Card Network Thresholds
3 min read
Card-network monitoring programs are how Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover police the dispute rates of merchants on their networks. Crossing a program threshold means warnings, fees, increased scrutiny from your processor, and — at the extreme — account termination. This page documents the thresholds TrustLens tracks against, what each program does, and how to read the per-brand status.
Why These Programs Exist #
Card networks subsidize disputes. When a cardholder wins a chargeback, the merchant pays the network, the cardholder gets their money back, and the network absorbs administrative cost. Networks tolerate this at low rates because disputes are part of doing business. At high rates, networks treat the merchant as either fraudulent or operationally negligent — and the programs exist to push those merchants either toward compliance or off the network.
Once you’re in a program, getting out is slow. Most programs require sustained ratio improvement over 3+ months before you graduate.
Visa: VDMP and VFMP #
VDMP — Visa Dispute Monitoring Program #
| Tier | Threshold | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Early Warning | ≥ 0.65% dispute ratio with ≥ 75 disputes | Notification, no fees yet |
| Standard | ≥ 0.90% with ≥ 100 disputes | Monthly fees, must remediate |
| Excessive | ≥ 1.80% with ≥ 1,000 disputes | Heavy fees, possible account termination |
TrustLens defaults its Visa threshold reference to the Standard tier (0.90%).
VFMP — Visa Fraud Monitoring Program #
| Tier | Threshold | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ≥ 0.90% fraud ratio AND ≥ $75,000 fraud volume | Monthly fees, remediation required |
| Excessive | ≥ 1.80% fraud ratio AND ≥ $250,000 fraud volume | Heavier fees |
VFMP specifically targets disputes filed for fraud reason codes. The disputes that count toward this program are a subset of the disputes counted toward VDMP.
Mastercard: ECP #
ECP — Excessive Chargeback Program #
| Tier | Threshold | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM) | ≥ 1.50% with ≥ 100 disputes | Monthly fees, remediation |
| High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM) | ≥ 3.00% with ≥ 300 disputes | Heavy fees, processor scrutiny |
Mastercard’s threshold is higher than Visa’s, which is why blended ratios that look “okay” against Visa might still be approaching Mastercard’s threshold for a Mastercard-heavy customer base.
American Express #
Amex doesn’t publish formal program tiers like Visa and Mastercard, but operates an “Excessive Disputes Program” with a typical threshold around 1.0%. Amex tends to enforce more rapidly than Visa or Mastercard — first-instance scrutiny can begin earlier.
Amex also weighs dispute outcomes more aggressively. A high lost-dispute rate (versus pending or won) accelerates scrutiny.
Discover #
Discover’s published threshold is approximately 1.0%, similar to Amex. Discover represents a smaller share of US e-commerce dispute volume than Visa or Mastercard, so Discover-specific risk tends to be most relevant for stores with significant Discover transaction shares.
How TrustLens Tracks Per-Brand #
Pro’s Chargeback Monitor shows a per-brand status row with:
- Each brand’s current monthly ratio
- Each brand’s threshold
- A progress bar showing where you are relative to the threshold
- A trailing-30-day rolling number alongside the calendar-month number
Brand attribution comes from gateway data — Stripe and WooPayments include the card brand on every transaction and dispute. For manually-entered disputes, the brand is required at entry time.
The Trailing-30-Day Window (Pro) #
Card networks often consider trailing-30-day windows in addition to calendar-month windows. The Pro Chargeback Monitor adds this view alongside the calendar-month view.
Why both matter: a calendar-month view resets every 30–31 days, which can hide a creeping problem. A merchant whose monthly ratio is consistently 0.85% never crosses 0.90% on the calendar view but would consistently be just over 0.85% on a trailing-30-day basis — and that’s the number most likely to trigger processor concern.
The Minimum Dispute Count #
Several program tiers require both a ratio threshold and a minimum dispute count (typically 75 or 100). This is important for small stores:
| Store Size | Likelihood of Program Entry |
|---|---|
| < 1,000 orders/month | Low — even at 5% ratio, may not hit 100-dispute minimum |
| 1,000–10,000 orders/month | Moderate — dispute counts can clear the floor |
| 10,000+ orders/month | High — every percentage point of ratio is dozens of disputes |
That said: even if you’re below the count threshold, a ratio over 1% is still abnormal and signals to your processor that something is wrong. Processors will often act before networks do.
What TrustLens Tracks vs What Networks Track #
The ratios TrustLens computes are based on the dispute data flowing into the plugin. There are edge cases where TrustLens’s view may differ slightly from your processor’s view:
- Webhook delays. If Stripe or WooPayments webhook delivery is delayed, your TrustLens ratio may briefly trail the actual ratio.
- Manual entry lag. If you delay logging disputes for PayPal / offline gateways, the ratio is artificially low until you catch up.
- Dispute reversals. A won dispute typically still counts toward the network’s monitoring ratio for the month it was filed, even if the outcome was favorable to you. TrustLens follows the same convention.
- Multi-currency stores. TrustLens counts disputes by count, not by currency-adjusted value. The fraud-volume thresholds (VFMP) are USD-denominated by Visa.
Reading the Per-Brand View #
On the Pro Chargeback Monitor page, the per-brand row tells you exactly where to focus. Common patterns:
- One brand much higher than others. Usually a sign that the disputes are coming from a specific gateway or customer cohort. Investigate by gateway.
- All brands rising together. Operational issue — fulfillment problems, product issues, refund policy disputes.
- Amex disproportionately high. Often indicates friendly-fraud-prone customer base; Amex cardholders dispute at higher rates and often win.
- Visa fraud ratio rising but standard ratio stable. Card testing — fraud-reason disputes are growing while overall disputes stay flat.
