Past Articles

MAG Payments Conference 24 – A Thriving Gathering of Industry Peers

Thank you to all who attended our inaugural rebranded MAG Payments Conference 24! The event brought together a diverse group of payments industry professionals who were eager to connect, share insights, and learn about industry trends.

Don’t Get Smoked Combating Fraud This Holiday Season

If you are still spending your day in a fraud tool writing condition rules based on chargeback reports, you’re getting smoked. Fraud moves faster than ever, and it moves way faster than you or your company can handle - you just may not realize it yet.

States Step In: Tackling Interchange on Sales Tax

In recent years, multiple state legislatures have begun looking at how interchange is calculated and charged to merchants. One issue gaining attention is interchange fees being applied to the sales tax portion of transactions. Since most interchange fees are percentage-based, the total fee increases with the sales tax—despite merchants only collecting this tax to remit it to the government.

The Promise Of Low Code/No Code Platforms In Merchant Payments

Low-code/No-code (LCNC) platforms allow applications, analytics, and data transformations to be “coded” by people who are not software engineers. Financial services and payments companies that leverage LCNC platforms across their technology footprint see rapid returns as the platforms mature. Read about three LCNC platforms available now.

The Power of Collaboration

Stakeholders working together to achieve a common goal, or outcome is one of the core tenets of the Merchant Advisory Group’s (MAG) mission and a cornerstone of effecting positive change in the payments ecosystem. Our merchant members gravitate to the various forums within the MAG, which provide them the opportunity to collaborate with various stakeholders, including the card brands, acquirers, service providers, and other merchants.

The Changing Role of Merchants in Payments

When I began my career in payments, I remember the very first meeting I attended was with a collaboration group. The Federal Reserve of Minneapolis hosted it, and the subject was check fraud. Yes, I have been in the industry that long. In that discussion, I was surrounded by all the various people who supported the check infrastructure, but I was the only representative from the merchant payments side. As the conversation went around the room, I heard all the participants weigh in with the various theories on reducing check fraud. To my amazement, the conversation was around the number of assumptions being shared as if it was the merchant perspective. When my turn came around, I spent the first part of my discussion dispelling half of the things that were said with the real experience of the merchant/customer interaction before I could even get to the truth of what might be done to eliminate the fraud.

Optimizing 3-D Secure to Improve Authorization Rates for eCommerce

The ABCs of MAGs Involvement with Standards Bodies

The payments ecosystem is built on ubiquity and consistent standards, and the MAG continues to be a key player in discussions with the standards bodies that impact payments. The MAG is involved with these standards bodies to drive innovation in the payments space and ensure merchants can operate in an efficient and competitive marketplace.

MAG Payments Conference 24 Is Just Around the Corner

We look forward to welcoming you to the first rollout of our rebranded September Conference, MAG Payments Conference 24, September 16 – September 19 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. Our industry-leading conferences are synonymous with excellence and our first MAG Payments Conference will continue this tradition.

Navigating Sponsorship Options: Annual, Tech Forum, and Conference Sponsorships

Over the years, the MAG has grown from a small group of individuals meeting to address the needs of merchants within the payments ecosystem, to an international organization that engages with merchants and payments industry service providers from across all verticals through our two annual conferences, webinars, committees, SIGs and more. The MAG has also expanded our sponsorship program since its inception. Below I break down the differences between the three sponsorship opportunities that the MAG offers.

MAG Payments Summit, London 2024

The Merchant Advisory Group's inaugural MAG Payments Summit-London 24, held on June 10-12, was an extraordinary event! Despite having no merchant or sponsor engagement until November 2023, the summit's success exceeded all expectations.

The MAG’s Latest Microlearning Course, “Brand Release Essentials” Now Available

The Merchant Advisory Group is excited to announce the launch of our latest microlearning course, "Brand Release Essentials," as part of our ongoing commitment to providing valuable learning opportunities in payments.

Continued Discussion on the Debit Regulated Rate

With the comment period coming to a close, there is a flurry of activity in Washington surrounding the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) proposal to reduce the regulated debit card fee cap. Introduced in November of 2023, this was the first proposed change to the regulated rate since it was introduced in 2011.

Don’t worry about getting dirty….BE A SPONGE!

Picture this: a lifelong hotelier who's worked in 12 different hotels, transitioned from food and beverage to finance, and somehow ended up in the world of payments. Well, that's me!

What Makes the MAG Work

You may have noticed over the last couple of years we have accelerated the way the MAG supports the merchant community. Most notably the addition of our tech community, online-learning education courses, and international expansion. Our mission of giving the merchants a voice in the payment system has improved many aspects within our industry. This is all possible because of the merchants who make the MAG a special place. As we look to the future, merchants’ participation will be the key to our continued growth and success. Let me give a couple of examples of how this has worked and led to our growth.

ISO 20022: A New Era of Card Processing

nexo standards enables fast, interoperable, borderless, and global card processing by using ISO 20022 to standardize the exchange of data between merchants, acquirers, payment service providers and other payment stakeholders. nexo’s specifications and messaging protocols are advanced through its member community, free to download, and globally implemented.

EBT Chip Cards - Ready or Not, Here They Come and Retailers Should Beware!

If you think EBT chip cards won’t be used in your store, you may want to keep reading! The first chipped EBT cards will come from the state of California, which also uses their cards to distribute cash benefits. The cash benefits can be used more broadly than the food benefits (SNAP) that come to mind when you hear EBT, so the issuance of chip cards may impact your systems, including ATMs, even if you are not a SNAP participating retailer.

Why Matera Became a MAG Sponsor!

Matera is a new Sponsor of the MAG joining, in 2024. Matera provides solutions such as QR code payments software to help accelerate the adoption of pay-by-bank. The MAG sat down with Carlos Netto, CEO/Co-Founder of Matera, to discuss how they decided to sponsor the Merchant Advisory Group.

A look at the Biometrics Market

The latest buzzword in payments seems to be “biometrics”. It isn’t a new term or a new concept, but it is growing in popularity and acceptance and there are a few factors that exist in the market that merchants should consider.

MAG Payments Summit - London 24: Pioneering Payments Innovations in London

The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) is thrilled to announce its inaugural European Payments Summit, set to take place from June 10-12 at Convene, 155 Bishopsgate, London. This landmark event underscores the MAG's commitment to driving positive change and innovation in the payments industry, serving merchants' interests through collaboration, education, and advocacy.