In July, Mastercard announced changes to its fraud and dispute monitoring programs that will take effect April 1, 2027 when the Acquirer Chargeback Monitoring Program (ACMP) is replaced with the Global Merchant Audit Program (GMAP).
What is GMAP?
Similar to the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) announced in 2024 and launched in 2025, GMAP will combine fraud and non-fraud disputes, which Mastercard has been tracking separately, into one performance score. Other key changes include new monitoring categories for merchants and acquirers, a phased tightening of some monitoring thresholds, and monitoring at the submerchant ID level for some GMAP categories. For more details, see the Verisave blog GMAP: Mastercard's New Fraud and Dispute Monitoring Program.
Why is Mastercard Introducing GMAP?
Both Mastercard and Visa have recognized that reducing fraud requires a system level approach which involves all payment system participants. Like Visa's VAMP, the goal of GMAP is essentially to promote a holistic approach to fraud and dispute management while strengthening merchant and acquirer accountability.
How do Visa's VAMP and Mastercard's GMAP compare?
VAMP and GMAP have some important similarities and differences.
Two notable features both programs share are the combination of fraud and non-fraud disputes into a new performance score, and the introduction of acquirer monitoring. These actions provide a more comprehensive view of fraud and chargebacks, encouraging both merchants and acquirers to be more proactive in addressing fraud and disputes. The introduction of acquirer thresholds may cause acquirers to impose new requirements on merchants so they can remain in compliance.
The programs have some significant differences as well. First, GMAP has more categories than VAMP does because in addition to the four newly introduced dispute categories, the three existing ACMP categories Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM), High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM) and Excessive Fraud Merchant (EFM) are also part of GMAP. All open ECM, HECM and EFM audits will carry over when GMAP launches. By maintaining the existing ACMP categories, Mastercard has made GMAP more complicated than VAMP, and it remains to be seen if Mastercard will streamline the program over time. Visa made a number changes to VAMP between the time it was announced in 2024 and its April 1, 2025 effective date.
GMAP also introduces liability for merchants classified as Excessive Dispute Merchants (EDM). Once a merchant exceeds the EDM threshold for two months, the merchant will be liable for all fraud-related chargebacks associated with transactions occurring during the three months before identification and fraudulent transactions occurring during the next six months. Mastercard will publish a list of merchants classified as EDM along with the applicable timeframes and issuers will be able to recover 100% of the transaction amount.
How Can Merchants Prepare for GMAP?
To prepare for GMAP, Verisave recommends that merchants review their chargeback and fraud management policies and controls. As GMAP has similarities to Visa's VAMP, we recommend evaluating whether steps undertaken to prepare for and comply with VAMP can be used as a template to prepare for GMAP.
It is also important to take steps to reduce disputes and fraud before they happen. Here are some tips:
Tips to Reduce Chargebacks
Customers dispute transactions for a variety of reasons, ranging from forgetfulness to product quality issues. These tips address common issues that cause chargebacks.
- Communicate effectively and set appropriate customer expectations. This includes providing accurate product descriptions and photos, setting clear shipping policies/timelines, providing tracking information and proactively notifying customers of delays.
- Use clear billing descriptors that match the name under which you do business and include contact information in the billing descriptor.
- For subscription billing, ensure terms and cancellation policies are clear, and send a reminder in advance which includes the price the customer will be charged.
- Address customer inquiries and complaints in a timely fashion, be clear about next steps and have an FAQ page that addresses common customer concerns.
- Use alerts to proactively prevent chargebacks. For example, Ethoca shares fraud and dispute data from issuers in near-real-time, enabling merchants to quickly respond by stopping order fulfillment or refunding the purchase, to prevent fulfillment of fraudulent orders and chargebacks, respectively.
Tips to Reduce Fraudulent Transactions
Take measures to identify and prevent fraudulent transactions.
- Use verification tools such as the Card Verification Code (CVC), the Mastercard Send Address Verification Service (AVS) and 3D Secure (3DS) when verifying card-not-present transactions
- Use network tokens to make it difficult for fraudsters to misuse stolen payment information
- Keep fraud prevention tools up to date as out-of-date tools may not address the latest fraud methods
- Monitor for abnormal patterns — some processors offer services that identify inconsistencies, such as comparing the shopper country/region and the card issuer country/region, or comparing the shopper's name and email address
- Keep tracking/delivery records, photographic evidence of delivery and signature confirmations as this can help defeat friendly fraud claims
