Thank You

MAG's Annual Conference and Tech Forum was held September 18-21, 2022 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX.

The MAG brought together a dynamic lineup of speakers who focused on the latest payments-industry trends and the evolving customer experience. Besides the ability to learn about the new trends in the payments ecosystem, the conference provided an opportunity for merchants and MAG Annual Sponsors to network in person.

Benefits of attending a MAG Conference

MAG Conferences offer a unique experience, attracting payments professionals as well as those with organizational responsibilities that include payments and related matters. MAG Conferences bring together all key stakeholders in the payments ecosystem to discuss the most pressing issues in payments.

  • Two and a half days of pure payments knowledge with the best in the industry. The Merchant only session is something you don't want to miss!
  • Superior Networking - Connect with the top acquirers and networks as well as senior-level payments executives from the top merchants.
  • Merchant Only Special Interest Group (SIG) Roundtable discussions.
  • Timely educational sessions and networking opportunities in an intimate setting that attendees have come to value - a value that impacts your company.

Tech Forum

The Tech Forum is designed specifically for payments IT professionals to learn and network among merchant technology professionals and leading technology providers focused on innovative uses of new payment technologies. Technologies in payments continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The Tech Forum provides attendees with the latest insights necessary to understand and use these new and emerging technologies in payments.

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Annual Conference and Tech Forum Rebroadcast

Select sessions from MAG 2022 Annual Conference and Tech Forum are available for rebroadcast.

Please note, access to recordings is based on your MAG account membership and/or sponsorship type. Merchant Only Day recordings are available to MAG merchant members only.

TECH FORUM
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MERCHANT
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Tech Forum

The MAG Tech Forum is aligned with the MAG bi-annual conferences and designed specifically for payment IT professionals. Technologies in payments continue to evolve at a rapid pace. The Tech Forum provides education and networking opportunities among merchant technology professionals and leading technology providers focused on innovative uses of new payment technologies.

The objectives of the Tech Forum event alongside our MAG conferences are to foster collaboration, provide tech-focused knowledge, and build relationships across merchants, their payments IT and business teams, and technology-focused sponsors. This collaboration and networking further support the MAG's Payments Technology goal of influencing the technologies used in the payments ecosystem to better align with the needs of the merchant community.

Connect with IT professionals at the Tech Forum and payments professionals at the MAG conference events representing over 150 of the largest U.S. merchants which account for over $4.8 trillion in annual sales across physical and digital commerce.
Create new business connections with Tech Forum and MAG merchant member attendees from every vertical (eCommerce, Airlines, Department Stores, Mass Merchant, Grocery, Hospitality, Hotels Petroleum/Convenience Stores, Small Ticket/Restaurants).

Presentations are available on current industry topics that your business peers across the retail community are grappling with in their companies. Join the strategic discussions and learn best practices for today’s rapidly changing payments environment.

Access to industry experts who provide the latest insights and innovative uses of new payment technologies twice a year through panel and keynote sessions, as well as within the exhibit halls at in-person events.

Beyond the in-person meetings twice a year, participate in the MAG webinar series, online learning, MAG committees, and Community of Practice (COP) efforts offered throughout the year. Want to get even more involved? Be a panelist at one of our upcoming events and share your perspective with fellow merchants.

PAYMENTS TECHNOLOGY
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Annual Conference and Tech Forum Agenda (In-Person)

  • All
  • Business
  • Tech Forum
  • Print
  • Livestream
  • Virtual
Sunday, Sep 18 Monday, Sep 19 Tuesday, Sep 20 Wednesday, Sep 21
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Networking Reception +

Sponsored by:
American Express logo

07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Breakfast/Exhibit Time
08:30 AM - 09:15 AM
Education Session: Payment Orchestration +

If managing multiple shopping sites, payments service providers, acquirers, and other third parties have your head spinning, come learn about payment orchestration and how it can optimize and simplify the integration and management of working with multiple vendors in the payments value chain. 

Presenters:
Mathieu Barthelemy, Principal, Oliver Wyman
Rick Oxenhandler, Partner, Oliver Wyman

08:30 AM - 09:15 AM
Education Session: Taste of 201 - Managing Payments +

Get a live taste of the MAG’s Merchant Payments 201 eLearning Course – Managing Your Payments Program. Led by the team who worked with MAG to create the first 200-level course in MAG’s education suite, this engaging session is designed for payments managers. Attendees will learn how to effectively manage payments by creating strategic and equitable vendor partnerships while leading their teams and cross-functional stakeholders to collaborate and make data-based decisions. This session is for you if you have ever asked yourself the following questions:

  • How do I know when the right time to RFP for a third-party service is?
  • How do I pull together all my internal stakeholders and get us on the same page?
  • Are the SLAs I have with my vendors strong enough?

Presenter:
Sally Baptiste, Consultant, RPGC

09:15 AM - 09:45 AM
Break
09:45 AM - 10:45 AM
KEYNOTE: The Future of Payments Acceptance +

If the last couple of years has taught us anything it is the need to be flexible and adapt to the environment. But with so much change happening, how do you know what to prioritize? We have brought together some of the best industry experts to talk about how they see the future of payments developing. Mike Cook, Senior Vice President Walmart; Max Neukirchen, Head of Payments and Commerce Solutions at JPMorgan Chase & Co; and Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Products and Innovations for North America of Mastercard, will join John Drechny, CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group, to share their perspective on where payments are headed and how to get in front of the coming changes.

Presenters:
Max Neukirchen, Global Head of Payments and Commerce Solutions, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Product and Innovations for North America, Mastercard
John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group
Mike Cook, Senior Vice President & Assistant Treasurer, Walmart

10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
The Self-Serve Checkout Experience +

The labor market is tight, and merchants continue to explore ways to enable a better self-serve checkout experience. Depending on the merchants’ formats, these experiences range from the phone as a scanning device to stationary self-checks to hand-free check-out processes. Each of these types of checkouts has different payments acceptance models as well as associated risk and cost. A panel of experts will share their expertise you consider which format might be best for your environment.

Presenters:
Peter Jessiman, The Wendy's Company
Dana Railsback, Sr. Manager, Payment Strategies & In Store Banking, Giant Eagle, Inc.
Steve Mott, Principal, BetterBuyDesign, LLC
Rina Bakhtiani, Head of Vertical Strategy, Bank of America
Jennifer Martinez, Senior Solution Manager, NCR

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Customer Experience: Omnichannel - How Merchants are Driving the Customer Experience +
Omnichannel has been a buzzword for quite a while. It has now been over two years since merchant operations were turned upside down in March 2020, and most merchants had to close their doors on face-to-face commerce. Suddenly for merchants who had only been dabbling in eCommerce and mobile ordering, it became their only lifeline to keeping their (figurative) doors open and staying afloat. Merchants in every corner of the world had to think outside the box to continue operating in a way that adhered to local restrictions and made their customers feel safe – all to keep the world moving.

In the session, industry experts will discuss the unique ways that merchants adapted to the climate in an unprecedented period in history by not only showing up for their customers in new and unique channels, while also enabling commerce across multiple channels within a single transaction.

Presenters:
Anoop Nebhnani, VP Global Strategic Accounts, Adyen
Jay Waters, Sr. Director - Financial Services, Lowe's
Chelsey Kukuk, Director, Redbridge DTA
Marina Chernyak, Vice-President, North America Retail, Visa
Barry Hanen, Director, Payment and Financial Services, Walgreens

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch
01:30 PM - 02:20 PM
Tech Only Kickoff: How Tech and Business Work to Create Customer Experience +

Panelists from Southwest Airlines, a company whose name is synonymous with exceptional customer service, sit down to talk about how they bring technology and the business together to create a culture that always puts the customer experience at the center of everything they do.

Presenters:
Mark Hursh, Sr Director Digital Customer Products, Southwest Airlines
Randy Gibbons, Sr Manager Payment Strategy & Risk, Southwest Airlines
Chris Priebe, Sr. Director - Treasury Payments and Risk, Southwest Airlines
Corbitt Burns, Senior Director Loyalty & Ancillary Products, Southwest Airlines

02:15 PM - 02:30 PM
Break
02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
The Hidden Growth Engine - Retention as Acquisition +

For healthy subscription businesses, it is no longer enough to simply bring in net-new customers. You must nurture your connections with existing users to keep them happily subscribed and consider “retention as acquisition.” Join us for an exciting session where Trace Galloway, Chief Strategy Officer at Vindicia, will discuss retention as a new growth engine and present key findings from the Total Economic Impact™, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting to see how customer retention tools can help B2C companies grow and optimize customer experience:  

  • Keep customers connected to the services they love
  • Extend customer lifecycle value by up to a possible five months 
  • 15% improvement in customer service and recovery payment team efficiencies 
  • Realize a three-year ROI of 522% (break-even in less than six months)

Presenter:
Trace Galloway, Chief Strategy Officer, Vindicia

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Two Truths and a Lie - EMV 3DS Edition +

Think you know everything about EMV 3DS? Let’s play two truths and a lie. If you are in the CNP business, you are probably familiar with the advancements in EMV 3DS technology. But for others, it can be a bit complicated. With so much digital growth and government mandates like PSD2 SCA, EMV 3DS authentication has become a hot topic in the digital payments space. In this interactive session, we are talking all things EMV 3DS – but with a twist. We will present misconceptions about EMV 3DS and uncover the truth on the technology and methods to help you increase approvals and decrease fraud. As authentication becomes core to payment processing across markets, we will provide you with the industry insight and present tools you need to stay ahead.

Presenters:
Jeff Zuehlke, Sr. Manager, Fraud Risk, Best Buy
Chris Bohatka, Senior Manager of Technical Product, CardinalCommerce

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Network Tokenization – Protecting Your Payments +

Today, the buzz around tokens is everywhere.  Tokens protect sensitive card data by replacing PANs with random values.  Network payment tokens traverse the payments ecosystem from merchant to gateway to acquirer to network and beyond to facilitate a seamless payment experience for merchant and consumer.  Join this session to learn what it takes to implement network payment tokens from requesting a token to lifecycle management.  In addition, hear how payment tokens can be automatically generated by web browsers requiring no merchant integration.

Presenters:
May Ngeow, VP, North America Product, Visa
Dan Macias, VP, North America Product, Visa
Steve Cole, Director of Technology Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Tech Forum Designing for Multi-Acquirer Processing +

Today a single processor rarely satisfies all of a merchant’s needs. Panelists will discuss how to structure your systems to handle multiple processors to make routing decisions, including the potential to use ML/AI.

Presenters:
Venkatesh Bittu, Senior Manager, Software Engineering, Walmart
Kam Lam, Director, International Financial Services & Payments, Walmart

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
2022 Fraud Trends: The Ever-Improving Status of the Fraud Team +

Ravelin commissioned a global survey of over 1,700 fraud professionals in key e-commerce sectors from travel to online marketplaces. Now in its second year, we can share how merchants rank the risks they face, what new risks are emerging, and what funding and resources fraud teams expect to receive in the future. It is comprehensive, bias-free, wide-ranging, and independent data that will help any fraud professional to level-set where they and their teams are compared to their peers.

Presenter:
Gerry Carr, Chief Marketing Officer, Ravelin

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Identify, Assess, Engage, and Grow with Consumers +
Since eCommerce launched, identifying who is engaging with the website has been necessary. That has only grown with the emergence of mobile apps. There have been advancements over the years with cookies and IP addresses, but we are at a point in time where merchants can take identification efforts to a whole new level with digital enablement capabilities. 

Most merchants have traditionally taken a reactive approach when it comes to identifying, assessing, and engaging with the people who interact with their digital properties. Savvy businesses have gathered information the best they can, mainly downstream, in their attempts to construct profiles – not only to prevent fraud, but also to achieve repeat or recurring revenue based on data around the individual. By combining digital identity data sets with physical identity attributes, merchants can achieve a holistic view of their customers, allowing for more informed decisions and revenue growth opportunities. 

With today’s technology and a sound marketing strategy, businesses can go beyond making decisions off simple scoring models and focus on delivering more value to their best-known customers by better knowing, understanding, and customizing offers for them. This fireside chat featuring Casey Zenner, Vice President, Global Direct Sales, Kount, and TJ Roberts, Director, Product Marketing, Kount, will focus on why merchants not only need to protect their digital assets with fraud prevention measures but also why it is critical to gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of their best customers in this highly competitive and evolving marketplace. This session will inform the audience on real-world technologies, data sets, and best practices to identify and assess legitimate consumers in addition to how to engage and grow revenue opportunities with them.

Presenters:
Casey Zenner, VP - Global Sales, Kount, an Equifax Company
TJ Roberts, Director of Product Marketing, Kount, an Equifax Company

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
How Should Merchants Prepare for the Next Wave of Payment Innovation? +

In reaction to COVID-19, companies implemented new payments technologies and changed business models to meet new consumer demands and withstand a pandemic. As we emerge and look to the future, what should merchants be focused on related to payments innovation? Join W. Capra in this Fireside chat with Brad Scheiner from Texas Roadhouse as we cover topics such as Digital Consumer Engagement, 3PL integrations, security, alternative POS, and super apps to name a few. The world is changing at an unprecedented pace, and this session will provide attendees with an engaging discussion around payments innovation.

Presenters:
Clint Cady, Partner, W. Capra Consulting Group
Brad Scheiner, Senior Director, Digital and Restaurant Systems, Texas Roadhouse

03:40 PM - 04:10 PM
How Can Marketplaces Enable Consumerism and Experience Innovation? +

The lines between industries are blurring. Marketplaces are changing the industry for consumers and leading the way in mobility and experience innovation. The growth from mobility has connected generations of consumers globally, making communication simple, secure, scalable, and affordable across multiple industries.

Presenter:
Gordon Janzen, MD, Digital Journeys, JPMorgan
Donald Frieden, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, P97 Networks

03:40 PM - 04:10 PM
A Digital Currency Case Study: Bitcoin Payments at the Pump +

Learn about how Sheetz partnered with Flexa, a leader in instant, fraud-proof digital currency payments, to provide customers with the ability to spend digital currencies in stores and—for the first time ever—at the fuel pump. Sheetz Payments Product Manager Linda Smith and Flexa co-founder Trevor Filter will discuss digital currency cost savings, fraud considerations, and integration options to help inform your company’s digital currency acceptance strategy.

Presenters:
Trevor Filter, Co-founder, Flexa
Linda Smith, Payment Product Manager, Sheetz, Inc.

03:40 PM - 04:10 PM
Become Your Customer's Fintech +

Customers are building their own personal financial ecosystems by forming tighter relationships with the brands and communities they value. Money is flowing from traditional bank accounts into new ecosystems like trading platforms, crypto wallets, DAOs, neo-banks, and challenger banks. Merchants who want to participate can no longer only accept payments, but also need to disburse payouts, offer exclusive perks to those who are loyal, offer better deals to those on the fence, and take care of those who are thinking of moving their funds to a competitor’s platform. Please join speakers from Carat from Fiserv as we discuss helping merchants attract funds into their ecosystems by instantly issuing funding sources, offering crypto wallets, authenticating customers on-demand, or linking customers through super-tokens through a suite of restful APIs.

Presenters:
Sunil Sachdev, Head of Fintech & Growth, Fiserv
Hersh Mansukhani, VP of Product - Platform Payments, Fiserv
Peter O'Halloran, Head of Carat & Digital Commerce EMEA, Carat from Fiserv
Joe Vasterling, Director, Payment Acceptance and Gift Cards, Best Buy

04:10 PM - 04:45 PM
Break
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: Petroleum/Convenience Store
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant
05:45 PM - 06:00 PM
Break
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Networking Reception +
Sponsored by:
J.P.Morgan logo
07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Breakfast
08:30 AM - 09:15 AM
Instant Payments: How to Transform Existing Payment Flows While Enhancing the Customer Experience +

Faster payments are here and will continue to be the way of the future. As more and more faster payments solutions come online, consumers will expect their money with immediacy, and they will anticipate a way to make payments with that same level of instant gratification. From QR codes to real-time recurring payments, there is enormous potential for faster payments to solve for a range of real-world use cases. Instant payments have the potential to transform and disrupt existing payments flows. Understanding the options in the marketplace and building your strategy will be a key to success; it’s imperative for merchants to be involved now to help shape the faster payments solutions that will work for their priority use cases. During this session, hear from industry experts leading the faster payments evolution as they discuss the current landscape and what's ahead for the RTP® Network and FedNowSM. Panelists will also discuss how best to prepare for and support the faster payments use cases that will drive adoption and enhance the customer experience.

Presenters:
Anand Natarajan, Senior Manager, Verizon Communications
Reed Luhtanen, Executive Director, U.S. Faster Payments Council
Jim Colassano, SVP, RTP Product Management, The Clearing House
Connie Theien, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Financial Services
Matt Howarter, Senior Director, Global Payment Acceptance, Walmart

08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Tech Forum Business/Tech
09:15 AM - 10:00 AM
Inclusive Commerce: Making Engagement Accessible for All +

Enabling parity of access and engagement opportunities for everyone is critically important. It is about creating inclusive commerce by giving customers seamless access to payments and funds where and when they need it; bringing payments to underserved communities and geographies; and delivering financial solutions to enable customers to manage, save, and spend. We do this by broadening global reach with local payment methods; enabling payment facilitators to onboard and support small businesses; enabling people to use their EBT benefits seamlessly across any channel and everyday use case; disbursing money instantly to Money Network cards for the underbanked; and more. In this session, Suzan Kereere, Head of Global Business Solutions at Fiserv, will discuss how merchants can turn challenges into opportunities that will uncover growth potential, expand their addressable market, and drive commerce.

Presenters:
Mia Shernoff, SVP, Head of Marketing and Demand Generation - Fiserv
Kothai Senthil, VP, Head of Payments, Albertsons Companies, Inc.

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Career Journey: Fear Change? Fear Not…Find Growth Instead! +

A diverse group of panelists with interesting career paths will come together to share experiences of their journeys across a variety of companies that represent varying stakeholders within the payments industry. They will impart advice, share lessons learned, and offer insight into the steps they took along the way to navigate their careers across the field of payments.  One thing these panelists will tell you is how to embrace change in your career and grow as a result. Don’t miss out!

Presenters:
Bryan Penny, Vice President - Global Network Policy and Data Standards, American Express
Franchesca Gayadan, VP, Enterprise Sales, Zip
Denis Bouchard, VP, US Real Time Payments, FIS
Lynsey Soliday, Product Owner - Payments, The Wendy's Company
Ron Collins, System Director Payment Card Operations, Treasury Services, CommonSpirit Health
Liz Garner, Head of Strategic Partnerships, CMSPI 

10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Questions About Chargebacks That You've Been Dying to Ask +

Chargeback management is a confusing, ever-changing process. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. And what is effective for one merchant could be a total disaster for another. You have so many questions, but you don’t know who to ask or what to believe. Is there any ROI in chargeback prevention? What about fighting chargebacks? What are the best ways to balance risk with reward? How can you find the answers you need? Where is the proof?! This session will pull back the veil on chargeback management. Panelists will reveal information about new trends and techniques and share real merchant data to back up the insights. Then, you can decide what makes sense for your business using educated, data-driven decisions.

Presenters:
Matt Murphy, Vice President of Payments & Strategy, The Lifetime Value Company
Dom Cirone, SVP Acquirer Solutions, Midigator
Mark Standfield, President, Midigator

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Spending in 2021—A Look at Purchase Trends as the World “Re-Opened" +
There was a historical shift to digital payments in 2020. Consumers quickly pivoted to mobile purchasing, online orders, and tapping across all industry verticals to stay healthy during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Many thought this shift would be a permanent change; but data shows that as the world has re-opened, consumers continued the momentum of digital payments in some industries but reverted to their old ways in others.

Bank of America, Visa, and UCLA will analyze transactional data to showcase spending, consumer, and payment trends. With the knowledge of this data, MAG merchants can understand who is purchasing, what types of payment options they should be accepting, and ultimately how to capture their target customer’s spend.

Presenters:
Nicolle Wilson, SVP Product Management, Bank of America
Sara Walsh, SVP Payments Network Executive, Bank of America
Allen Shui, Manager, Treasury Operations and Payment Compliance, University of California, Los Angeles
Ted Nelson, Head of Merchant Acquiring, Visa Consulting & Analytics

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Edge Computing +

The term ‘edge computing’ is heard everywhere these days. Many say it holds the promise to revolutionize commerce, but what is it really and just how might it impact your organization? Attend this session to learn more.

Presenter:
Sachin Ahuja, Senior Vice President, Nextgen Network, Mastercard
Matthew Ramella, Vice President of Software Engineering, Mastercard

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Finding B2B Business Buyers Hidden in Your B2C Checkout +

While retail e-commerce exploded over the last two years, most retailers' resources and attention have been on improving the customer buying journey for the B2C buyer. However, many large retailers have a sizeable opportunity to add or expand a B2B e-commerce business – an industry predicted to create revenue of roughly $18.57 trillion by the end of 2026.

It's not unusual to find B2B buyers purchasing from B2C retailers using traditional payments channels; but, B2B buying potential is usually limited because these buyers have a different set of payment and CX expectations. For example, B2B buyers are looking for purchase terms, credit offerings for repeat purchases, automated invoicing, digital fraud protections, alternative payment methods – and all within one centralized location. If B2C retailers cannot support the processes and methods of payment preferred by B2B buyers, they run the risk of losing the opportunity to serve this audience. The customers are already there; they need to be catered to.   

In this session, TreviPay panelists will discuss the opportunities for B2C retailers who offer alternative payment methods and how to capture a larger sales pool through current and future B2B buyers. 

Topics include: 

  • The unique requirements of B2B buyers and why payments must become invisible
  • The rise of alternative payment methods as a substitute to credit cards
  • How to identify your B2B buyers in B2C sales strategies
  • How to build the capability for B2B embedded payments and how to manage the costs and complexities, including the cumbersome process of building an A/R team
  • Why instant decisioning and credit are key to B2B buyers and will help merchants attract buyers and build loyalty

Presenters:
Dee O'Malley, MAG Board Member
Joe Vasterling, Director, Payment Acceptance and Gift Cards, Best Buy
Martha Salinas, Chief Commercial Officer, Trevipay

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Top 8 Things to Consider When Adding or Changing Encryption or Tokenization +

As merchants plan to add or make changes to their encryption or tokenization schemes, there are several issues that they should consider. Do they want to use a merchant-provided end-to-end encryption process or a third party-provided point-to-point encryption? Do you need to own your tokens and vault? What is the impact of your encryption and tokenization on your PCI attestation responsibilities? Panelists will lead a discussion on these and many additional topics that should be a part of merchants’ conversations with their providers.

Presenters:
Andy Orrock, VP, SW Engineering, OLS Payments
Ronald Barker, Director, OLS Payments

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
How to Leverage BNPL Across Channels to Drive Higher Spend +
Catching on first in eCommerce, buy now, pay later (BNPL) is working its way into physical stores as shoppers venture out more and seek affordable ways to pay when they do. With a few years of BNPL experience and data to work with, players in the sector recognize the retail benefit installments represent, be it higher sales or increased loyalty. Shoppers are looking for great products, they are looking for great experiences, and they are doing that agnostic of channel. Consumers want financing options on their own terms. 

Sezzle’s underlying merchant sales (UMS) for in-store purchases rose more than ninefold year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021, and in-store sales accounted for 10% of total UMS in December. Join this session to learn how retailers are offering BNPL options online, in-store, and within other digital channels, including social, to give consumers financing wherever they choose to shop. Learn how retailers can strategically take advantage of BNPL to grow sales across all their channels. Also, panelists will discuss how consumer trends influence the growth of BNPL cross-channel.

Presenter:
Chelsea Dreven, VP, Head of Enterprise Client Services, Sezzle, Inc.

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch/Exhibit Hall
01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Removing Noise from the Disputes Ecosystem +

The payments world is innovating new technologies and ever-evolving by advancing rules and best practices to remove unnecessary disputes from the ecosystem and improve the overall disputes process. Combatting friendly fraud (aka, first-party misuse), resolving disputes before they cause downstream effects, enhancing the customer experience, leveraging data to prevent disputes, and utilizing technology to remediate fraud and dispute ratio risks are just some of the outcomes these innovations and advances can extend to sellers, acquirers, and processors. The ultimate desired result is a dispute ecosystem with reduced volume and minimal impact to all stakeholders. Our panel discussion will explore the development over the past 12 months and discuss how sellers can be best prepared for the future. A merchant speaker will join the panel to share their experience and outlook for the future of dispute management.

Presenter:
Greg Witten, VP Sales, Verifi, A Visa Solution

01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
“Do I know you?” Verify Online Identity to Stop Fraud at Every Step of the Customer Journey +
Identity is the foundation of trust in our thriving digital economy and verifying the person behind the device is central to most online interactions: purchasing goods, services, subscriptions, and more. Yet, as the digital realm has expanded, so too has fraud — with fraudsters broadening their focus beyond the transaction to target touch points across the entire customer journey. In fact, card-not-present (CNP) fraud is forecast to rise from $17.5B in 2020 to $31.3B in 2025, according to a Juniper Research report.  

This panel will discuss the proven technologies and insights that help merchants build a customizable verification process. This helps stop fraud from account opening through to the transaction by focusing on the most important part of the equation: the user. Bringing together behavioral biometrics, device intelligence, global user data, and real-time machine learning, Mastercard companies Ekata and NuData, as well Staples, will take us through a journey to get to know your users — and stop fraud without adding friction.

Presenters:
Nicholas Croteau, Product Mgr II | Financial Risk & Analytics, Staples
Elisa Ahem, Sr. Field Data Scientist, Ekata, a Mastercard Company
Frank Mendicino, Vice President of Business Development, NuData Security, A Mastercard Company

01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Going Global: Accepting Payments Around the World +
Building out a payments landscape in one country is hard enough! How do you go about building a global solution and what do you need to consider as you expand internationally? If your organization is contemplating this journey and your head is already spinning, this is the session for you!  

Join us to learn more as Levi Dartt, Head of eCommerce Payments at Texas Instruments, sits down with Wei Jiang, President & Chief Operating Office at Citcon, and Blake Swenson, Director, Payment Partnerships at Adyen, to find out what it takes successfully navigate this voyage from building out a business case and roadmap to finding the right partners to the integration effort required and on to the ultimate destination of Go Live.

Presenters:
Blake Swenson, Director, Payment Partnerships, Adyen
Levi Dartt, Head of eCommerce Payments, Texas Instruments
Wei Jiang, President & Chief Operating Officer, Citcon

Moderator:
Steve Cole, Director of Technology Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Future-Proofing Point of Sale +
The world of commerce has evolved with a rapid move to digital transactions. At the heart of this shift is the adoption of mobile devices and the use of super apps for commerce-related activities. Customers have a new expectation on shopping and the payments experience with demands for convenient and straightforward experiences that also include choice. As a result, we now have a proliferation of new ways to pay such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Crypto, and other digital wallet payments. Businesses that fail to adopt a strategy of providing choice to their customers stand to lose out.    

Join this fireside session with Blackhawk Network to learn how a strategy of offering payments choices can help retailers stay relevant with their customers as the world of commerce evolves.

Presenter:
Eddie Davis, Vice President, Business Development
Levi Aron, Chief Growth Officer, Zip
Marco Marandiz, Chief Marketing Officer, Flexa
Chris Ting, Sr. Director Payment Solutions, Blackhawk Network

02:15 PM - 02:30 PM
Break
02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Planning for the Holiday? Get Ready to Ride the QR Code Payments Wave +

With holiday retail planning in full swing, it's time to think about evolving your payments experience to deliver the gift of positive revenue growth.  Over two billion people worldwide use mobile wallets, driving the demand for fast, secure, and convenient payment methods. By 2024, digital wallets will account for more than half of all e-commerce payments worldwide and 33% of in-store payments. Juniper Research predicts that the use of QR codes for electronic payments in the US will have increased by 240% from 2020-2025. As you are looking to attract new segments of shoppers and expand into new markets, now is the time to look beyond traditional payments methods. This session will cover the critical mass of mobile wallet payments at the POS and online, and why QR code payments are quickly becoming the preferred way to pay in the US. Discover how to reap the benefits of faster, more secure contactless payments that attract new customers, drive higher transaction volume, and earn customer loyalty - all with one integration and reconciliation.

Presenter:
Jean Kany, VP Global Enterprise Retail, CITCON

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Buy Buy Payments +

Panelists will discuss the hyper-innovation in payments over the last five years and how it will continue converging the physical POS with online commerce and payments. Also, with this trend we see the business models for commerce integrating payments, making payments as a separate experience obsolete, and in the end - disappear. Innovation introduces different approaches for authentication in the ‘sell and buy’ and opens the doors for exploring alternative fees and rates structures, potentially lowering the cost of payments for merchants. Panelists will touch on recent new commerce models such as Buy Online Pick up In-Store (BOPIS) and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), as well as developments in secure payments solutions and how these models and developments leverage each other: 

  • Convergence of card present (CP) and card not present (CNP). Online/CNP is moving to the POS, and mobile becomes both form factor card with card not present features and even becoming point of acceptance (POA); tap on phone. 
  • Banks looking at central payments capability covering both CP and CNP; driving Real-time Payments (RTP)/Faster payments, Digital currencies, and P2P 
  • Combined authentication of customer for sales, KYC and payment; eID/ mDL, Fido, Biometrics.
  • Tech giants becoming finance players utilizing their large platforms as Amazon and Facebook integrate payments, and others utilize their own strong-branded interfaces like ApplePay and G-Pay.

Presenter:
Henk van Dam, Payment Security and Certification Leader, UL

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
In-store Opportunity for BNPL +
Zip Co-Founder and Global CEO Larry Diamond, digital pioneer, will speak about the in-store opportunity for buy now, pay later (BNPL).   While flexible payment options are a well-known perk of eCommerce, a recent study by Zip Co. and PYMNTS points to high consumer appetite for brick-and-mortar merchants to implement buy now, pay later at checkout. Nearly every consumer who used BNPL online in the last month reported they would do it again, and an impressive 94% said they would also use it in-store. In fact, the survey found that 46% of department store customers would switch merchants to one that offered BNPL flexible payment options.  
 

The disconnect between consumers’ comparatively minimal in-store BNPL usage boils down to one key thing: availability. In Zip’s research, BNPL was offered for nearly half of customers’ most recent online purchases across retail segments, but available for less than one-fifth of in-store purchases. Yet consumer interest in installment payments is about the same for both online and in-store purchases despite the gap in availability – highlighting a major opportunity for BNPL providers.   BNPL has an appeal to merchants as well, as consumers are more likely to make purchases – and larger ones – instead of window shopping when flexible payment options are offered.

Presenters:
Larry Diamond, Global CEO, Zip
Mars Shah, President, Driven Glass North America, Driven Brands

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Solving the Accounts Receivable Dilemma of Virtual Card Acceptance +

Virtual cards are gaining momentum among businesses due to their ease of use, added security, and simplified reconciliation. While these benefits are undeniable, one of the hurdles for suppliers who accept virtual card payments is the added work required for Accounts Receivables teams. Often staff sort through emails containing transaction details, process each payment manually, and then must apply that payment to the correct invoice in their system. The entire process can be quite time-consuming. Imagine a world where virtual card payments are fully automated from start to finish. This can be a reality through a service known as Straight-Through Processing. Straight-Through Processing prioritizes and automates the payment via a direct deposit into a business’ bank account. Remittance details in data form provide the opportunity for systemic posting and reconciliation of outstanding accounts receivable records. As an added benefit, this can be done with an irrefutable link between invoice payments and the bank deposit. During this session attendees will gain an understanding of how straight-through processing works and how implementing this solution can result in: 

  • Faster availability of funds
  • Reduced costs and effort
  • Fewer errors and enhanced remittance efforts.

Presenters:
Bob Walker, Payments Consultant, Elavon
Dillon Richardson, Payments Consultant, Elavon

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Emerging Trends in Ecommerce Payments +

E-commerce payments are seeing a shift to greater tokenization. Panelists will discuss recent trends in e-commerce, including mobile payment evolution and cloud tokens.

Presenter:
Ashwany Rayu, Sr Product Manager - Digital Platform & Products, Discover Global Network

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
The Rise of the Deep Web Fraudster +

With nearly every facet of our lives shifted to digital experiences, cybercriminals have seized every opportunity to infiltrate the Dark Web and beyond, finding cracks in both under-the-radar and completely obvious places to commit illegal activity. However, due to recent Dark Web crackdowns, fraudsters have set their sights on innocuous corners of the Deep Web – a part of the internet not indexed by search engines – to do their dirty work. Specifically, secure messaging apps have emerged as a haven for criminals to wreak havoc and turn a profit. Knowing that messaging apps’ privacy-focused features will act as a protection, cybercriminals are gathering on messaging forums to run fraud rings targeted at merchants. In late 2021, Sift discovered a growing number of fraud schemes on Telegram offering unlimited access to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) accounts through fake credit card numbers and compromised email addresses—showcasing how fraudsters are sophisticating their methods on Telegram to target the entire merchant ecosystem. To build on Sift’s 2021 MAG conference session on the Dark Web, Jeff Sakasegawa, Trust and Safety Architect at Sift, will give attendees an inside look into why merchants need to be concerned about the fraud activity that’s occurring on the Deep Web. During the session, he will give attendees a deep examination into the type of fraud bubbling up in apps like Telegram (including a live demo of the fraud rings Sift has discovered). He will also share why these small, but frequent incidents can add up and are difficult for merchants to track and manage and how the entire merchant ecosystem can defend against these costly fraudulent transactions.

Presenter:
Jeff Sakasegawa, Trust and Safety Architect, Sift

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
State of Online Fraud in 2022 +

All online businesses must manage fraud. From fraudsters using stolen cards to customers abusing refund policies and disputes, navigating illegitimate payments and the dispute process is part of accepting payments online. However, fraud is becoming increasingly more complex and expensive to prevent and manage across all businesses—regardless of size, industry, and location. Even the traditionally best-equipped businesses, such as larger companies with more money and resources, are struggling to prevent fraud.  Join speakers from Stripe and SeatGeek as they discuss fraud trends around the world and identify how fraud impacts businesses.

Presenters:
Shawn Kelley, Director of Payment & Risk Operations at SeatGeek
Will Megson, Radar Product Lead, Stripe

03:35 PM - 04:00 PM
Break
04:00 PM - 04:45 PM
BNPL 2.0 +

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options have continued to gain share in the payments ecosystem with several new models coming to the market. We have also seen some consolidation in the space with both mergers and partnerships. In addition, a proliferation of different providers are getting into the mix, the most notable new entrants being the networks. So, what does the space look like now? Will regulations change how the products work? How will the product adapt to the rising cost of funds? Will merchants offer multiple choices to customers and how might they orchestrate the offering to ensure clarity for the customer? Learn from a panel of experts as they discuss their view on where the BNPL market is moving.

Presenters:
Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Product and Innovations for North America, Mastercard
Todd Wade, VP, New Solutions, Visa
Christian Johnson, Senior Economist, CMSPI
Howard Fry, SVP, Chief Growth Officer, Citizens Pay
Nandan Sheth, CEO, Splitit

04:00 PM - 04:45 PM
Unveiling the Intrinsic Connection between Fraudsters, Customers and Growth +

Lines are becoming blurred with bad actors finding new outlets to commit payments fraud while friendly fraud is reaching all-time highs. With a 55% increase in account takeover attempts and a 78% increase in promotions abuse, understanding how to discern between fraudsters and customers becomes critical more accurately to the bottom line. Join our panelist discussion to learn how to evolve your approach from reactively putting out fires to leveraging your fraud solution as a competitive advantage and growth lever.

Presenters:
Justin Staskiewicz, Director, Payments and Fraud Prevention, Restaurant Brands International
Oksana Balytsky, Director, Product Marketing, Forter
Lindsey Theiss, Manager of Non-Cash Payments and Fraud, The Wendy's Company

04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Tech Forum Closing: Real-Time Payments +

Real-Time Payments (RTP) is an emerging payments platform that enables the transfer of money between participating banks in real-time for use in payment innovation. With mobile technology and digital commerce driving the need for safer and faster payments in the U.S., learn about the current state of integrating into this new platform, discover the capabilities, and discover what the future holds for RTP and the technology in development in this session.

Presenter:
Kimberly Keely, Executive Director, Sr. Product Manager, JPMorgan Chase
Samson Rajan, Vice President, JPMorgan Chase

04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Annual Conference Closing: The Expanding World of Debit Routing +

Debit routing has been available to merchants since networks first started to cross accept cards to improve ubiquity acceptance, but it was not a guaranteed right for merchants until the Durbin amendment became law in 2010. Since that time there has been significant change in the ability to route debit transactions and the specification used in the card space. In this session, we bring together networks, an acquirer, and merchants to talk about where the industry stands today. They will also offer learnings on how merchants can best position themselves to get the greatest return through managing their debit volume.

Presenters:
Manish Nathwani, Sr. VP - Product Development, SHAZAM
David Keenan, Senior Vice President, Network Solutions, Accel
Anand Goel, CEO and Founder, Optimized Payments
Liz Braun, Director, Client Management, Worldpay from FIS
Trent Addington, Sr. Director, Payment Acceptance, Walmart

05:45 PM - 06:00 PM
Break
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Networking Reception +
Sponsored by:
Mastercard logo
MERCHANT DAY ONLY
07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Breakfast
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Petro/Convenience
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant
09:30 AM - 09:45 AM
Break
09:45 AM - 10:00 AM
State of the MAG +

Presenters:
John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group
Kathy Hanna, Sr. Director of Enterprise Payments & Store Support, The Kroger Co.

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Voice of the Merchants Study +

Today more than ever, an integrated and seamless payments experience is a critical part of a customer shopping journey, strengthening relationships, and driving growth. However, how merchants plan for and deliver on this experience varies widely. Merchants are facing increasing complexity as consumer preferences, shopping trends, and payment form factors evolve rapidly and have been accelerated by COVID-19. As the economy re-opens, will consumers maintain their current shopping habits? Or will they revert to in-person shopping, dining, and other personal interactions? How will merchants operationalize this new normal? 

Oliver Wyman conducted a study in partnership with MAG in early 2022, which collected direct feedback from merchants on their commerce and payments journey - what’s working, what’s not working, and where they plan to go from here. This session will cover the results of that study and where we, as an industry, should go from here.

Presenters:
Beth Costa, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Laura Townsend, Chief Operations Officer, Merchant Advisory Group


10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Merchants Unleashed - Checkout Experience +

Payments acceptance has always been one of the most critical parts of the checkout experience. Merchants used to concentrate on items like speed, cost, and reliability. While these are still important factors, so many more aspects have become part of the decision-making process. Considerations like customer experience and payment flexibility are a bigger part of the discussion. These considerations are now coupled with new payments options like digital currency and real-time payments. With all these items coming into the decision workstream, how are merchants deciding on the right mix? Several merchants will share how they bring forward innovation and ensure it services the needs of their customers during this session.

Presenters:
Aly Jackson, Sr. Team Leaders, Treasury, Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Chinmay Gupta, Director of App Dev & BI, EG America
Robert Goldberg, Director of Finance, Universal Orlando
Ken Grogan, Director Treasury Services, Wakefern Food Corp.

Moderator:
John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group

11:30 AM - 11:45 AM
BREAK: Boxed Lunches
11:45 AM - 01:00 PM
Improving the Payments Landscape +

Merchants, trade association legal counsels, and MAG staff will discuss the latest policy and industry-related topics during this session. You will not want to miss this informative and relevant discussion!

Presenters:
Eric Vescera, Vice President, Collaboration and Education, Merchant Advisory Group
Beth Provenzano, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Merchant Advisory Group
Owen Glist, Attorney, Constantine & Cannon
Ken Grogan, Director Treasury Services, Wakefern Food Corp.
Hannah Walker, Senior Director, Payments Policy & Strategy, Walmart
Doug Kantor, General Counsel, National Association of Convenience Stores
Anusha Ramanujam, Head of Payment Partnerships & Product Enablement, Square

01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
SIG Leaders Unleashed +

The Special Interest Group (SIG) sessions are the ultimate networking sessions that give merchants an opportunity for an open and honest chat with their peers on what keeps them up at night in a no-pressure environment. In this fireside chat-style session, the merchant leaders of these discussions will share the highlights, payments challenges, and key takeaways discussed during the 2022 Annual Conference SIGs.

Presenters:
Linda Toth, Managing Director, Conexxus
Chinmay Gupta, Director of App Dev & BI, EG America
Randy Gibbons, Sr Manager Payment Strategy & Risk, Southwest Airlines
Heather Sargeant, AVP Finance, Bath & Body Works, Inc.
Kelly Andrus, Director, US Customer Payments, EG America
Ashley Johnson, Senior Cash Manager, Texas Roadhouse

Sunday, Sep 18
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Networking Reception +

Sponsored by:
American Express logo

Monday, Sep 19
07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Breakfast/Exhibit Time
08:30 AM - 09:15 AM
Education Session: Payment Orchestration +

If managing multiple shopping sites, payments service providers, acquirers, and other third parties have your head spinning, come learn about payment orchestration and how it can optimize and simplify the integration and management of working with multiple vendors in the payments value chain. 

Presenters:
Mathieu Barthelemy, Principal, Oliver Wyman
Rick Oxenhandler, Partner, Oliver Wyman

08:30 AM - 09:15 AM
Education Session: Taste of 201 - Managing Payments +

Get a live taste of the MAG’s Merchant Payments 201 eLearning Course – Managing Your Payments Program. Led by the team who worked with MAG to create the first 200-level course in MAG’s education suite, this engaging session is designed for payments managers. Attendees will learn how to effectively manage payments by creating strategic and equitable vendor partnerships while leading their teams and cross-functional stakeholders to collaborate and make data-based decisions. This session is for you if you have ever asked yourself the following questions:

  • How do I know when the right time to RFP for a third-party service is?
  • How do I pull together all my internal stakeholders and get us on the same page?
  • Are the SLAs I have with my vendors strong enough?

Presenter:
Sally Baptiste, Consultant, RPGC

09:15 AM - 09:45 AM
Break
09:45 AM - 10:45 AM
KEYNOTE: The Future of Payments Acceptance +

If the last couple of years has taught us anything it is the need to be flexible and adapt to the environment. But with so much change happening, how do you know what to prioritize? We have brought together some of the best industry experts to talk about how they see the future of payments developing. Mike Cook, Senior Vice President Walmart; Max Neukirchen, Head of Payments and Commerce Solutions at JPMorgan Chase & Co; and Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Products and Innovations for North America of Mastercard, will join John Drechny, CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group, to share their perspective on where payments are headed and how to get in front of the coming changes.

Presenters:
Max Neukirchen, Global Head of Payments and Commerce Solutions, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Product and Innovations for North America, Mastercard
John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group
Mike Cook, Senior Vice President & Assistant Treasurer, Walmart

10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
The Self-Serve Checkout Experience +

The labor market is tight, and merchants continue to explore ways to enable a better self-serve checkout experience. Depending on the merchants’ formats, these experiences range from the phone as a scanning device to stationary self-checks to hand-free check-out processes. Each of these types of checkouts has different payments acceptance models as well as associated risk and cost. A panel of experts will share their expertise you consider which format might be best for your environment.

Presenters:
Peter Jessiman, The Wendy's Company
Dana Railsback, Sr. Manager, Payment Strategies & In Store Banking, Giant Eagle, Inc.
Steve Mott, Principal, BetterBuyDesign, LLC
Rina Bakhtiani, Head of Vertical Strategy, Bank of America
Jennifer Martinez, Senior Solution Manager, NCR

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Customer Experience: Omnichannel - How Merchants are Driving the Customer Experience +
Omnichannel has been a buzzword for quite a while. It has now been over two years since merchant operations were turned upside down in March 2020, and most merchants had to close their doors on face-to-face commerce. Suddenly for merchants who had only been dabbling in eCommerce and mobile ordering, it became their only lifeline to keeping their (figurative) doors open and staying afloat. Merchants in every corner of the world had to think outside the box to continue operating in a way that adhered to local restrictions and made their customers feel safe – all to keep the world moving.

In the session, industry experts will discuss the unique ways that merchants adapted to the climate in an unprecedented period in history by not only showing up for their customers in new and unique channels, while also enabling commerce across multiple channels within a single transaction.

Presenters:
Anoop Nebhnani, VP Global Strategic Accounts, Adyen
Jay Waters, Sr. Director - Financial Services, Lowe's
Chelsey Kukuk, Director, Redbridge DTA
Marina Chernyak, Vice-President, North America Retail, Visa
Barry Hanen, Director, Payment and Financial Services, Walgreens

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch
01:30 PM - 02:20 PM
Tech Only Kickoff: How Tech and Business Work to Create Customer Experience +

Panelists from Southwest Airlines, a company whose name is synonymous with exceptional customer service, sit down to talk about how they bring technology and the business together to create a culture that always puts the customer experience at the center of everything they do.

Presenters:
Mark Hursh, Sr Director Digital Customer Products, Southwest Airlines
Randy Gibbons, Sr Manager Payment Strategy & Risk, Southwest Airlines
Chris Priebe, Sr. Director - Treasury Payments and Risk, Southwest Airlines
Corbitt Burns, Senior Director Loyalty & Ancillary Products, Southwest Airlines

02:15 PM - 02:30 PM
Break
02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
The Hidden Growth Engine - Retention as Acquisition +

For healthy subscription businesses, it is no longer enough to simply bring in net-new customers. You must nurture your connections with existing users to keep them happily subscribed and consider “retention as acquisition.” Join us for an exciting session where Trace Galloway, Chief Strategy Officer at Vindicia, will discuss retention as a new growth engine and present key findings from the Total Economic Impact™, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting to see how customer retention tools can help B2C companies grow and optimize customer experience:  

  • Keep customers connected to the services they love
  • Extend customer lifecycle value by up to a possible five months 
  • 15% improvement in customer service and recovery payment team efficiencies 
  • Realize a three-year ROI of 522% (break-even in less than six months)

Presenter:
Trace Galloway, Chief Strategy Officer, Vindicia

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Two Truths and a Lie - EMV 3DS Edition +

Think you know everything about EMV 3DS? Let’s play two truths and a lie. If you are in the CNP business, you are probably familiar with the advancements in EMV 3DS technology. But for others, it can be a bit complicated. With so much digital growth and government mandates like PSD2 SCA, EMV 3DS authentication has become a hot topic in the digital payments space. In this interactive session, we are talking all things EMV 3DS – but with a twist. We will present misconceptions about EMV 3DS and uncover the truth on the technology and methods to help you increase approvals and decrease fraud. As authentication becomes core to payment processing across markets, we will provide you with the industry insight and present tools you need to stay ahead.

Presenters:
Jeff Zuehlke, Sr. Manager, Fraud Risk, Best Buy
Chris Bohatka, Senior Manager of Technical Product, CardinalCommerce

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Network Tokenization – Protecting Your Payments +

Today, the buzz around tokens is everywhere.  Tokens protect sensitive card data by replacing PANs with random values.  Network payment tokens traverse the payments ecosystem from merchant to gateway to acquirer to network and beyond to facilitate a seamless payment experience for merchant and consumer.  Join this session to learn what it takes to implement network payment tokens from requesting a token to lifecycle management.  In addition, hear how payment tokens can be automatically generated by web browsers requiring no merchant integration.

Presenters:
May Ngeow, VP, North America Product, Visa
Dan Macias, VP, North America Product, Visa
Steve Cole, Director of Technology Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Tech Forum Designing for Multi-Acquirer Processing +

Today a single processor rarely satisfies all of a merchant’s needs. Panelists will discuss how to structure your systems to handle multiple processors to make routing decisions, including the potential to use ML/AI.

Presenters:
Venkatesh Bittu, Senior Manager, Software Engineering, Walmart
Kam Lam, Director, International Financial Services & Payments, Walmart

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
2022 Fraud Trends: The Ever-Improving Status of the Fraud Team +

Ravelin commissioned a global survey of over 1,700 fraud professionals in key e-commerce sectors from travel to online marketplaces. Now in its second year, we can share how merchants rank the risks they face, what new risks are emerging, and what funding and resources fraud teams expect to receive in the future. It is comprehensive, bias-free, wide-ranging, and independent data that will help any fraud professional to level-set where they and their teams are compared to their peers.

Presenter:
Gerry Carr, Chief Marketing Officer, Ravelin

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Identify, Assess, Engage, and Grow with Consumers +
Since eCommerce launched, identifying who is engaging with the website has been necessary. That has only grown with the emergence of mobile apps. There have been advancements over the years with cookies and IP addresses, but we are at a point in time where merchants can take identification efforts to a whole new level with digital enablement capabilities. 

Most merchants have traditionally taken a reactive approach when it comes to identifying, assessing, and engaging with the people who interact with their digital properties. Savvy businesses have gathered information the best they can, mainly downstream, in their attempts to construct profiles – not only to prevent fraud, but also to achieve repeat or recurring revenue based on data around the individual. By combining digital identity data sets with physical identity attributes, merchants can achieve a holistic view of their customers, allowing for more informed decisions and revenue growth opportunities. 

With today’s technology and a sound marketing strategy, businesses can go beyond making decisions off simple scoring models and focus on delivering more value to their best-known customers by better knowing, understanding, and customizing offers for them. This fireside chat featuring Casey Zenner, Vice President, Global Direct Sales, Kount, and TJ Roberts, Director, Product Marketing, Kount, will focus on why merchants not only need to protect their digital assets with fraud prevention measures but also why it is critical to gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of their best customers in this highly competitive and evolving marketplace. This session will inform the audience on real-world technologies, data sets, and best practices to identify and assess legitimate consumers in addition to how to engage and grow revenue opportunities with them.

Presenters:
Casey Zenner, VP - Global Sales, Kount, an Equifax Company
TJ Roberts, Director of Product Marketing, Kount, an Equifax Company

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
How Should Merchants Prepare for the Next Wave of Payment Innovation? +

In reaction to COVID-19, companies implemented new payments technologies and changed business models to meet new consumer demands and withstand a pandemic. As we emerge and look to the future, what should merchants be focused on related to payments innovation? Join W. Capra in this Fireside chat with Brad Scheiner from Texas Roadhouse as we cover topics such as Digital Consumer Engagement, 3PL integrations, security, alternative POS, and super apps to name a few. The world is changing at an unprecedented pace, and this session will provide attendees with an engaging discussion around payments innovation.

Presenters:
Clint Cady, Partner, W. Capra Consulting Group
Brad Scheiner, Senior Director, Digital and Restaurant Systems, Texas Roadhouse

03:40 PM - 04:10 PM
How Can Marketplaces Enable Consumerism and Experience Innovation? +

The lines between industries are blurring. Marketplaces are changing the industry for consumers and leading the way in mobility and experience innovation. The growth from mobility has connected generations of consumers globally, making communication simple, secure, scalable, and affordable across multiple industries.

Presenter:
Gordon Janzen, MD, Digital Journeys, JPMorgan
Donald Frieden, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, P97 Networks

03:40 PM - 04:10 PM
A Digital Currency Case Study: Bitcoin Payments at the Pump +

Learn about how Sheetz partnered with Flexa, a leader in instant, fraud-proof digital currency payments, to provide customers with the ability to spend digital currencies in stores and—for the first time ever—at the fuel pump. Sheetz Payments Product Manager Linda Smith and Flexa co-founder Trevor Filter will discuss digital currency cost savings, fraud considerations, and integration options to help inform your company’s digital currency acceptance strategy.

Presenters:
Trevor Filter, Co-founder, Flexa
Linda Smith, Payment Product Manager, Sheetz, Inc.

03:40 PM - 04:10 PM
Become Your Customer's Fintech +

Customers are building their own personal financial ecosystems by forming tighter relationships with the brands and communities they value. Money is flowing from traditional bank accounts into new ecosystems like trading platforms, crypto wallets, DAOs, neo-banks, and challenger banks. Merchants who want to participate can no longer only accept payments, but also need to disburse payouts, offer exclusive perks to those who are loyal, offer better deals to those on the fence, and take care of those who are thinking of moving their funds to a competitor’s platform. Please join speakers from Carat from Fiserv as we discuss helping merchants attract funds into their ecosystems by instantly issuing funding sources, offering crypto wallets, authenticating customers on-demand, or linking customers through super-tokens through a suite of restful APIs.

Presenters:
Sunil Sachdev, Head of Fintech & Growth, Fiserv
Hersh Mansukhani, VP of Product - Platform Payments, Fiserv
Peter O'Halloran, Head of Carat & Digital Commerce EMEA, Carat from Fiserv
Joe Vasterling, Director, Payment Acceptance and Gift Cards, Best Buy

04:10 PM - 04:45 PM
Break
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: Petroleum/Convenience Store
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce
04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant
05:45 PM - 06:00 PM
Break
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Networking Reception +
Sponsored by:
J.P.Morgan logo
Tuesday, Sep 20
07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Breakfast
08:30 AM - 09:15 AM
Instant Payments: How to Transform Existing Payment Flows While Enhancing the Customer Experience +

Faster payments are here and will continue to be the way of the future. As more and more faster payments solutions come online, consumers will expect their money with immediacy, and they will anticipate a way to make payments with that same level of instant gratification. From QR codes to real-time recurring payments, there is enormous potential for faster payments to solve for a range of real-world use cases. Instant payments have the potential to transform and disrupt existing payments flows. Understanding the options in the marketplace and building your strategy will be a key to success; it’s imperative for merchants to be involved now to help shape the faster payments solutions that will work for their priority use cases. During this session, hear from industry experts leading the faster payments evolution as they discuss the current landscape and what's ahead for the RTP® Network and FedNowSM. Panelists will also discuss how best to prepare for and support the faster payments use cases that will drive adoption and enhance the customer experience.

Presenters:
Anand Natarajan, Senior Manager, Verizon Communications
Reed Luhtanen, Executive Director, U.S. Faster Payments Council
Jim Colassano, SVP, RTP Product Management, The Clearing House
Connie Theien, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Financial Services
Matt Howarter, Senior Director, Global Payment Acceptance, Walmart

08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Tech Forum Business/Tech
09:15 AM - 10:00 AM
Inclusive Commerce: Making Engagement Accessible for All +

Enabling parity of access and engagement opportunities for everyone is critically important. It is about creating inclusive commerce by giving customers seamless access to payments and funds where and when they need it; bringing payments to underserved communities and geographies; and delivering financial solutions to enable customers to manage, save, and spend. We do this by broadening global reach with local payment methods; enabling payment facilitators to onboard and support small businesses; enabling people to use their EBT benefits seamlessly across any channel and everyday use case; disbursing money instantly to Money Network cards for the underbanked; and more. In this session, Suzan Kereere, Head of Global Business Solutions at Fiserv, will discuss how merchants can turn challenges into opportunities that will uncover growth potential, expand their addressable market, and drive commerce.

Presenters:
Mia Shernoff, SVP, Head of Marketing and Demand Generation - Fiserv
Kothai Senthil, VP, Head of Payments, Albertsons Companies, Inc.

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Career Journey: Fear Change? Fear Not…Find Growth Instead! +

A diverse group of panelists with interesting career paths will come together to share experiences of their journeys across a variety of companies that represent varying stakeholders within the payments industry. They will impart advice, share lessons learned, and offer insight into the steps they took along the way to navigate their careers across the field of payments.  One thing these panelists will tell you is how to embrace change in your career and grow as a result. Don’t miss out!

Presenters:
Bryan Penny, Vice President - Global Network Policy and Data Standards, American Express
Franchesca Gayadan, VP, Enterprise Sales, Zip
Denis Bouchard, VP, US Real Time Payments, FIS
Lynsey Soliday, Product Owner - Payments, The Wendy's Company
Ron Collins, System Director Payment Card Operations, Treasury Services, CommonSpirit Health
Liz Garner, Head of Strategic Partnerships, CMSPI 

10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Questions About Chargebacks That You've Been Dying to Ask +

Chargeback management is a confusing, ever-changing process. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. And what is effective for one merchant could be a total disaster for another. You have so many questions, but you don’t know who to ask or what to believe. Is there any ROI in chargeback prevention? What about fighting chargebacks? What are the best ways to balance risk with reward? How can you find the answers you need? Where is the proof?! This session will pull back the veil on chargeback management. Panelists will reveal information about new trends and techniques and share real merchant data to back up the insights. Then, you can decide what makes sense for your business using educated, data-driven decisions.

Presenters:
Matt Murphy, Vice President of Payments & Strategy, The Lifetime Value Company
Dom Cirone, SVP Acquirer Solutions, Midigator
Mark Standfield, President, Midigator

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Spending in 2021—A Look at Purchase Trends as the World “Re-Opened" +
There was a historical shift to digital payments in 2020. Consumers quickly pivoted to mobile purchasing, online orders, and tapping across all industry verticals to stay healthy during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Many thought this shift would be a permanent change; but data shows that as the world has re-opened, consumers continued the momentum of digital payments in some industries but reverted to their old ways in others.

Bank of America, Visa, and UCLA will analyze transactional data to showcase spending, consumer, and payment trends. With the knowledge of this data, MAG merchants can understand who is purchasing, what types of payment options they should be accepting, and ultimately how to capture their target customer’s spend.

Presenters:
Nicolle Wilson, SVP Product Management, Bank of America
Sara Walsh, SVP Payments Network Executive, Bank of America
Allen Shui, Manager, Treasury Operations and Payment Compliance, University of California, Los Angeles
Ted Nelson, Head of Merchant Acquiring, Visa Consulting & Analytics

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Edge Computing +

The term ‘edge computing’ is heard everywhere these days. Many say it holds the promise to revolutionize commerce, but what is it really and just how might it impact your organization? Attend this session to learn more.

Presenter:
Sachin Ahuja, Senior Vice President, Nextgen Network, Mastercard
Matthew Ramella, Vice President of Software Engineering, Mastercard

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Finding B2B Business Buyers Hidden in Your B2C Checkout +

While retail e-commerce exploded over the last two years, most retailers' resources and attention have been on improving the customer buying journey for the B2C buyer. However, many large retailers have a sizeable opportunity to add or expand a B2B e-commerce business – an industry predicted to create revenue of roughly $18.57 trillion by the end of 2026.

It's not unusual to find B2B buyers purchasing from B2C retailers using traditional payments channels; but, B2B buying potential is usually limited because these buyers have a different set of payment and CX expectations. For example, B2B buyers are looking for purchase terms, credit offerings for repeat purchases, automated invoicing, digital fraud protections, alternative payment methods – and all within one centralized location. If B2C retailers cannot support the processes and methods of payment preferred by B2B buyers, they run the risk of losing the opportunity to serve this audience. The customers are already there; they need to be catered to.   

In this session, TreviPay panelists will discuss the opportunities for B2C retailers who offer alternative payment methods and how to capture a larger sales pool through current and future B2B buyers. 

Topics include: 

  • The unique requirements of B2B buyers and why payments must become invisible
  • The rise of alternative payment methods as a substitute to credit cards
  • How to identify your B2B buyers in B2C sales strategies
  • How to build the capability for B2B embedded payments and how to manage the costs and complexities, including the cumbersome process of building an A/R team
  • Why instant decisioning and credit are key to B2B buyers and will help merchants attract buyers and build loyalty

Presenters:
Dee O'Malley, MAG Board Member
Joe Vasterling, Director, Payment Acceptance and Gift Cards, Best Buy
Martha Salinas, Chief Commercial Officer, Trevipay

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Top 8 Things to Consider When Adding or Changing Encryption or Tokenization +

As merchants plan to add or make changes to their encryption or tokenization schemes, there are several issues that they should consider. Do they want to use a merchant-provided end-to-end encryption process or a third party-provided point-to-point encryption? Do you need to own your tokens and vault? What is the impact of your encryption and tokenization on your PCI attestation responsibilities? Panelists will lead a discussion on these and many additional topics that should be a part of merchants’ conversations with their providers.

Presenters:
Andy Orrock, VP, SW Engineering, OLS Payments
Ronald Barker, Director, OLS Payments

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
How to Leverage BNPL Across Channels to Drive Higher Spend +
Catching on first in eCommerce, buy now, pay later (BNPL) is working its way into physical stores as shoppers venture out more and seek affordable ways to pay when they do. With a few years of BNPL experience and data to work with, players in the sector recognize the retail benefit installments represent, be it higher sales or increased loyalty. Shoppers are looking for great products, they are looking for great experiences, and they are doing that agnostic of channel. Consumers want financing options on their own terms. 

Sezzle’s underlying merchant sales (UMS) for in-store purchases rose more than ninefold year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021, and in-store sales accounted for 10% of total UMS in December. Join this session to learn how retailers are offering BNPL options online, in-store, and within other digital channels, including social, to give consumers financing wherever they choose to shop. Learn how retailers can strategically take advantage of BNPL to grow sales across all their channels. Also, panelists will discuss how consumer trends influence the growth of BNPL cross-channel.

Presenter:
Chelsea Dreven, VP, Head of Enterprise Client Services, Sezzle, Inc.

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch/Exhibit Hall
01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Removing Noise from the Disputes Ecosystem +

The payments world is innovating new technologies and ever-evolving by advancing rules and best practices to remove unnecessary disputes from the ecosystem and improve the overall disputes process. Combatting friendly fraud (aka, first-party misuse), resolving disputes before they cause downstream effects, enhancing the customer experience, leveraging data to prevent disputes, and utilizing technology to remediate fraud and dispute ratio risks are just some of the outcomes these innovations and advances can extend to sellers, acquirers, and processors. The ultimate desired result is a dispute ecosystem with reduced volume and minimal impact to all stakeholders. Our panel discussion will explore the development over the past 12 months and discuss how sellers can be best prepared for the future. A merchant speaker will join the panel to share their experience and outlook for the future of dispute management.

Presenter:
Greg Witten, VP Sales, Verifi, A Visa Solution

01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
“Do I know you?” Verify Online Identity to Stop Fraud at Every Step of the Customer Journey +
Identity is the foundation of trust in our thriving digital economy and verifying the person behind the device is central to most online interactions: purchasing goods, services, subscriptions, and more. Yet, as the digital realm has expanded, so too has fraud — with fraudsters broadening their focus beyond the transaction to target touch points across the entire customer journey. In fact, card-not-present (CNP) fraud is forecast to rise from $17.5B in 2020 to $31.3B in 2025, according to a Juniper Research report.  

This panel will discuss the proven technologies and insights that help merchants build a customizable verification process. This helps stop fraud from account opening through to the transaction by focusing on the most important part of the equation: the user. Bringing together behavioral biometrics, device intelligence, global user data, and real-time machine learning, Mastercard companies Ekata and NuData, as well Staples, will take us through a journey to get to know your users — and stop fraud without adding friction.

Presenters:
Nicholas Croteau, Product Mgr II | Financial Risk & Analytics, Staples
Elisa Ahem, Sr. Field Data Scientist, Ekata, a Mastercard Company
Frank Mendicino, Vice President of Business Development, NuData Security, A Mastercard Company

01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Going Global: Accepting Payments Around the World +
Building out a payments landscape in one country is hard enough! How do you go about building a global solution and what do you need to consider as you expand internationally? If your organization is contemplating this journey and your head is already spinning, this is the session for you!  

Join us to learn more as Levi Dartt, Head of eCommerce Payments at Texas Instruments, sits down with Wei Jiang, President & Chief Operating Office at Citcon, and Blake Swenson, Director, Payment Partnerships at Adyen, to find out what it takes successfully navigate this voyage from building out a business case and roadmap to finding the right partners to the integration effort required and on to the ultimate destination of Go Live.

Presenters:
Blake Swenson, Director, Payment Partnerships, Adyen
Levi Dartt, Head of eCommerce Payments, Texas Instruments
Wei Jiang, President & Chief Operating Officer, Citcon

Moderator:
Steve Cole, Director of Technology Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Future-Proofing Point of Sale +
The world of commerce has evolved with a rapid move to digital transactions. At the heart of this shift is the adoption of mobile devices and the use of super apps for commerce-related activities. Customers have a new expectation on shopping and the payments experience with demands for convenient and straightforward experiences that also include choice. As a result, we now have a proliferation of new ways to pay such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Crypto, and other digital wallet payments. Businesses that fail to adopt a strategy of providing choice to their customers stand to lose out.    

Join this fireside session with Blackhawk Network to learn how a strategy of offering payments choices can help retailers stay relevant with their customers as the world of commerce evolves.

Presenter:
Eddie Davis, Vice President, Business Development
Levi Aron, Chief Growth Officer, Zip
Marco Marandiz, Chief Marketing Officer, Flexa
Chris Ting, Sr. Director Payment Solutions, Blackhawk Network

02:15 PM - 02:30 PM
Break
02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Planning for the Holiday? Get Ready to Ride the QR Code Payments Wave +

With holiday retail planning in full swing, it's time to think about evolving your payments experience to deliver the gift of positive revenue growth.  Over two billion people worldwide use mobile wallets, driving the demand for fast, secure, and convenient payment methods. By 2024, digital wallets will account for more than half of all e-commerce payments worldwide and 33% of in-store payments. Juniper Research predicts that the use of QR codes for electronic payments in the US will have increased by 240% from 2020-2025. As you are looking to attract new segments of shoppers and expand into new markets, now is the time to look beyond traditional payments methods. This session will cover the critical mass of mobile wallet payments at the POS and online, and why QR code payments are quickly becoming the preferred way to pay in the US. Discover how to reap the benefits of faster, more secure contactless payments that attract new customers, drive higher transaction volume, and earn customer loyalty - all with one integration and reconciliation.

Presenter:
Jean Kany, VP Global Enterprise Retail, CITCON

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Buy Buy Payments +

Panelists will discuss the hyper-innovation in payments over the last five years and how it will continue converging the physical POS with online commerce and payments. Also, with this trend we see the business models for commerce integrating payments, making payments as a separate experience obsolete, and in the end - disappear. Innovation introduces different approaches for authentication in the ‘sell and buy’ and opens the doors for exploring alternative fees and rates structures, potentially lowering the cost of payments for merchants. Panelists will touch on recent new commerce models such as Buy Online Pick up In-Store (BOPIS) and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), as well as developments in secure payments solutions and how these models and developments leverage each other: 

  • Convergence of card present (CP) and card not present (CNP). Online/CNP is moving to the POS, and mobile becomes both form factor card with card not present features and even becoming point of acceptance (POA); tap on phone. 
  • Banks looking at central payments capability covering both CP and CNP; driving Real-time Payments (RTP)/Faster payments, Digital currencies, and P2P 
  • Combined authentication of customer for sales, KYC and payment; eID/ mDL, Fido, Biometrics.
  • Tech giants becoming finance players utilizing their large platforms as Amazon and Facebook integrate payments, and others utilize their own strong-branded interfaces like ApplePay and G-Pay.

Presenter:
Henk van Dam, Payment Security and Certification Leader, UL

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM
In-store Opportunity for BNPL +
Zip Co-Founder and Global CEO Larry Diamond, digital pioneer, will speak about the in-store opportunity for buy now, pay later (BNPL).   While flexible payment options are a well-known perk of eCommerce, a recent study by Zip Co. and PYMNTS points to high consumer appetite for brick-and-mortar merchants to implement buy now, pay later at checkout. Nearly every consumer who used BNPL online in the last month reported they would do it again, and an impressive 94% said they would also use it in-store. In fact, the survey found that 46% of department store customers would switch merchants to one that offered BNPL flexible payment options.  
 

The disconnect between consumers’ comparatively minimal in-store BNPL usage boils down to one key thing: availability. In Zip’s research, BNPL was offered for nearly half of customers’ most recent online purchases across retail segments, but available for less than one-fifth of in-store purchases. Yet consumer interest in installment payments is about the same for both online and in-store purchases despite the gap in availability – highlighting a major opportunity for BNPL providers.   BNPL has an appeal to merchants as well, as consumers are more likely to make purchases – and larger ones – instead of window shopping when flexible payment options are offered.

Presenters:
Larry Diamond, Global CEO, Zip
Mars Shah, President, Driven Glass North America, Driven Brands

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Solving the Accounts Receivable Dilemma of Virtual Card Acceptance +

Virtual cards are gaining momentum among businesses due to their ease of use, added security, and simplified reconciliation. While these benefits are undeniable, one of the hurdles for suppliers who accept virtual card payments is the added work required for Accounts Receivables teams. Often staff sort through emails containing transaction details, process each payment manually, and then must apply that payment to the correct invoice in their system. The entire process can be quite time-consuming. Imagine a world where virtual card payments are fully automated from start to finish. This can be a reality through a service known as Straight-Through Processing. Straight-Through Processing prioritizes and automates the payment via a direct deposit into a business’ bank account. Remittance details in data form provide the opportunity for systemic posting and reconciliation of outstanding accounts receivable records. As an added benefit, this can be done with an irrefutable link between invoice payments and the bank deposit. During this session attendees will gain an understanding of how straight-through processing works and how implementing this solution can result in: 

  • Faster availability of funds
  • Reduced costs and effort
  • Fewer errors and enhanced remittance efforts.

