What Is Visa Merchant Purchase Inquiry (VMPI)?
VMPI is a part of the new VCR initiative, this new process aimed to reduce the disputes (chargebacks) by allowing the cardholder and the merchant to “rule things out” before the complaint is filed with the issuer. VMPI allows real time communication and can lead to a resolution of a complaint within seconds, opposed to 45 days that it took before, as the complaint is sent via direct API.
VMPI is a part of an attempt to reduce the disputes filed due to lack of recognition (as you may remember, chargeback code 75 was decommissioned).
Visa Merchant Purchase Inquiry allows the card holder to contact the merchant with 3 types of queries:
Fraud Notification
Unrecognized Purchase
Problem with the merchandise/service provided
The process will work as follows:
Cardholder want to dispute a transaction
Cardholder contacts the issuing bank
A representative at the issuing bank performs a VROL transaction inquiry
VROL system recognizes a merchant as integrated with VMPI and sends an API call
Merchant receives the VMPI notification and issues a response
A merchants can respond to VMPI with a credit notice, a transaction inquiry response, or both:
If the merchant sends a credit notice, the dispute should be resolved by the issuer.
If the merchant sees the transaction as valid (not suspected as fraud) a Transaction Inquiry Response should be submitted. It should include detailed transaction information shared with the cardholder and the issuer. If the information helps the cardholder to recognize the said transaction the dispute should be resolved by the issuer.
If the card holder does not recognize the transaction and/or does not accept the proposed solution the inquiry will be escalated to a dispute (chargeback)
VISA encourages merchants, issuers, and acquirers to use VMPI as a chargeback prevention tool, but the participation in the process is not obligatory.
If a merchant does not participate in the pre-dispute process the right to send a dispute response will not be affected. Merchant’s index score will not be impacted by non- participation in Visa Merchant Purchase Inquiry (VMPI) as well.
VISA indicated that VMPI holds benefit for card-not-present merchants that sell digital goods (non tangible), have high volume of low-amount transactions, merchants that offer product trials, merchants with high level of fraud files.
Contact your payment provider to check the availability of VMPI service though your acquiring banks. There are also 3-rd party tools that allow you to enroll in this service.
For more information on VROL you may contact Paymentsop team.