Visa’s compliance playbook has changed. If your platform touches payments in any way, these updates apply to you. And ignoring them doesn’t just mean headaches for your merchants, it means risk for fines, to your reputation, your revenue, and your roadmap.

Consolidation of Monitoring Programs

Effective April 1, 2025, Visa has consolidated its Visa Dispute Monitoring Program (VDMP), Visa Fraud Monitoring Program (VFMP), and Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) into a unified framework. This new structure introduces updated thresholds and metrics, such as the “VAMP rate” and “enumeration rate,” focusing on a comprehensive view of disputes and fraud. While the initial rollout is in Europe, global enforcement, including in the U.S., is anticipated to follow. These programs make it easier to penalize fraud, disputes, and abuse.

Stricter Surcharge Regulations

Visa is actively enforcing its surcharge regulations by employing mystery shoppers, issuing warning notices, and imposing fines to ensure merchants adhere to the permissible surcharge limits. 

Implementation of PCI DSS 4.0

As of April 1, 2025, all entities involved in processing credit or debit card payments must comply with the enhanced security requirements outlined in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard 4.0 (PCI DSS 4.0). This includes stricter controls on payment page scripts, automated solutions for detecting web-based attacks, and comprehensive risk analyses.

Implications for Software Providers

If your software offers embedded payments, merchant-facing checkout flows, or even just invoice generation, you’re part of the equation.

And when compliance issues arise, Visa doesn’t blame the merchant alone. The platform gets pulled into the scrutiny, especially if:

• Fraud thresholds are crossed
• Disputes escalate
• Surcharge practices are noncompliant
• Payment scripts are improperly managed

The real risk? These violations often show up before you even know they’re happening, unless you have a partner actively monitoring and guiding your portfolio.

Actionable Steps

Software providers need to do more than react. They need to prepare:

1. Review and Update Compliance Protocols: Ensure your software aligns with the new VAMP metrics and PCI DSS 4.0 requirements.
2. Educate Your Clients: Inform your merchants about the updated surcharge caps and the importance of compliance to avoid penalties.
3. Implement Robust Monitoring Tools: Incorporate tools that can detect and prevent fraud and disputes effectively.
4. Stay Informed: Regularly consult Visa’s official communications and industry news to stay updated on any further changes.

Why This Matters (and Where BOLD Comes In)

Visa’s rules aren’t slowing down. And you don’t have time to keep second-guessing your payment setup.

Whether you’re just looking for informed guidance or full hands-on support, BOLD helps software providers navigate the complexity of payments with clarity and confidence.

We’re not here to upsell, we’re here to help you scale safely.

Sources:

Ravelin. (2025). Visa’s VAMP Changes: What You Need to Know in 2025. Retrieved from https://www.ravelin.com/blog/visa-vamp-changes-chargeback-disputes 

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One clear trend is rising to the top of payments: consumers favor a single credit card over all others, and that “top-of-wallet” card dominates their spending. Understanding this behavior is essential for businesses looking to attract and retain customers.

What Is a Top-of-Wallet Card?

A “top-of-wallet” credit card is the card a consumer reaches for first, whether for groceries, gas, online purchases, or bills. According to the PYMNTS Credit Economy: Top-of-Wallet Credit Cards report, consumers who have three or more cards still concentrate most of their spending on just one. In fact, nearly half (46%) of consumers with three or more cards use their primary card multiple times a week.

Why does this matter? Because top-of-wallet status significantly influences purchase volume and customer loyalty.

How Top-of-Wallet Cards Influence Spending

On average, consumers carry about 2.8 active credit cards. Yet their preferred card sees the lion’s share of activity, with an average monthly balance of $1,903 compared to just $1,202 for their second-choice card and $929 for their third.

This effect is even more pronounced among younger consumers:

• Gen Zers use 30% of their primary card’s credit limit monthly.
• Millennials follow closely behind at 27%.

These trends show that younger generations are deeply reliant on their go-to cards not just for emergencies but for everyday transactions, subscriptions, and even rent.

Why Consumers Choose Their Primary Card

So what makes a card top-of-wallet?

• Rewards or discounts were cited by 48% of consumers as a major reason for choosing their primary card.
• High credit limits, low interest rates, and good customer service followed as additional drivers.

Interestingly, consumers who use their cards for everyday purchases were the most rewards-motivated, while those using them for bills prioritized security features.

What This Means for Businesses

When your business only accepts limited payment methods or fails to support common card networks, you risk falling off the consumer’s radar. Worse, you risk losing repeat purchases.

Here’s what businesses can do to stay aligned with consumer payment behavior:

1. Accept All Major Credit Cards

Consumers rely heavily on their primary card. Not accepting it could cost you a sale, especially for younger, high-usage groups like Gen Z and Millennials.

