BY MARCI GAGNON

Visa implemented major updates to its fraud and chargeback monitoring policies. With Visa being the most widely utilized card type in the US, these changes may have significant implications for any business that processes credit card payments, including fuel marketers. On April 1st, Visa merged its existing programs, the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program( VFMP) and the Visa Dispute Monitoring Program( VDMP), into a new unified initiative called the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program, or VAMP. The goal of VAMP is to simplify compliance while tightening fraud prevention. For businesses, it’ s designed to make identifying risks and tracking disputes easier and more transparent. It also introduces stricter thresholds and the potential for financial penalties if your business exceeds them.

Why Should Home Heating Businesses Care? You may not think of your heating business as a target for fraud. However, card-not-present transactions( like over-the-phone or online payments) are increasingly being exploited across service industries, such as the delivered fuel space. If you’ re offering automated billing or accepting deposits via credit card, you’ re already in Visa’ s monitoring scope.

At the core of VAMP is a new performance metric known as the VAMP ratio. It reflects a combination of fraud reports and chargebacks, monitored by your merchant processor, calculated as: VAMP Ratio =( Fraud cases + Disputes) ÷ Total settled transactions The fraud cases( AKA TC40 fraud reports) are confirmed events of unauthorized card use. In contrast, disputes( AKA TC15 disputes) include both fraud-related and non-fraud-related issues like processing errors and customer complaints. Disputes resolved through pre-dispute tools like Rapid Dispute Resolution( RDR), 3 D secure or Order Insight don’ t count toward the ratio, provided they’ re resolved in time. Let’ s break that down in practical terms: TC40 Fraud: These are confirmed fraud reports( e. g., a customer says they didn’ t authorize the charge). TC15 Disputes: These include all chargebacks, whether it’ s fraud, billing issues, or even customer complaints.

TC05 Settled Transactions: All completed Visa transactions. If your VAMP ratio exceeds Visa’ s thresholds, your business may face escalating enforcement actions starting October 1, 2025. This includes potential fines, higher processing fees, or increased scrutiny from your payment processor.

This matters a lot for home heating companies, which often deal with large seasonal charges, emergency calls, and recurring billing. Disputes can arise from scheduling issues, service

misunderstandings, or billing confusion. Even a small surge in chargebacks can push your ratio above the limit.

Visa has also introduced a separate measure: the enumeration ratio. This tracks attempts by bad actors( often bots) testing stolen card numbers, known as carding. A spike in declined transactions may indicate suspicious activity that, if left unchecked, could jeopardize your ability to process cards.

Enumeration looks at authorization attempts( approved + declined), as flagged by Visa’ s Account Attack Intelligence( VAAI) model, divided by total authorization attempts( approved + declined).

This ratio applies to merchants processing 300,000 or more Visa authorization attempts per month and only to card-not-present transactions. But if that’ s you, Visa is now actively watching.

The big takeaway? Visa is placing more weight than ever on dispute volume, fraudulent or not, as a risk signal. That’ s why it’ s essential for home heating companies to reduce chargebacks through clear communication, faster issue resolution, and updated billing systems.

Staying under your VAMP ratio means you ' re in good standing and can continue accepting Visa payments without worry. But if you exceed it, penalties may apply, and they can vary depending on your payment processor. Some might pass the fines along; others may absorb them, but either way, it affects your bottom line.

And it’ s not just about your business. Service providers are also being monitored at the portfolio level. If service providers cross the thresholds, it could impact your rates, even if your business is not over the threshold.

The good news? Visa introduced a six-month grace period, giving businesses until September 30, 2025, to comply before enforcement begins. This is the time to audit your current chargeback management processes, upgrade fraud tools, and make sure your systems are ready.

The home heating industry isn’ t immune to payment issues. In fact, high-ticket, emergency-based, or seasonal service businesses are often more vulnerable to disputes. That’ s why staying on top of the VAMP metrics is not just about compliance; it’ s about protecting your revenue, reputation, and ability to operate smoothly.

If you process cards and haven’ t started closely tracking fraud alerts and chargebacks, now’ s the time. Speak to your merchant provider to ensure you ' re prepared, and consider advanced fraud detection tools that can help you stay within Visa ' s new thresholds. You’ re busy running your business. Let your provider help you manage compliance. It’ s worth the investment.

Marci Gagnon is Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Qualpay. For more information email marci @ qualpay. com or visit https:// www. qualpay. com / industry / utility-and-energy. l FON

28 OCTOBER 2025 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www. fueloilnews. com