Disclaimers: Unless otherwise stated, statistics concerning MERP are based on Visa internal program data and observations available as of the date of publication. Program outcomes, including investigation, remediation and recovery outcomes, may vary depending on the relevant facts, participant actions and applicable dispute requirements. Any forward-looking statements reflect current views as of the date of publication and are subject to change.
What if a fraudulent outcome begins with a perfectly genuine payment?
For decades, a fundamental question in payment security has been whether a transaction was really initiated by the cardholder. That question remains critical. But scams introduce another:
What if the consumer is genuine, the payment is authorised, but the merchant is not?
In traditional payment fraud, a fraudster may use stolen credentials to make a payment without the consumer’s knowledge or approval. In a scam, the consumer may make and authorise the payment themselves, but only because they have been deceived into doing so.
A consumer may willingly choose a product or service and approve the transaction, to discover that the storefront was fake, the offer misleading, or the merchant was not what it claimed to be.
A payment can be genuine even when the merchant behind it is not.
Visa Consumer 360 Research highlights the scale of this challenge. Across Asia Pacific, 38% of consumers say they have experienced a fake seller or online shopping scam.¹ After being scammed, 30% of consumers contacted their bank or card issuer for assistance.² By the time a consumer seeks help, the harm has already occurred. The opportunity is not only to help consumers recover, but to identify deceptive merchant activity earlier and prevent that harm from scaling.
Securing the transaction remains essential. But when deception starts with the merchant, protecting consumers means moving intervention closer to its source.
Looking beyond individual transactions
Consumers want greater confidence before they pay. Nearly one in three consumers in Asia Pacific (31%) say they want easier ways to verify whether a business is legitimate before making a purchase. ³
Fraud reports, disputes and transaction activity can reveal patterns that are difficult to see when each transaction is considered in isolation. Connecting those signals at the merchant level can create opportunities to investigate potential risks and act before more consumers are harmed.
Merchant Elevated Risk Program: identifying deceptive merchant activity earlier
In Asia Pacific, Visa’s Merchant Elevated Risk Program (MERP) is designed to identify potentially deceptive merchant activity earlier. By looking across merchant-level signals along with reported fraud and disputes, MERP can detect unusual patterns that may otherwise be difficult to identify in isolation. These signals are brought together at the merchant level to surface high-confidence cases that warrant closer scrutiny and intervention.
MERP is one part of Visa’s layered approach to scams and fraud, complementing Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program’s (VAMP)⁴ broader monitoring of fraud and dispute performance, Visa Integrity Risk Program’s (VIRP)⁵ focus on serious integrity and scam-related risks, and Visa Scam Disruption’s6,7 work to identify and disrupt coordinated scam activity.
But identifying risk is only the starting point. MERP brings together three elements: earlier identification, acquirer intervention, and a recovery pathway for eligible fraud losses. Acquirers can investigate identified merchants and, where concerns are confirmed, take appropriate action and strengthen controls to help prevent similar activity from recurring.
Complete and accurate issuer reporting contributes to the merchant-level signals used by MERP, helping identify patterns of risk that may not be apparent from individual cases alone. In confirmed cases, MERP also provides an avenue for issuers to pursue recovery for eligible fraud losses, supporting better outcomes for affected cardholders.
Together, this turns intelligence into action: better reporting improves visibility of merchant risk, better visibility enables earlier intervention, and earlier intervention can help stop harm from spreading to more consumers.
Early results show promise
Early results from MERP’s advisory period suggest the approach is working as intended. During the first five months, from April to August 2026, MERP identified 250 merchants associated with more than USD5 million in fraud and disputes.
It is equally important whether MERP is identifying the right cases. Across those identifications, the program recorded approximately 99% identification accuracy, reflecting strong alignment between MERP’s signals and reviewed outcomes.
There are encouraging signs of alignment across the ecosystem too. In the advisory cycle, some acquirers had already taken action against identified merchants before receiving a MERP notification. This reinforces MERP’s role as an added layer of protection alongside strong acquirer oversight.
Taken together, these early results suggest that connecting signals at the merchant level can help surface concentrated sources of risk that may be harder to see when transactions are viewed individually, giving acquirers more opportunity to investigate, remediate and strengthen their controls.
Protecting consumers by acting earlier
As scams become more sophisticated, protecting consumers requires earlier action across the payments ecosystem.
No single participant sees the whole picture. Issuers contribute through complete and accurate fraud reporting, while networks can connect signals across the ecosystem. For acquirers, responsibility starts with strong merchant onboarding and due diligence, and continues through ongoing monitoring, investigation and action when risks emerge.
Bringing these perspectives together can create a clearer picture of risk and enable earlier intervention.
Ultimately, protecting consumers is not only about helping them after something has gone wrong. It is about identifying where harm is coming from, acting sooner, and preventing the next consumer from becoming a victim.
¹ Visa Consumer 360 Research (previously Green Shoots Radar). Fieldwork period June-July 2026.
² Visa Consumer 360 Research (previously Green Shoots Radar). Fieldwork period June-July 2026.
³ Visa Consumer 360 Research (previously Green Shoots Radar). Fieldwork period June-July 2026.
⁵ VIRP: https://corporate.visa.com/en/about-visa/visa-network-integrity.html
⁷ Visa Scam Disruption: Detecting, investigating and disrupting scams