Working Groups

Engagement Working Groups

Join a Working Group

Working Groups bring together cross-functional teams to solve specific industry problems through focused collaboration. These temporary groups produce actionable results like reports, recommendations, or solutions, leveraging diverse expertise to address particular challenges before disbanding once their defined goals are successfully met.

 

Working Groups

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Debit Routing

Driving merchant choice in alternative debit routing and education of available options and obstacles to merchant routing choice.

Meeting Frequency: As Needed 

 

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Fraud

Collaborate on a series of informational and educational resources for merchants. Topics may span fraud trends, mitigation techniques and solutions, chargeback adjudication programs and more.

Meeting Frequency: Second Monday of each Month at 11am CT

 

Get involved in a Working Group

Interested in joining an active Working Group or have an idea for a new Working Group?

The following are required to form a new Working Group:

  • The issue has defined objective(s) that when achieved will signify the end of the Working Group.
  • Issue/opportunity impacts several merchants or is a relatively common problem shared by others.  
  • You are a merchant who is willing to help lead the effort and get others engaged.

Paused Working Groups

MAG merchants research the network and browser Token Autofill service to understand how it impacts merchants and cardholders in the areas of security, customer experience, and online payment processes.

Visit the   MAG Learning Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

Enable omni-channel commerce with supporting rules and relevant, modern, and effective tools for fraud mitigation. Identify holistic solutions to mitigate fraud in the ecommerce space, addressing all ways customers shop.

Visit the  MAG Learning Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

 

Retired Working Groups

Define merchant impact due to the 8-digit BIN expansion in 2022. Develop a checklist for merchants to use when evaluating the impact of 8-digit BINs to their payment systems.

Concluded on January 16, 2020. 

Find Merchant Readiness Guide Here

Evaluate the installment and split-pay markets well as identify the players and their various capabilities.

Find Merchant Reference Guide Here

Work with the networks and acquirers to clarify merchant requirements and timelines. Develop and publish best practices.

Concluded on February 25, 2020. 

Find Merchant Readiness Guide Here

Develop Best Practices for merchants as they attempt to solve for challenges in operating their brick and mortar businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concluded on August 19, 2020. 

Find Best Practices: Here

Examine existing and emerging companies, processes and methods relevant to the use of Blockchain technology in payments-related activities. Provide pertinent educational material for MAG membership and exchange ideas among MAG and other industry participants involved with the examinations.

Merged into Innovation Committee

Merchant members collaborate with the global networks to increase transparency in what qualification criteria is and merchants receive advanced notice to merchants when changes to qualification criteria are made. Also, merchant members engage with acquirers to get more meaningful data to assist merchants in reducing downgrades and integrity fees. This COP provides a discussion forum to review existing business intelligence/data analytics tools that can be used to pull transaction level data for better analysis on downgrades.

Concluded on January 6, 2021. 

Find Merchant Readiness Guide Here

Merchant members focus on their influence on EMVCo specifications and related market implementations.

Merged into Tech Ops Committee on August 18, 2022.

Visit the MAG Learning Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

Promote and drive merchant-focused use cases, have a voice in development of the eco-system, and document best practices and operational needs as the payments industry pursues faster payment options. 

Concluded on April 15, 2024. 

Visit the MAG Learning Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

Evaluate the QR Code specifications, models, and providers in the market and identify best practices for merchant acceptance and the customer experience. 

Concluded on April 4, 2022.

Find the Merchant Reference Guide here.

Create an educational guide for merchants interested in learning more about the network rules, regulations, and state laws surrounding surcharging, cash discounting, and convenience fees. 

Concluded September 5, 2023.

Find Merchant Reference Guide Here

Collaboration on techniques for conducting payments data analysis and pinpointing crucial and ever-changing payments KPI’s – including the evaluation of alternatives to standard data reporting.

Concluded October 6, 2021.

Visit the  MAG MAG Learning Center Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

Identifying, collaborating on, and affecting solutions to payments industry challenges for petroleum & convenience store merchant professionals.

Concluded July 19, 2021.

Visit the  MAG Learning Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

Determine the primary pain points and best practices for call center payments in light of the increased need to support remote payments.

Concluded March 5, 2021.

Visit the  MAG Learning Center to view COP resources. Member login required.

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Community HUB

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The Merchant Advisory Group

Driving positive change and innovation in the payments industry serving merchants' interests globally through collaboration, education, and advocacy.