Impending Arrival of VAMP: Ravelin Admonishes Merchants to Take Action Prior to Visa Fraud Enforcement
In an effort to help businesses prepare for the future, Ravelin has published a comprehensive guide to navigating Visa's updated VAMP (Visa Anti-Money Laundering Programme). The programme, set to be enforced from October 1, 2025, marks a significant shift in Visa's dispute and fraud monitoring, consolidating these aspects into a single global framework.
Martin Sweeney, CEO of Ravelin, emphasises the importance of this development, stating that Visa payments account for almost 40% of global card transactions. He warns that merchants can't afford to sit back as VAMP is enforced, as the impact will be felt across customer experience, operations, and revenue.
Under VAMP, merchants with more than 20% of their transactions being enumeration attacks will be subject to the programme, irrespective of the value of these transactions. Failure to minimise fraud under VAMP may result in significant, recurring fees and, in the worst-case scenario, the loss of the ability to accept Visa payments.
To avoid such consequences, Sweeney advises merchants to review their current dispute and fraud rates using Visa's new calculations. He recommends investing in real-time fraud prevention tools and considering the deployment of 3D Secure at the merchant level. Merchants are also encouraged to ask their acquirers to send data for all chargebacks.
Moreover, VAMP introduces new controls on enumeration attacks and plans to reduce the threshold for disputed transactions from 2.2% to 1.5% from April 2026. Sweeney reiterates that maintaining low fraud rates is a business-critical priority for merchants.
He further stresses the importance of understanding and adhering to the updated policies around chargebacks from acquirers and any changes planned for VAMP. Merchants should check their acquirer's policies to ensure they are well-prepared for the changes ahead.
In conclusion, the upcoming VAMP changes from Visa are a call for merchants to manage fraud more closely. By following the guidance provided by Ravelin and proactively addressing these changes, businesses can ensure a smooth transition and maintain their ability to accept Visa payments.
