Big Changes Ahead: What Visa’s New VAMP Program Means for Merchants.

The payments world is bracing for a major shakeup—and many merchants might not be ready for what’s coming. In this eye-opening episode, Matthew Steinbrecher of Sound Commerce (https://sound-commerce.com/) joins us to unpack Visa’s new Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), set to roll out on October 1st, and why it could impact nearly every corner of the payments ecosystem.

With over a decade in global payments, Matthew breaks down how VAMP will unify Visa’s separate monitoring programs into a single, streamlined system. But the biggest—and potentially most disruptive—change? Merchants will no longer be able to exclude proactive refunds from their chargeback ratios. For many, this has been a key tactic to stay under compliance thresholds.

As Christopher Dryden puts it, “Theoretically, based on what’s been published, that’s not going to happen any longer.” This seemingly small adjustment could have big consequences, especially for high-risk verticals like supplements, electronics, and other direct-to-consumer categories.
The discussion gets into real examples, including one disturbing case where a processor froze both incoming transactions and refund capabilities. The result? A self-fulfilling chargeback spiral—the merchant couldn’t resolve issues, leading to even more disputes.

Beyond the policy itself, we dive into what this all means in practice:

•What should merchants be doing now to prepare?
•Why is accurate, cross-platform data reporting more important than ever?
•And how can specialized payments ops teams help businesses stay ahead?

We also look at how acquirers and processors might respond—and the potential unintended ripple effects across the industry.

Whether you’re a merchant, ISO, acquirer, or payments professional, this episode delivers need-to-know insights and actionable advice. Don’t miss Matthew’s perspective on what smart players should be doing now to weather the VAMP storm.

**Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.**

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A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm