VAMP Rules: What High-Risk Merchants Need to Know Before October 2025


High Risk VAMP Rules: 2025 changes
The payment landscape is changing rapidly, and if your business operates in a high-risk vertical like online dating, subscription services, or digital content, it's crucial to understand the implications of VAMP rules before it's too late.
By the end of 2025, it's expected that many high-risk merchants will no longer be able to process card payments under their current arrangements. One key reason? Visa’s Acquirer Monitoring Program — or VAMP — and the industry-wide shakeup it's driving behind the scenes.
Let’s explore what VAMP is, why it matters, and what your business can do now to stay compliant and operational.
What is VAMP?
VAMP stands for Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program, a set of rules and thresholds enforced by Visa to ensure acquirers (the banks that process payments on your behalf) are only onboarding and supporting compliant merchants.
At the heart of the programme is a crackdown on excessive fraud and chargebacks, especially as tracked through:
- TC40 reports: Visa's fraud monitoring system
- Chargeback ratios: Disputes initiated by cardholders
- Monitoring thresholds: Exceeding certain ratios for fraud or disputes can trigger penalties or account termination
Previously, many acquirers worked around these thresholds by using chargeback mitigation platforms, RDR (Rapid Dispute Resolution) tools, and manual interventions. But those days may be coming to an end.
What’s Changing in 2025?
The industry is undergoing rapid consolidation and withdrawal from high-risk sectors:
- Kount/Mitigator, once a leading chargeback platform, has drastically reduced its operations
- ChargebackHero, a key Ethoca partner, was recently acquired by Global Payments, which also owns Worldpay. These entities appear to be winding down support for high-risk merchants
- ChargebackHelp may follow suit, as consolidation typically leads to the exclusion of more volatile merchant categories
The upshot? The biggest tools and providers merchants relied on for fraud defence are either disappearing or becoming exclusive to low-risk portfolios.
Who’s Most at Risk?
While all high-risk verticals are affected, online dating platforms may face the most immediate challenges. These businesses often operate on subscription or freemium models, both prone to higher dispute rates.
Sectors likely to feel the impact include:
- Adult content
- Online dating
- Digital downloads and coaching programmes
- Supplement and skincare trials
- Ticketing and travel offers
- Multi-level marketing (MLM)
Without robust chargeback protection, merchants in these spaces could face account termination or listing on Visa's MATCH list — effectively blacklisting them from card processing.
Why October 1st Matters
Visa is enforcing stricter monitoring from October 1st, 2025. Merchants and acquirers alike must stay below updated fraud and chargeback thresholds or risk immediate compliance action.
In parallel, with major vendors like Kount and ChargebackHero stepping back from high-risk support, alternative mitigation services may become harder to find — or more expensive.
Some industry sources predict that over 250,000 merchants could be affected or terminated globally before year-end due to VAMP non-compliance.
What Can Merchants Do Now?
This isn’t a time to panic — it’s a time to prepare. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Assess Your Risk Profile
Review chargeback and fraud ratios from the past 6 months.
Check if you’re approaching or exceeding Visa thresholds.
2. Implement Pre-Emptive Measures
Use pre-dispute tools like RDR and Ethoca Alerts while they’re still available.
Improve customer communication and refund policies to prevent disputes.
3. Choose Your Provider Carefully
Work only with PSPs or acquirers who support high-risk merchants.
Ask whether your current provider will remain operational post-October 1st.
4. Plan for Contingency
Explore secondary merchant accounts in regulated jurisdictions.
Consider diversifying into non-card payment methods like e-wallets or crypto.
Need Expert Guidance?
At Merchant Advice Service, we specialise in helping businesses navigate complex changes like VAMP. Whether you're looking to move to a more supportive provider, reduce chargebacks, or avoid MATCH listing, we can point you in the right direction, free of charge.
Wrapping It Up
VAMP is not new, but enforcement is tightening. Combined with market exits and consolidations, it’s creating a perfect storm for high-risk merchants. Those who prepare now can adapt and thrive. Those who wait may find themselves without a processor by the end of 2025.
If you're unsure whether your business is compliant — or even if you’re considered high-risk — reach out to our team today.