At Payments MAGnified 25, the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) advanced payments through engaging learning sessions, ample networking, and a showcase of emerging technologies. Two standout forums- Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Rising Payments Professionals (RPP)- were central to fostering valuable industry collaboration.
SIGs are a cornerstone at our two annual conferences, giving merchant members a unique space to network and share insights. Whether you're wondering if another merchant interpreted an announcement or rules change the same way you did, or you're just trying to better understand the implementation and operational impacts of a situation - the SIG rooms make the perfect environment for those discussions.
"The MAG is what made me excited and passionate about payments. Being in a room with payments experts and learning about upcoming changes and strategies is an invaluable experience. The greatest gift any payments professional can receive is the ability to lean on others for insight and a place to go that dedicates resources to education, and that is what you get with the MAG."
Over 380 members attended the eleven SIG sessions held across two days, scoring a 4.7 satisfaction rating on a scale of 5. Notes from these sessions are available on our MAG Learning Center (login required). We’ll be announcing the dates of our upcoming Summer SIG sessions soon and look forward to continuing the conversation!
SIGs also provide a safe space for merchant members to share directly with the MAG what they'd like to see for content in our conference sessions and educational offerings. We not only listen to the feedback, but we actively look to incorporate your suggestions into our future offerings. During the first half of 2025, we will be re-evaluating our SIG format and hope to have exciting changes to announce in advance of Payments MAGnified 26 being held at the Gaylord Pacific in San Diego, CA. If you have suggestions to make our SIGs better, contact Kelly Andrus directly.
Our third annual SIGs and Snacks introduced a format that provided options of topic-centric and vertical-centric discussion tables. Attendees were free to join any table and move between tables throughout the session. With over 100 attendees joining, some of the most popular topics included recent fraud trends, network tokens, EBT chip migration, and debit routing. The airlines, healthcare, and lodging tables attracted the most attendance of the verticals. There was certainly an opportunity for all merchants to participate, and while we keep the format of SIGs and Snacks fresh by doing something different each year, we will consider offering something similar in the future.
In addition to SIGs, another way we foster connections is through the RPP program. RPP is a great way for new members in the payments industry to meet their peers and begin building their network. At Payments MAGnified 25, we tried something new by transforming our networking reception into an engaging lunch led by a panel of industry leaders. Over 30 new payments professionals attended.
The discussion offered insights into the panelists’ career journeys, highlighting how they entered the payments space and how their leadership has shaped payments strategies at major organizations. Attendees asked questions about what resources are available to continue learning and developing, and how to keep building community amongst industry peers.
Joining a new industry, or even just beginning your career, can be daunting. At the MAG, we value our next generation of payments leaders and contributors greatly. We want everyone to feel welcome, included, and empowered to learn and grow into the best versions of themselves while connecting with others on the same journey. If you are new to payments and interested in attending an RPP event in the future, please reach out to Josh Pynn directly.