Industry News
Visa VAMP: Why Your Virtual Card Gets Declined More in 2026
Visa's VAMP program, live since April 2026, tightened fraud and dispute thresholds for acquirers. Virtual card decline rates are climbing. Here is why and wh…
Status update: September 2026
VAMP is Visa’s acquirer-side monitoring programme, not a rule that decides every virtual-card holder’s dispute or authorisation outcome. Visa’s public material identifies 1 April 2025 as its effective date; thresholds, transition arrangements and programme detail can vary by region, phase and Visa notice.
How to interpret the impact
VAMP does not prove that a virtual card will be declined, nor does one legitimate dispute mean a cardholder will be punished by a network. Common authorisation causes also include funds, merchant configuration, card state, 3DS, issuer controls and geography. Raise disputes only for genuinely unauthorised or undelivered transactions and retain merchant correspondence, cancellation and delivery evidence.
Verdict
Claims that VAMP began in April 2026, that fixed 0.7%/1.5% thresholds apply everywhere, that it necessarily tightens issuer authorisation, or that a dispute will probably freeze a user’s card have been removed.