Acquirers Turn Fraud Data into Commercial Advantage

Visa lowered its Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) ratio from 220 to 150 in April 2026, increasing acquirer accountability for portfolio-level fraud and dispute rates. The VAMP ratio is calculated as combined fraud and dispute counts divided by total settled Visa transactions. The reduced threshold places more responsibility on acquirers when merchant portfolios register elevated fraud or chargeback activity.

Merchants are adding fraud performance to selection criteria for payment partners. Requests for proposal increasingly ask about false positive rates and chargeback handling alongside fees. The Merchant Risk Council found that in 2026 about 65% of merchants estimate their e-commerce false positive rates fall between 2% and 10%.

Two cost figures cited by industry analysts underscore the scale of the issue: global merchant losses from false positives are projected to exceed $231 billion in 2026, while direct card fraud losses are forecast at $39.6 billion. Acquirers commonly absorb losses when merchants cannot, so portfolio-level fraud metrics affect financial exposure for acquiring banks.

Acquirers are deploying several technologies to address false positives and disputes. Machine learning models that run in real time across channels and payment types are being used to refine authorization decisions. Digital identity solutions that combine credential checks with behavioural signals are being added to transaction risk assessments. Network intelligence that pools signals across merchant portfolios is being used to identify patterns that single merchants cannot see alone.

Providers are also improving model explainability and operational processes to meet scheme and regulatory scrutiny. That includes audit trails for automated decisions, clearer model outputs for risk teams, and streamlined workflows to reduce manual dispute handling.

Commercial strategies appearing in the market include packaging fraud analytics and automated decisioning as paid services for merchants, offering outcome-based pricing tied to fraud and false positive metrics, and providing managed chargeback services that blend automation with specialist dispute handling. Vendors and acquirers report growing interest from merchants who seek lower false decline rates and clearer dispute resolution paths.

Regulators and card schemes are increasing expectations for portfolio monitoring and governance over automated decision systems. Acquirers face greater requirements to demonstrate controls, document decision logic, and show ongoing performance monitoring to schemes and supervisors.

A webinar organised with payments firm ACI Worldwide and moderated by researcher Sharon Kimathi will bring industry experts together to discuss deployment of these technologies and commercial models under heightened oversight. The session will cover practical AI use cases, digital identity implementation, and commercial approaches to fraud analytics.