merchant, but it does mean you need a processor that underwrites your business properly up front and helps you manage your ratio, rather than discovering your risk level after the fact.

A dedicated high-risk merchant account is built for exactly that: honest underwriting, clear reserve terms and fraud and dispute tools sized to your business. If you sell peptides or regenerative medicine products, see our peptide payment processing page.

And if you also take in-person payments, a compliant dual pricing program can eliminate processing fees on those sales. New to the idea? Start with what dual pricing is.

Worried about your dispute rate or fees? Send us your most recent processing statement for a free savings analysis. We'll review your fees and dispute activity and show you your options, with no obligation.

This article is for general information and isn't legal advice. Card network programs and thresholds change, and processors may apply stricter limits; confirm the current rules for your account with your processor.