Card-brand monitoring programs
Visa VAMP, Mastercard GMAP and the Scam Merchant Monitoring Program (SMMP) measure your fraud, disputes and, under SMMP, even your refunds. Cross a threshold and you face fees and remediation plans or, under SMMP, immediate termination and placement on the MATCH list.
Mastercard SMMP explained →
Losing your processing
When your ratios climb, your acquirer feels it first. That can mean reserves, higher pricing, tighter limits or a termination notice that shuts off revenue overnight.
Chargebacks cost more than the sale
A lost dispute takes the sale, the chargeback fee, the original processing cost, the product and your team’s time. Even a won representment rarely recovers every cost.
Who pays for a chargeback? →
Friendly fraud and billing confusion
Unrecognized billing descriptors, unclear trial terms and renewals customers forgot about turn legitimate sales into disputes and fraud reports (TC40s) that count against you.
True fraud vs. friendly fraud →
Mitigation leakage
Verifi and Ethoca alerts only help when they fire. Coverage gaps, overlapping services and duplicate refunds quietly drain margin and let chargebacks through.
Mitigation services can leak →
Risk you can’t see
A single affiliate, campaign or offer can drive most of your fraud and disputes. Processor reports show totals by MID; they don’t show which traffic source caused the spike.