Fraudology
Navigating Global Advocacy and the Future of Fraud Education with Keith Briscoe
48 min
Welcome back to Fraudology.
This week I'm sitting down with Keith Briscoe, VP of Education and Advocacy at the Merchant Risk Council. If you have ever wondered what actually happens behind the scenes when an organization tries to get merchants, issuers, and card networks all rowing in the same direction, this is your episode.
Keith's path into this industry is a good one. He started out selling commodity transaction software back in the late nineties, and somewhere along the way he fell hard for the high value world of fraud intelligence at Ethoca. That kind of career arc matters because it shapes how he thinks about advocacy today. He is not coming at this from theory. He is coming at it from having sat on every side of the table.
Here is what fraud advocacy means in practice at the MRC:
· Creating structured, balanced dialogue between merchants, issuers, and card networks instead of everyone operating in silos
· Pushing for sustainable, workable change rather than one sided rule changes that only benefit one part of the ecosystem
· Giving the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program, or VAMP, a more equitable set of thresholds and calculations for merchants
· Standardizing professional expertise through credentials like CPFPP so the next generation of fraud fighters has a real foundation
What you'll hear in this episode:
· How Keith moved from selling transaction software into fraud intelligence and advocacy work
· The behind the scenes evolution of the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program and why the thresholds are being reworked
· Why agentic commerce is forcing the industry to rethink what counts as buyer intention in a transaction
· What the CPFPP, the Certified Payments and Fraud Prevention Professional credential, actually validates
· A preview of the MRC's new Lightning Talks format debuting in Las Vegas
You should listen to this episode if you:
· Work in merchant risk, payments, or fraud prevention and want to understand where VAMP is headed
· Are considering a professional certification like CPFPP and want to know what it actually covers
· Care about how agentic AI is changing liability and intention in commerce
· Want a front row seat to how industry advocacy groups actually get things done
· Are looking for smarter, shorter ways to learn at industry conferences
Episode notes & key takeaways
Why the Merchant Risk Council's advocacy work matters right now
The Merchant Risk Council has spent years building the kind of trust that lets merchants, issuers, and card networks sit down and actually solve problems together. That is harder than it sounds. Everyone in this ecosystem has different incentives, and without a neutral table, most of these conversations never happen at all. Keith's role as VP of Education and Advocacy puts him right in the middle of that work.
· The MRC functions as a bridge between competing interests in the payments ecosystem
· Advocacy only works when all sides feel the process is balanced, not stacked
· Long term change requires sustained relationships, not one time wins
· Keith's background gives him credibility with both merchants and card networks
Inside the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program evolution
VAMP has become one of the most talked about compliance frameworks in merchant risk circles, and for good reason. The thresholds and calculations underlying the program directly affect how merchants are categorized and monitored. Keith walks through the collaborative effort happening right now to make those thresholds more equitable, which matters a great deal for merchants who have felt caught off guard by the current model.
· VAMP thresholds and calculations are actively being reworked
· Merchant feedback is shaping the next version of the program
· Equitable monitoring benefits both merchants and the networks enforcing compliance
· This evolution is a direct result of MRC style advocacy work
Agentic commerce, CPFPP, and what comes next for fraud education
The conversation shifts into three hot topics that are dominating the industry right now. Agentic commerce is redefining what it means for a purchase to be intentional, since AI shopping agents are now completing transactions on a human's behalf. At the same time, the CPFPP certification is becoming a real standard for validating expertise in payments and fraud prevention. And the MRC's new Lightning Talks format is a direct response to fraud professionals wanting sharper, faster learning at conferences.
· AI driven shopping agents are complicating the definition of purchase intention
· CPFPP is emerging as a recognized credential for payments and fraud professionals
· Lightning Talks are designed for high impact learning in a short format
· All three trends point to an industry maturing its standards and its education
This episode is a reminder that the fraud industry does not evolve by accident. It evolves because people like Keith Briscoe show up to do the unglamorous work of advocacy, standardization, and education, one conversation at a time.
Connect with Karisse Hendrick | LinkedIn
- Host of the Fraudology Podcast
- Award-Winning Cyberfraud Expert
- Ecommerce Fraud Prevention Consultant
- Startup Advisor, Keynote Speaker, and
- Consultant to Fortune 500 merchants
