Past Articles
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The Magnetic Stripe Retirement Plan is Real!
Oct 8, 2021In the summer of 2020 I had suggested the major underperformer of magnetic stripe call it a day and retire. As more modern, relevant, and better performing technologies come to market, we need to embrace them and let go of the non-performers.
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Cryptocurrency, Stable Coin and Central Bank Digital Currency, Oh My
Sep 16, 2021You can’t open the news without reading a story on cryptocurrencies, but how will it affect the future of payments? While the environment is changing daily, I hope this article will give you an overview of the different types of digital currencies and how they may develop from a payments acceptance perspective.
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Stronger Together
Sep 9, 2021The MAG holds so many key purposes and opportunities for our members: education, advocacy, networking, collaboration, and the list goes on. All of these are important to ensure the merchant community understands the issues facing us in the industry as well as the implications behind industry changes that can otherwise seem benign.
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MAG Tech Forum Provides Unique Opportunity for Payments IT Professionals to Learn and Network
Aug 19, 2021As a new Director of Tech Engagement at MAG, I am excited to bring my learnings, knowledge and experience to our merchant members and sponsors. We will expand our Tech Forum offerings, digging deeper into best practices for infrastructure, product integration, security, vendor selection, and many other areas of payments technology. Expanding the scope of analysis and information, as well as finding more opportunities to engage with product development, will further merchants’ ability to evolve and adapt, and I look forward to our journey together.
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Here’s Why Account Takeover is Trending and What to Do About It
Aug 13, 2021Fraud losses continue to rise, and account takeover is leading the pack. As criminals become more sophisticated, so too must the methods you use to stop them.
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Becoming frenemies with delivery super apps
Aug 3, 2021COVID-19 has fundamentally changed our lives, in many ways permanently. One of the profound changes we are seeing is in the way consumers purchase goods and services: increasingly the store is delivered to the customer rather than the other way around.
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Mobile Payments Conference (MPC): The Digital Commerce Event
Aug 3, 2021Join MPC from August 17 - 19, 2021 to hear industry experts speak about the latest technology trends and share insights into the future for the digital commerce industry.
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Leveraging Merchant Payments 101 to standardize global payments education: A conversation with Brad Timbes, ExxonMobil
Jul 30, 2021Onboarding is important because it acclimates employees to their role, the company's philosophies, and what the company has to offer. It also engages employees, creating workers that are committed to the company's success and helps retain new hires by making them feel like a member of the team.
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The Importance of Analyzing and Assessing Data
Jul 21, 2021As merchants payments acceptance evolves, data collection and analysis is becoming more critical than ever. Join the MAG’s efforts to educate merchants on payments data through our newest Community of Practice.
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Retail Trends – What Will Last?
Jun 30, 2021Digital brings opportunities and challenges for retail. What are those trends and how will retail need to pivot or stay the course?
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Making a difference and leaving a legacy
Jun 21, 2021National Volunteer Week was April 18-24, which led me to reflect on the impact volunteers have made to our industry. While I wish I could cover everyone who has significantly contributed to the MAG and the industry, that would take a full novel. Maybe that could be my passion project once I retire; but for now, I will highlight a few people who have made a big difference in our industry.
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MAG Benefits – Taking a closer look at the MAG’s Learning Center.
Jun 10, 2021MAG Merchant Members and Sponsors join the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) for many different reasons. Payments education and resources, networking with industry peers, and staying on top of payments developments are among the top of the list for most. The value MAG provides in these areas is likely the reason MAG enjoys high membership and sponsorship retention year after year.
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Flexibility is the Name of the Game for the MAG 2021 Annual Conference and Tech Forum
Jun 4, 2021As the world takes steps to return to normal, the MAG is doing its part as well! We are offering our upcoming 2021 MAG Annual Conference and Tech Forum in multiple formats to reach as many payments professionals as possible and allow everyone to attend in the way that is most convenient for them.
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Why Microsoft Values the MAG
Jun 2, 2021Microsoft has invested in payments capabilities over the last decade to be able to meet our customers where they want to pay and optimize around the same. During that time, the world of payments has evolved and become much more intricate with an array of options with uncertain returns. Determining what to do and what not to do has become more art than science and we have leveraged the forums and connections made at the MAG to help us decipher how to maneuver in the payments sphere and how to capitalize on emerging and prevailing trends.
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The Payments Journey Starts with the Consumer
May 6, 2021The speed of change we are witnessing around the world has never been greater or more exciting. It is taking place in every region of the globe and in every industry—with the Asia Pacific region and payments being no exception. The many advances that are occurring on what seems a daily basis are delivering previously unthinkable flexibility and speed across all borders. At Discover® Global Network, we see the opportunities and recognize the challenges. We know the most important work we do is to strive to meet our customers’ needs and protect their security while ensuring seamless payment experiences throughout the world.
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How does payments policy fit into the 2021 agenda?
Apr 23, 2021I was on a conference call recently when I realized I have advocated on payments policy for retailers in various roles for a decade as of this April. Time flies when you’re having fun, right?
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Driving down the Merchant Priorities Road(map) in 2021
Apr 16, 2021Best Practices. You may have heard this term a lot lately. The MAG published four Best Practice Guides in 2020. The guides were organized by a group of merchants, whose mission was to pull together considerations, recommendations and best practices on specific topics. There were many worthy topics in 2020 to deeply examine and assess. These are great resources for merchants who hear buzz words all the time like “8-digit BIN” and “Debit Routing,” but don’t have the full grasp on what that means, or what they should be doing to react to it.
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The Digital Transformation of Payments: A Powerful Case for Omnichannel Commerce
Apr 14, 2021In a year that brought tremendous disruption to all walks of life, 2020 will also be seen as a turning point for merchants, particularly those who had already started down the path toward emerging payments technologies. These businesses gained a significant competitive head start, allowing them to quickly implement changes in support of dramatic consumer behavioral shifts. As online, curbside, and third-party delivery purchases dominated the shopping experience, those who were able to meet this consumer demand were best positioned to take advantage of the opportunities.
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Trip Down Memory Lane
Mar 23, 2021Does the U.S. payments industry learn from its experiences or will we experience a bit of Déjà vu? Many of you have tried to forget the good times of 2015 when the EMV liability shift was upon us. Some of you may still be in a state of disbelief that was now almost six years ago! What?!? However, U.S. market chip trends suggest only three quarters of POS/ATM transactions are chip-on-chip six years later. Wait, there is more?...
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The Evolving Alternative Payments Landscape
Mar 12, 2021The payments space has never been a static environment, and recently it has evolved even more rapidly with a hotbed of activity. Whether it is cryptocurrency, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) or faster payments, there are many new choices coming to market which merchants need to consider for their checkout experience.
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