Presenters:
Bob Walker, Payments Consultant, Elavon
Dillon Richardson, Payments Consultant, Elavon

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Emerging Trends in Ecommerce Payments +

E-commerce payments are seeing a shift to greater tokenization. Panelists will discuss recent trends in e-commerce, including mobile payment evolution and cloud tokens.

Presenter:
Ashwany Rayu, Sr Product Manager - Digital Platform & Products, Discover Global Network

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
The Rise of the Deep Web Fraudster +

With nearly every facet of our lives shifted to digital experiences, cybercriminals have seized every opportunity to infiltrate the Dark Web and beyond, finding cracks in both under-the-radar and completely obvious places to commit illegal activity. However, due to recent Dark Web crackdowns, fraudsters have set their sights on innocuous corners of the Deep Web – a part of the internet not indexed by search engines – to do their dirty work. Specifically, secure messaging apps have emerged as a haven for criminals to wreak havoc and turn a profit. Knowing that messaging apps’ privacy-focused features will act as a protection, cybercriminals are gathering on messaging forums to run fraud rings targeted at merchants. In late 2021, Sift discovered a growing number of fraud schemes on Telegram offering unlimited access to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) accounts through fake credit card numbers and compromised email addresses—showcasing how fraudsters are sophisticating their methods on Telegram to target the entire merchant ecosystem. To build on Sift’s 2021 MAG conference session on the Dark Web, Jeff Sakasegawa, Trust and Safety Architect at Sift, will give attendees an inside look into why merchants need to be concerned about the fraud activity that’s occurring on the Deep Web. During the session, he will give attendees a deep examination into the type of fraud bubbling up in apps like Telegram (including a live demo of the fraud rings Sift has discovered). He will also share why these small, but frequent incidents can add up and are difficult for merchants to track and manage and how the entire merchant ecosystem can defend against these costly fraudulent transactions.

Presenter:
Jeff Sakasegawa, Trust and Safety Architect, Sift

03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
State of Online Fraud in 2022 +

All online businesses must manage fraud. From fraudsters using stolen cards to customers abusing refund policies and disputes, navigating illegitimate payments and the dispute process is part of accepting payments online. However, fraud is becoming increasingly more complex and expensive to prevent and manage across all businesses—regardless of size, industry, and location. Even the traditionally best-equipped businesses, such as larger companies with more money and resources, are struggling to prevent fraud.  Join speakers from Stripe and SeatGeek as they discuss fraud trends around the world and identify how fraud impacts businesses.

Presenters:
Shawn Kelley, Director of Payment & Risk Operations at SeatGeek
Will Megson, Radar Product Lead, Stripe

03:35 PM - 04:00 PM
Break
04:00 PM - 04:45 PM
BNPL 2.0 +

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options have continued to gain share in the payments ecosystem with several new models coming to the market. We have also seen some consolidation in the space with both mergers and partnerships. In addition, a proliferation of different providers are getting into the mix, the most notable new entrants being the networks. So, what does the space look like now? Will regulations change how the products work? How will the product adapt to the rising cost of funds? Will merchants offer multiple choices to customers and how might they orchestrate the offering to ensure clarity for the customer? Learn from a panel of experts as they discuss their view on where the BNPL market is moving.

Presenters:
Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Product and Innovations for North America, Mastercard
Todd Wade, VP, New Solutions, Visa
Christian Johnson, Senior Economist, CMSPI
Howard Fry, SVP, Chief Growth Officer, Citizens Pay
Nandan Sheth, CEO, Splitit

04:00 PM - 04:45 PM
Unveiling the Intrinsic Connection between Fraudsters, Customers and Growth +

Lines are becoming blurred with bad actors finding new outlets to commit payments fraud while friendly fraud is reaching all-time highs. With a 55% increase in account takeover attempts and a 78% increase in promotions abuse, understanding how to discern between fraudsters and customers becomes critical more accurately to the bottom line. Join our panelist discussion to learn how to evolve your approach from reactively putting out fires to leveraging your fraud solution as a competitive advantage and growth lever.

Presenters:
Justin Staskiewicz, Director, Payments and Fraud Prevention, Restaurant Brands International
Oksana Balytsky, Director, Product Marketing, Forter
Lindsey Theiss, Manager of Non-Cash Payments and Fraud, The Wendy's Company

04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Tech Forum Closing: Real-Time Payments +

Real-Time Payments (RTP) is an emerging payments platform that enables the transfer of money between participating banks in real-time for use in payment innovation. With mobile technology and digital commerce driving the need for safer and faster payments in the U.S., learn about the current state of integrating into this new platform, discover the capabilities, and discover what the future holds for RTP and the technology in development in this session.

Presenter:
Kimberly Keely, Executive Director, Sr. Product Manager, JPMorgan Chase
Samson Rajan, Vice President, JPMorgan Chase

04:45 PM - 05:45 PM
Annual Conference Closing: The Expanding World of Debit Routing +

Debit routing has been available to merchants since networks first started to cross accept cards to improve ubiquity acceptance, but it was not a guaranteed right for merchants until the Durbin amendment became law in 2010. Since that time there has been significant change in the ability to route debit transactions and the specification used in the card space. In this session, we bring together networks, an acquirer, and merchants to talk about where the industry stands today. They will also offer learnings on how merchants can best position themselves to get the greatest return through managing their debit volume.

Presenters:
Manish Nathwani, Sr. VP - Product Development, SHAZAM
David Keenan, Senior Vice President, Network Solutions, Accel
Anand Goel, CEO and Founder, Optimized Payments
Liz Braun, Director, Client Management, Worldpay from FIS
Trent Addington, Sr. Director, Payment Acceptance, Walmart

05:45 PM - 06:00 PM
Break
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Networking Reception +
Sponsored by:
Mastercard logo
Wednesday, Sep 21
MERCHANT DAY ONLY
07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Breakfast
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Petro/Convenience
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant
09:30 AM - 09:45 AM
Break
09:45 AM - 10:00 AM
State of the MAG +

Presenters:
John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group
Kathy Hanna, Sr. Director of Enterprise Payments & Store Support, The Kroger Co.

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Voice of the Merchants Study +

Today more than ever, an integrated and seamless payments experience is a critical part of a customer shopping journey, strengthening relationships, and driving growth. However, how merchants plan for and deliver on this experience varies widely. Merchants are facing increasing complexity as consumer preferences, shopping trends, and payment form factors evolve rapidly and have been accelerated by COVID-19. As the economy re-opens, will consumers maintain their current shopping habits? Or will they revert to in-person shopping, dining, and other personal interactions? How will merchants operationalize this new normal? 

Oliver Wyman conducted a study in partnership with MAG in early 2022, which collected direct feedback from merchants on their commerce and payments journey - what’s working, what’s not working, and where they plan to go from here. This session will cover the results of that study and where we, as an industry, should go from here.

Presenters:
Beth Costa, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Laura Townsend, Chief Operations Officer, Merchant Advisory Group


10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Merchants Unleashed - Checkout Experience +

Payments acceptance has always been one of the most critical parts of the checkout experience. Merchants used to concentrate on items like speed, cost, and reliability. While these are still important factors, so many more aspects have become part of the decision-making process. Considerations like customer experience and payment flexibility are a bigger part of the discussion. These considerations are now coupled with new payments options like digital currency and real-time payments. With all these items coming into the decision workstream, how are merchants deciding on the right mix? Several merchants will share how they bring forward innovation and ensure it services the needs of their customers during this session.

Presenters:
Aly Jackson, Sr. Team Leaders, Treasury, Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Chinmay Gupta, Director of App Dev & BI, EG America
Robert Goldberg, Director of Finance, Universal Orlando
Ken Grogan, Director Treasury Services, Wakefern Food Corp.

Moderator:
John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group

11:30 AM - 11:45 AM
BREAK: Boxed Lunches
11:45 AM - 01:00 PM
Improving the Payments Landscape +

Merchants, trade association legal counsels, and MAG staff will discuss the latest policy and industry-related topics during this session. You will not want to miss this informative and relevant discussion!

Presenters:
Eric Vescera, Vice President, Collaboration and Education, Merchant Advisory Group
Beth Provenzano, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Merchant Advisory Group
Owen Glist, Attorney, Constantine & Cannon
Ken Grogan, Director Treasury Services, Wakefern Food Corp.
Hannah Walker, Senior Director, Payments Policy & Strategy, Walmart
Doug Kantor, General Counsel, National Association of Convenience Stores
Anusha Ramanujam, Head of Payment Partnerships & Product Enablement, Square

01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
SIG Leaders Unleashed +

The Special Interest Group (SIG) sessions are the ultimate networking sessions that give merchants an opportunity for an open and honest chat with their peers on what keeps them up at night in a no-pressure environment. In this fireside chat-style session, the merchant leaders of these discussions will share the highlights, payments challenges, and key takeaways discussed during the 2022 Annual Conference SIGs.

Presenters:
Linda Toth, Managing Director, Conexxus
Chinmay Gupta, Director of App Dev & BI, EG America
Randy Gibbons, Sr Manager Payment Strategy & Risk, Southwest Airlines
Heather Sargeant, AVP Finance, Bath & Body Works, Inc.
Kelly Andrus, Director, US Customer Payments, EG America
Ashley Johnson, Senior Cash Manager, Texas Roadhouse

Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors

The 2022 Annual Conference and Tech Forum will offer a variety of opportunities to show support for the MAG and gain additional exposure as you showcase your brand to conference attendees.

Sponsorship Value

As a MAG conference sponsor, merchants will:
  • Remember your company, products, and services
  • See you as a supporter and partner in the payments community
  • Recognize your brand
ANNUAL SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Learn More

Speakers

Thank for you being a valued MAG partner and agreeing to share your expertise and insights with our conference attendees.  

 

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AC22 Session

  

 
  
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2022 Annual Conference Sponsors

Annual Conference Sponsors

2022 Tech Forum Conference Sponsors

Tech Forum Sponsors

SIG Reports

SIG documents are proprietary and confidential. 

These documents are for the MAG members only and must not be circulated outside of the MAG Membership.

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The Merchant Advisory Group

Driving positive change and innovation in the payments industry that serves the merchants interest through collaboration, education, and advocacy.