Mastercard ECP vs Visa VAMP: how do they differ?

Mastercard's Excessive Chargeback Program flags merchants at 100 chargebacks a month and a 1.5% ratio, counting every chargeback whatever the refund or outcome. Visa's VAMP also uses 1.5% (since 1 April 2026 in the US, Canada, the EU and Asia Pacific) but needs 1,500 events a month, so a mid-sized seller can trip Mastercard's flag far below Visa's.

When does Mastercard flag a merchant?

Mastercard flags a merchant when two conditions hold in the same month. Stripe lists Excessive Chargeback Merchant status as 100 to 299 chargebacks together with a ratio of 1.5% to 2.99%, and High Excessive as 300 or more chargebacks and 3%.

A chargeback counts in the month it is raised, whatever happens afterwards. Stripe's documentation says a refund, a liability shift or a win on representment makes no difference, and its guide to how disputes work adds that a withdrawn dispute still counts. A merchant can be in the program without losing a single case.

The ratio is also built oddly. This month's chargebacks are divided by the preceding month's captured payments, so a merchant whose sales fell last month looks worse this month than a dashboard suggests. Check last month's Mastercard captures, not this month's, when you work out where you stand.

How do Mastercard's fines work?

The fines grow the longer a merchant stays in the program. Stripe lists fines for an Excessive Chargeback Merchant at $0 in month 1, $1,000 in months 2 and 3, $5,000 in months 4 to 6 and $25,000 in months 7 to 11.

A merchant exits only after chargebacks stay below the threshold for 3 consecutive months. The Chase summary of the program makes clear that the assessments fall on the acquirer, who passes them to the merchant under the contract. That summary dates from February 2022, so confirm the current figures with your acquirer.

In practice the processor relationship decides how much of a fine reaches you and when. Read your merchant agreement before the first notice arrives.

How is Visa's VAMP different?

Visa's Acquirer Monitoring Program, known as VAMP, works from a different base. Its ratio adds fraud reports (known as TC40) to disputes (TC15) and divides the total by settled transactions (TC05). Only card-not-present transactions count.

Visa's fact sheet shows the Excessive Merchant threshold reduced to 150 basis points, which is 1.5%, on 1 April 2026 in Asia Pacific, Canada, the EU and the US. A merchant must also reach 1,500 fraud and dispute events in a month to be identified. Mastercard's floor is 100 chargebacks, so a seller can cross it long before Visa's floor comes into view.

Visa treats prevention tools differently in one useful way. Its fact sheet excludes disputes resolved through pre-dispute solutions, and TC40 fraud that qualified for Compelling Evidence 3.0, from the VAMP count. Neither network gives credit for a refund issued after the dispute exists, so a late refund protects the customer relationship and does nothing for the ratio.

How should you calculate your own ratio?

Calculate a separate ratio for each network, because a blended dashboard figure fits neither. For Visa, take the fraud reports and disputes your processor lists, divide by settled Visa card-not-present transactions, and compare the result with 1.5%. Watch whether the month approaches 1,500 events.

For Mastercard, take the chargebacks raised this month, divide by last month's Mastercard captures, and compare with 1.5%. Watch the count of 100 as well. A merchant at 1.2% on one network and 1.6% on the other has a problem a blended figure will hide, and why the processor ratio misleads explains the gap in more detail.

Merchants below the floors on both networks can focus on winning the cases they have. Merchants near either one should start the monthly calculation now.

Takeaway: what to do this week

1. Run two ratios, one per network. Use last month's captures for Mastercard and settled card-not-present transactions for Visa, then compare each with 1.5%.
2. Track the counts as well as the ratios. Mastercard's program starts at 100 chargebacks and Visa's at 1,500 fraud and dispute events in a month.
3. Read the fine clause in your merchant agreement. Mastercard assessments fall on your acquirer, and the contract decides how much is passed to you.
4. Resolve cases before they become disputes where you can. Visa leaves disputes resolved through pre-dispute solutions out of the VAMP count, while a dispute still counts on both networks even if you refund after it opens.

Sources: Stripe Docs, "Dispute and fraud card monitoring programs" (undated); Stripe Docs, "How disputes work" (undated); JPMorgan Chase Merchant Services, "Mastercard Excessive Chargeback Merchant FAQ" (9 February 2022); Visa, "Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Fact Sheet" (2025), including footnote on the 1 April 2026 threshold. All checked 24 October 2026.