Spring has arrived, bringing with it longer days, warmer weather, and—like clockwork—updates from the payment card networks. Hopefully your acquirer has reviewed the changes with you since many of them were scheduled to take effect on April 11, 2025. Keep in mind that implementation dates can vary depending on the card brand and your specific payments processor.
VISA UPDATES
Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP)
Visa is rolling out a new initiative called the CEDP to encourage merchants to submit higher-quality Level 2 and Level 3 enhanced data on business, corporate, purchasing, and fleet card transactions. Airline merchants are excluded from this change.
- Starting April 11, 2025, Visa will begin charging a 0.05% participation fee on CEDP transactions that include enhanced Level 2 or Level 3 data.
- On October 17, 2025, Visa will begin using machine learning to analyze your past data submissions and categorize you as either a verified or unverified merchant. This status will directly impact whether you qualify for Level 3 interchange programs. The new qualified interchange rates are lower, but rebates on these rates may take up to 45 days to process, which could affect your accounting timelines.
- Then, on April 17, 2026, Visa will phase out the Level 2 interchange program, except for Visa Commercial Fuel transactions.
It’s a big shift with multiple stages. If you have any questions or need help figuring out what this means for your business, connect with your acquirer or Visa representative.
Chargeback Timeframes
Visa is focusing on dispute management this year, and it’s something merchants should have on their radar. Starting April 1, 2025, Visa has restructured how it handles chargeback timeframes. Instead of the old three-tier system, there are now five tiers, and the fees you could face depend on how quickly you respond. Whether you’re submitting evidence to fight a chargeback or accepting it, the clock starts ticking the moment Visa initiates the dispute. This change could quickly add up for merchants.
Here’s what you can do:
- Flag chargebacks that can be accepted within ten days. Doing so can help you avoid fees altogether in those cases.
- Be aware: Visa is also raising fees for missed response or acceptance deadlines in both chargeback and pre-arbitration cases.
- If a dispute goes all the way to arbitration and Visa rules against you, expect a higher case ruling fee in those situations too.
The bottom line? Staying on top of dispute timelines is more important than ever. If you're not sure how this impacts your process, now’s a good time to talk with your acquirer.
Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP)
As of April 1, 2025, Visa has launched a brand-new risk program called the VAMP. This new program eliminates both the VFMP (Visa Fraud Monitoring Program) and VDMP (Visa Dispute Monitoring Program).
VAMP focuses on card-not-present transactions and uses a new ratio to evaluate risk. The formula looks like this:
Also important:
- No more “Early Warning” or “Tracking” phases.
- The probation period ends October 1, 2025.
- Both acquirers and merchants have their own thresholds under VAMP, and these limits get stricter starting January 1, 2026.
Visa continues to make last-minute adjustments to this new program, so this is definitely something to keep a close eye on.
MASTERCARD UPDATES
Authorization Rules
Starting June 17, 2025, Mastercard is tightening up its authorization rules. From that date forward, you’ll no longer be able to submit transactions without clearly identifying them as either a pre-authorization or a final authorization. Simply put, “undefined” will no longer be an option.
Then, on July 1, 2025, Mastercard will:
- Rename and update the PIF Fee (the fee tied to undefined authorizations).
- Start applying it to all approved, undefined authorizations.
- Increase this fee every January for the next two years.
And here’s the kicker: this fee also comes with a Processing Integrity Detail Report Fee, which is going up from $0.02 to $0.0215 on July 1, 2025.
Transaction Link Identifier (TLID)
As a friendly reminder, Mastercard is expanding on a change they started back on June 11, 2024, where they introduced a new 22-character TLID for each transaction. The TLID helps link the original transaction to all related transactions and must be used throughout authorization, clearing, and single message systems.
Starting October 17, 2025, this TLID needs to stick with the transaction all the way through its lifecycle. That means you’ll need to include it in every subsequent message related to that original transaction, such as:
- Multiple authorizations
- Multiple completions or clearings
- Full or partial reversals
- Authorization or financial completion advices
- First and second presentments
One Credential Program
One last thing to keep on your radar—Mastercard announced its One Credential program in February 2025. Think of it as a single digital pass that lets cardholders choose from multiple payment methods—credit, debit, prepaid, or even installments—all tied to one credential. If that sounds familiar, you’re not wrong—this is Mastercard’s version of Visa’s Flexible Credential, and it’s likely to follow a similar playbook in terms of how it impacts merchant acceptance and processing. As this gains momentum, it's worth checking in with your acquirer or Mastercard representative to make sure you're ready to support it when it launches.