Visa needs two doghouses
VAMP is a single kennel built for every pup in the yard. Single-purchase and subscription merchants do not have the same rhythm, and should not share a collar size.
Visa’s VAMP (Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program) is like a single doghouse built for every pup in the yard—regardless of whether it’s a Chihuahua or a St. Bernard. Designed to curb fraud and disputes by monitoring TC40 cases, VAMP lumps all merchants together under one standard, regardless of their business model. While this one-size-fits-all approach may simplify oversight, it fails to recognize key differences—especially between single-purchase and subscription billing merchants. And when you try to squeeze big dogs and small dogs into the same kennel, things get messy.
TWO DIFFERENT BREEDS
Single-purchase merchants—think e-commerce retailers or ticket sellers—typically run lean, with chargeback ratios between 0.1% and 0.3%. These numbers are low by general standards, but they’re simply par for the course for this breed of business.
On the other hand, subscription-based merchants (like SaaS providers, subscription, and streaming services) have a different rhythm entirely. Their business model inherently leads to a higher dispute rate—think trials that auto-convert, forgotten subscriptions, or card expirations. For them, ratios around 0.5% to 0.9% can be both healthy and expected.
Trying to judge both by the same collar size doesn’t work. What looks like aggressive behavior from a big dog may just be a harmless bark. But under the current system, both get flagged the same way.
A BETTER WAY TO LEASH RISK
If Visa wants to effectively manage fraud and disputes, it needs to kennel smarter—not harder. That means building two separate VAMP tracks: one for single-purchase merchants, and another for recurring billing models.
Each model deserves a fair standard tailored to its behavior.
