What telecom payment processors need to know

What is it?

Visa has introduced updates under the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) beginning in 2025 to consolidate five separate monitoring programs with a single framework. Understanding how VAMP works—and how Compelling Evidence 3.0 helps you stay compliant—is essential for telecom companies processing card-not-present transactions. 

VAMP aims to address $2.5 billion in annual fraud losses across the ecosystem, with $1.1 billion tied specifically to enumeration attacks—the kind that often target telecom payment flows.

What’s changing?

On April 1, 2026, Visa is tightening a critical fraud and dispute threshold under VAMP. Visa is tightening acceptable thresholds for fraud and dispute activity, increasing the importance of maintaining low ratios. The acceptable “excessive” level for combined fraud and dispute ratios drops from 2.2% to 1.5% for merchants in North America, the EU, and Asia Pacific—a 32% reduction in what’s tolerated.

Why this matters to you

For telecom companies processing subscription payments, top-ups, and recurring billing, VAMP introduces stricter monitoring around three key areas:

1. Card-not-present fraud thresholds: New global standards for domestic and cross-border transactions (the bulk of telecom payments)
2. Enumeration attack prevention: Protection against automated card-testing attacks that target subscription services
3. Dispute management: Enhanced oversight of chargeback rates and processes

Key Dates

• 2025: Introduction of updated monitoring frameworks and advisory periods
• Late 2025: Initial enforcement phases begin
• 2026 and beyond: Continued tightening of thresholds and increased scrutiny

Compelling Evidence 3.0:

Launched in April 2023, Compelling Evidence 3.0 (CE3.0) is a framework that allows merchants to prove transaction legitimacy by demonstrating an established customer relationship. CE3.0 can help prevent certain disputes from being counted against monitoring thresholds when sufficient evidence of a legitimate customer relationship is provided. It’s about keeping legitimate transactions from counting against your compliance metrics.

What you need to do

1. Review your fraud prevention controls: Ensure you have appropriate velocity checks, device fingerprinting, and authentication measures for card-not-present transactions
2. Monitor enumeration patterns: Watch for rapid-fire authorization attempts that could indicate card testing
3. Track your chargeback ratios: Keep dispute rates within acceptable thresholds (specific ratios TBD by your acquirer)
4. Document your processes: Be prepared to show how you’re managing fraud and disputes if flagged

Work with Vesta to stay compliant

VAMP compliance is a partnership between Vesta and you. We provide the infrastructure, monitoring, and fraud prevention tools. You provide validated customer data and responsive dispute management. Together, we stay compliant—and research shows merchants with low dispute ratios see approximately 10% higher transaction approval rates.

Questions about VAMP and how you can work with Vesta to meet the new requirements?