How are acquiring banks feeling about VAMP?

In the last few months, I have spoken to more than 100 merchant Acquirers and ISOs about VAMP - these are their top concerns...

Exceeding Thresholds and the Alarming VERC Data

Acquirers are alarmed by early insights from Visa Ecosystem Risk Central (VERC), which indicate that many of them—and a significant portion of their merchant portfolios—have been exceeding VAMP’s tolerance thresholds for months. If VAMP rules were enforced today, the consequences would be severe: either massive fines (like the $10 per transaction penalty for excessive enumeration ratios) or the closure of Merchant Accounts (MIDs). Both scenarios threaten substantial revenue losses, potentially crippling or even shutting down their businesses, as the majority of their portfolios are at risk.

Time Constraints for Compliance

With VAMP rules set to go live on October 1, 2025—less than six months from today, April 16, 2025—Acquirers feel the pressure of a tight timeline. This short window leaves little time to deploy new technology, test its effectiveness, and ensure their business is safeguarded. Acquirers are worried they won’t be ready in time to avoid penalties.

Lack of a Unified Solution for Dispute Management

Acquirers and ISOs recognize the need to mandate tools like CDRN, RDR, and Ethoca Alerts to prevent disputes from escalating into chargebacks, especially fraud-related ones. However, many lack experience with these tools or have only used them minimally. They don’t have the in-house expertise to sell, deploy, or support these solutions effectively. Additionally, they’re concerned about the absence of a unified reporting system to track and monitor both Visa/Verifi and Mastercard/Ethoca services for their merchants. Without this, they can’t ensure merchants are using the tools consistently, resolving disputes at a high rate, and meeting required timeframes, which is critical to staying below VAMP thresholds.

Disintermediation and Loss of Control

Acquirers and ISOs are increasingly worried about disintermediation, as merchants turn to third-party solution providers for dispute management and fraud prevention. This trend not only cuts into their revenue but also reduces their visibility into merchant activities, making their role as underwriters more challenging.

In summary, Acquirers and ISOs are specifically concerned about the widespread risk of exceeding VAMP thresholds, the short timeline to achieve compliance by October 1, 2025, the lack of a unified solution to manage dispute prevention tools, and the threat of disintermediation by third-party providers. These issues collectively heighten their fear of financial penalties, operational disruptions, and loss of merchant relationships in an already competitive landscape.