Visa’s overhaul of its monitoring regime under the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Programme – better known as VAMP – may read like a technical adjustment to fraud and dispute thresholds, but in reality, it marks a structural shift in how risk is distributed across the payments ecosystem. And nowhere is that shift more consequential than in telemedia and the wider mobile entertainment market.
For years, telemedia has operated in a delicate balance with card networks. Subscription billing, carrier billing overlays, adult content, gaming and digital services all share one characteristic: a higher-than-average likelihood of disputes. Whether driven by ‘friendly fraud’, unclear billing descriptors, or genuine consumer confusion, dispute rates in this sector have historically sat closer to scheme thresholds than most. Under previous regimes, that was manageable. Under VAMP, it may no longer be.
At its core, VAMP consolidates what were previously separate monitoring frameworks – fraud and disputes – into a single ratio. That alone is significant. But the deeper change lies in how that ratio is used. By combining fraud reports, chargebacks and even card testing activity into one metric, Visa has effectively removed the margin for error that many telemedia businesses relied on.
A company that previously kept fraud low but struggled with disputes, or vice versa, could remain compliant. Now, all roads lead to the same calculation – and the same risk of breaching thresholds.
The timeline of these changes matters. Since its introduction in April 2025, VAMP has moved from an advisory framework into full enforcement, with thresholds tightening further into 2026. What was initially positioned as a period of adjustment has now become a hard compliance environment.
Early signals from acquirers suggest that enforcement is not only real, but in many cases stricter than Visa’s published limits. This is because VAMP doesn’t just target merchants; it targets acquirers themselves.
Shifting accountability
That shift in accountability is perhaps the most important – and least discussed – aspect of the programme. Under VAMP, acquiring banks and payment service providers are measured on the aggregate performance of their portfolios. If their merchants collectively exceed thresholds, the acquirer faces penalties. The logical response is already playing out across the industry: acquirers are de-risking.
For telemedia companies, this means the conversation is no longer just about staying below Visa’s thresholds. It is about staying below the internal thresholds of your acquirer and those are often significantly lower. Businesses that would once have been considered acceptable risk are now being reassessed, repriced, or in some cases, offboarded entirely.
This is particularly acute in mobile entertainment, where recurring billing models dominate. Subscription fatigue, unclear cancellation flows and impulse purchases on mobile devices all contribute to higher dispute rates. Under VAMP, even a modest uptick in disputes can push a merchant – or more importantly, their acquirer – into a monitored or excessive category.
The result is a cascading effect: increased scrutiny, tighter controls, and ultimately, reduced access to card processing.
There is also a technological dimension to this shift. VAMP places greater emphasis on prevention rather than remediation. Disputes that are later won or refunded can still count toward the ratio, meaning that traditional chargeback management strategies are no longer sufficient.
Telemedia companies must now invest earlier in the transaction lifecycle: improving fraud detection, enhancing customer communication, and resolving issues before they escalate into formal disputes.
This has implications for product design as much as for payments. Clearer billing descriptors, more transparent subscription terms and frictionless cancellation processes are no longer just good practice, they are becoming essential risk controls. In a VAMP-driven world, customer experience and compliance are converging.
At the same time, we are likely to see a divergence within the telemedia sector itself. Larger, well-capitalised operators with sophisticated risk management capabilities will adapt. They will invest in data analytics, partner closely with PSPs and optimise their user journeys to minimise disputes. Smaller players, or those operating on thinner margins, may find the cost of compliance prohibitive.
This raises the prospect of market consolidation. As access to card acquiring becomes more restricted, some businesses will migrate toward alternative payment methods such as carrier billing, digital wallets, or even cryptocurrency. Others will exit the market altogether.
The net effect is a tightening of the ecosystem, with fewer but more compliant operators remaining.
Adding friction?
Looking ahead, the trajectory is clear. Visa’s direction of travel is toward lower thresholds, greater transparency and increased accountability across the value chain. VAMP is not an endpoint, it is a foundation for further tightening. For telemedia, this means that today’s compliance challenges are unlikely to ease. If anything, they will intensify.
But there is a broader question about what this means for innovation in mobile entertainment. Telemedia has historically thrived on low-friction user experiences, with one-click subscriptions, seamless billing and instant access to content. VAMP introduces friction back into the system, not at the user interface, but behind the scenes. The challenge for the industry will be to absorb that friction without compromising the user experience that drives engagement and revenue.
In that sense, VAMP is both a constraint and an opportunity. It forces telemedia companies to mature and to adopt more robust risk management practices, to prioritise transparency and to align more closely with the expectations of card networks and regulators. Those that succeed will not only survive the current wave of change, but also emerge more resilient and more trusted.
Those that do not may find that the cost of doing business in a card-dominated world has simply become too high. For an industry built on adaptability, the message is familiar but more urgent than ever: evolve, or be left behind.
