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Operations · Glossary

Chargeback monitoring program

Also called: VAMP, ECM, excessive chargeback program

A chargeback monitoring program is a card-network program, such as Visa VAMP or Mastercard ECM, that identifies and penalizes merchants whose fraud and dispute numbers exceed published thresholds. Merchants that stay in a program face escalating enforcement and, ultimately, account termination.

Why this matters to merchants

Chargeback monitoring programsits inside the broader system of U.S. payment processing economics that determine a merchant’s effective rate. Most operators encounter this term on their merchant statement without understanding what it controls, which is how the four hidden fees covered by our methodology slip past unnoticed.

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