2. Offer Payment Flexibility

The study shows that 48% of Gen Z would use their card more if they could choose payment options at checkout, like paying later or from a connected bank account.

3. Optimize for Rewards

Consumers want to use the card that benefits them most. Offering loyalty points, discounts, or integration with popular rewards platforms can influence card choice and increase transaction frequency.

4. Keep Payment Friction Low

Nearly 1 in 5 shoppers abandon purchases due to friction at checkout. Make sure your payment processing is fast, secure, and mobile-friendly.

Conclusion

Top-of-wallet card habits offer a window into the modern consumer mindset: convenience, rewards, and control matter more than ever. By understanding and responding to these habits, businesses can create a seamless experience that meets customers where they are at the top of their wallet.

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There’s nothing more frustrating than having software tailored for a specialized vertical… only to have your payments provider treat it like a generic checkout cart.

From summer camp POS platforms to platforms for pet groomers, feed and tack shops, pawnbrokers, sports leagues, ski retailers, or pet crematoriums, ISVs building for niche verticals don’t follow a one-size-fits-all playbook. So why should your payments partner?

The reality? Too many ISVs are stuck with legacy processors that don’t understand their business models, don’t prioritize their needs, and can’t (or won’t) flex to accommodate complex payment workflows. And it’s slowing growth. 

It’s time to rethink what a true embedded payments partner looks like. 

What Is a “Super-Niche” Vertical in Payments?

We’re talking about software that powers very specific industries with unique customer behaviors and operational requirements. These aren’t general tools, they’re built for businesses with: 

• Recurring billing models (e.g., camps, gyms, nonprofits)
• Alternative payment methods (anything other than cash, debit card, or credit card, such as ACH, digital wallets, buy now pay later (BNPL), or payment installments, for example)
• Memberships, donations, parent payers, custom fee structures
• High fraud risk (like food delivery or on-demand services)
• Real-world + digital services (true omnichannel needs)

If you’re nodding your head, chances are you’ve already felt the friction of trying to force a horizontal payment platform to fit a vertical problem.

The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All Payment Solutions

Legacy providers are often rigid. They’ve built horizontal solutions that serve the masses but struggle when it comes to deep integration or vertical-specific innovation. That means:

• Lack of flexibility: Can’t adapt to your specialized core requirements or platform roadmap
• Limited control: Your brand gets buried under their restrictive tools, and they’re holding back your growth plans 
• Slow support: Can’t understand or refuse to spend the time to understand the unique intricacies of your industry
• High fees: Refuse to adapt their fee model to meet the reality of your niche market, and no clear value in return

To truly deliver deep verticalization, ISVs must partner with a payments provider that genuinely understands their unique challenges, helps them serve their clients effectively, and supports their growth.

In fact, a recent Envisionit survey showed that the top reasons ISVs switch providers include better tech, lower fees, and better customer support. 

Vertical Expertise Isn’t Optional, It’s the Advantage 

Verticalized payment partners offer more than just processing, they bring a strategic understanding of your market, which leads to better integration, fewer support issues, and more payments monetization opportunities​.

For example, a niche ISV serving childcare organizations may need built-in ACH and subsidy billing features. A self-storage platform might prioritize fast merchant onboarding with low fraud risk. A flexible payments partner knows that and delivers without requiring you to hack together workarounds.

Diving into Omnichannel 

Today’s vertical software providers often support online, mobile, unattended, and in-person experiences. Think: sports clinics registering kids via app, and taking payments on-site. Or spas with recurring memberships and one-off POS payments.

If your provider can’t bridge the gap between in-store, mobile, unattended, and online channels with a unified experience and support all your user cases, you’re leaving money (and customer satisfaction) on the table.

Why BOLD Is Built for ISVs Like You

At BOLD, we believe control + customization = power. And ISVs should never be boxed in by their payments stack.

Here’s how we’re different:

• Vertical-friendly from the start: Over the years, we have worked with ISVs and merchants in a number of verticals, sub-verticals, and niche verticals—so we understand how crucial verticalization is.
• Flexible solutions: Build what you need, not what a legacy provider allows.
• Understand and support all your use cases: From countertop terminal to mPOS mobile devices, and self-service unattended to texting invoice payment link and pay-by-app, we support smooth end-to-end experiences.
• White-label support: Let your brand shine across the payments journey.
• Transparent monetization: We offer revenue sharing with full transparency, so you can build a sustainable business.

But most importantly? We listen and spend the time to truly understand your unique needs. If your use case is outside the box, we don’t say “no”, we ask, “how can we make this work?”

Niche ISVs are creating incredible platforms, but many are being held back by payment partners that aren’t built to support innovation. Don’t let that be your story.

Choose a partner who understands your vertical, shares your values, and is as invested in your growth as you are.

Sources:

Envisionit. ISO/ISV Field Survey Results & Takeaways. 2024.

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