Past Articles
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Everything You Need to Know: Brand Release Updates
Apr 15, 2025Spring has arrived, bringing with it longer days, warmer weather, and—like clockwork—updates from the payment card networks. Hopefully your acquirer has reviewed the changes with you since many of them were scheduled to take effect on April 11, 2025. Keep in mind that implementation dates can vary depending on the card brand and your specific payments processor.
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March MAG Insider: What's Next in Payments?
Mar 31, 2025As we move into the second quarter of 2025, several groundbreaking events are on the horizon. These upcoming activities offer exciting opportunities to stay at the forefront of the payments industry, network with like-minded professionals, and explore new technologies that are transforming the payments landscape.
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Network Tokens, What Are They Good For?
Mar 20, 2025Last year, Visa announced that it had issued its 10 billionth token and that tokenized payments had prevented $650 million of fraud in 2023. Visa and Mastercard have also stated that approximately 30% of all their payment transactions are processed utilizing network tokens. Given that network tokens have only been around for about a decade, those are impressive numbers. But what is it about network tokens that give them their superpower to stop fraud? After all, in the case of network tokens, the token is just another number representing a customer’s credit or debit account. What makes these numbers so much more secure than the numbers that make up the primary account number (PAN) of the payment card? In the typical context, tokens are often referred to as a non-sensitive representation of something of value, such as the PAN in the case of network tokens. But wait, you may be thinking, “if I can make a payment transaction with a network token, that sounds pretty sensitive to me.” Before drawing any conclusions about network tokens, maybe we should first consider what a network token is not. It is not a security token.
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An Inside Lens of SIGs and RPP at Payments MAGnified 25!
Mar 18, 2025At 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.
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New Administration, New Priorities: What’s on the Horizon for Payments Policy?
Feb 28, 2025As the new administration takes shape, regulatory and legislative activity in Washington is evolving, with important implications for payments. Here’s a look at recent developments in Congress, at the Federal Reserve, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
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Raising the Bar: MAG’s Record-Breaking Conference and Industry Impact
Feb 26, 2025As the payments landscape evolves, the MAG remains at the forefront, driving innovation and fostering collaboration. From conference milestones to thought leadership opportunities, here’s a look inside the MAG.
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Navigating 2025: Key Regulatory Insights for Merchants in a Shifting Payments Landscape
Feb 20, 2025As we step into 2025, the payments industry continues to evolve rapidly, with new regulations reshaping the landscape in the U.K., the EU, and beyond. To help merchants stay ahead, MAG's Director of Public Affairs, Leslie Crisp, joined the MAG’s International Leader, Paul Tunstall, to discuss what merchants need to know and how to prepare.
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Powering Payments Expertise with MAG Education
Jan 16, 2025The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) is committed to empowering payments professionals through robust educational resources tailored to every career stage. . From foundational courses that introduce core concepts to advanced programs that tackle industry challenges, MAG's educational platform equips members with the knowledge and confidence needed to excel.
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SIGnificant Changes, What’s New This Month?
Jan 16, 2025Happy 2025! MAG celebrates another year of advancing payments with exciting updates. MAG Insights now includes six focused sections: MAG Insider, Policy Perspective, Leadership Lens, International Perspective, Payments Technology, and Advancing Payments. In this month’s MAG Insider, we’re discussing the return of SIGs and Snacks at Payments MAGnified 25 (Feb. 10-13, 2025), offering topic-specific tables and new formats based on feedback.
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2024 Year at a Glance
Dec 18, 2024The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) has achieved significant milestones in 2024, advancing our mission of supporting merchants in the payments industry through collaboration, advocacy, and education. MAG has demonstrated its dedication to fostering a supportive and informed payments ecosystem by hosting industry partners at our record-breaking events – including two international conferences and several regional meetups, increasing engagement with government stakeholders, and launching new payments-focused eLearning courses. Here’s a look at some of MAG’s most impactful achievements this year.
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Enhance Your Expertise with The MAG’s Latest Educational Offerings
Dec 17, 2024The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) is committed to providing valuable learning opportunities for the payments industry, and 2024 was a year full of exciting new on-demand educational offerings. In addition to four microlearning courses, we launched a full-length course specifically for senior leaders.
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Exploring Public Affairs in the Payments Industry
Dec 16, 2024Leslie Crisp joined the MAG staff in 2024 as the Director of Public Affairs. Josh Pynn, Senior Manager, Payments Content at the MAG, explores her journey to public affairs, her professional background, and what excites her about stepping into this role in the payments industry.
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International Recap 2024
Dec 11, 20242024 was an incredible year for the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG)! We broke new ground with our inaugural MAG Payments Summit – London 24 and in November, we concluded our largest-ever MAG Payments Summit – Singapore 24, showcasing remarkable progress and achievements across our global events.
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A Conversation with MAG Board Director Pam Stults
Dec 10, 2024Pam Stults was elected to the MAG Board of Directors in 2024. We spoke with her about her journey into the payments industry, what led her to engage with the MAG, and her path to becoming a Board member.
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AI in Payments: Enhancing Human Performance and Driving Progress
Dec 10, 2024At the MAG Payments Conference 2024, industry experts discussed AI's role in enhancing payments processes. Key takeaways include the importance of solid data foundations, human oversight in AI implementation, and continuous improvement in AI strategies. The speakers highlighted Justt's approach to AI-driven chargeback management, demonstrating how AI can improve operational efficiency and revenue recovery for merchants.
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2024 W3C TPAC Recap
Dec 5, 2024The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) held their annual conference, better known as TPAC, the week of September 23, 2024. This year also marked the 30th anniversary of the Consortium and the 35th anniversary of the Web itself. While W3C sets standards for all things Web, two of the groups most relevant to payments are the Web Payments Working Group (WPWG) and the Web Payments Security Interest Group (WPSIG). The focus of the WPWG is to make payments easier and more secure on the Web. The purpose of the WPSIG is to enhance the security and interoperability of various Web payments technologies by creating a forum for organizations to collaborate on identifying gaps between existing technical specifications and improve compatibility between technologies. Both groups held meetings during the conference, and in this article, I will touch on some of my takeaways.
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New Community of Practice (COP) – Fraud
Dec 4, 2024Earlier this year we launched a new Community of Practice (COP) focused on fraud. Now you may ask yourself, what does that mean? Fraud encompasses many variables and aspects of the payments industry, so our first step was answering this very question. In March, we sent a survey to our merchant members soliciting feedback on exactly what they wanted this COP to focus on. The overwhelming consensus identified compelling evidence and friendly fraud chargeback mitigation programs as the top priorities.
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My Journey in Payments and Membership at the Core
Dec 3, 2024My name is Jared, I am the Manager of Membership Growth and Engagement at the MAG. For those of you I did not meet in at MAG Payments Conference in Orlando, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as I continue to get acquainted with all of you. Like many people in the payments industry, my origin story was one of pure happenstance. I’ve heard some of the most captivating tales as to how others found their way into the payments space, so I figured it would be interesting to tell my story of how I got here, what I find particularly exciting about the MAG, and the road ahead.
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What’s All the Buzz with Faster Payments?
Nov 21, 2024In the last year, the Federal Reserve’s launch of faster payments has generated significant media coverage. Additionally, there has been notable activity in the retail space regarding faster payments. What is this all about and where might faster payments be headed in the future?
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MAG Payments Conference 24 – A Thriving Gathering of Industry Peers
Nov 12, 2024Thank 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.
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