Visa is introducing new pricing for the Visa Integrity Risk Program in AP, CEMEA, and LAC (excluding Chile) from April 1, 2024. The program is designed to protect the integrity and security of the Visa payment system by ensuring that acquirers are engaging sufficient and effective tools and procedures to prevent non-compliant transaction being conducted via the Visa payment system.
Summary of the changes and new pricing for VIRP:
- Updates to registration fees
- A new annual Visa Integrity Risk Fee
- Updated non-compliance assessments (NCAs)
Participants failing to meet the program’s requirements will be subject to non-compliance assessments. Visa encourages participants to review the advance copy of the upcoming Visa Rules for more information.
1. Visa Integrity Risk Program Fees
Registration Fees
| Fee | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Per Merchant Registration |
| Non-refundable application fee | USD 100,000 | USD 25,000 | USD 950 | |
| Annual renewal fee | USD 50,000 | |||
The acquirer annual renewal fee is newly introduced and will be billed based on registration date.
Visa Integrity Risk Transaction Fee
A new transaction fee of USD 0.02 per transaction and 10bps to payment volume processed in the following High-Integrity Risk (HIR) categories will be applied to:
- MCC 5967 – Direct Marketing – Inbound Teleservices Merchant
- MCC 7273 – Dating Services
*applies to card-absent transactions and payment volumes in the applicable MCCs
2. Non-Compliance Assessments (NCAs)
Summary of Non-Compliance Assessments
| NCA | Assessment |
| Non-Registered HIR Acquiring | Up to USD 100,000 per calendar month of non-compliance |
| Non-Registered HIR Merchants | USD 2,000 per merchant per calendar month of non-compliance |
| VIRP Non-Compliant Merchant | USD 50,000 to USD 400,000 |
Non-Registered HIR Acquiring
- Acquirers must apply and be approved for High Integrity Risk Acquiring prior to contracting any HIR merchant
- Acquirers whom do not qualify for HIR acquiring must terminate processing of HIR transactions
Non-Registered HIR Merchants
- All HIR merchants must be registered with Visa prior to submitting HIR transactions
VIRP Non-Compliant Merchant
- NCA of USD 50,000 per identified merchant or per merchant URL (maximum of USD 150,000) will be assessed to acquirers that process illegal transactions
- Identifications involving child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) confirmed by law enforcements will require immediate remediation plan with confirmation to Visa within 24 hours
- NCA up to USD 400,000 per identified merchant or per merchant URL will be assessed for identifications involving child sexual abuse materials
For more details about the merchant categories and the latest VIRP information, please visit the Global Brand Protection Program page at Visa Online.
Source: Visa Business News – Article ID: AI13408 12 October 2023