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  • Leadership Lens

    Why 2027 Is the Year to Renew: What MAG Is Building for Merchants
    John Drechny

    Why 2027 Is the Year to Renew: What MAG Is Building for Merchants

    Oct 27, 2026

    As renewal notices land in your inbox, I will try to use this article to be direct with you about one question: what will MAG do for your business in the year ahead that you couldn’t do on your own? This year, I’ll walk through five things: how our growing membership is building a larger, more useful peer network; the new global membership option we’re launching for merchants with a global presence and for those operating outside the U.S.; where our AI work is heading as the rules for agentic commerce are being written; how we continue to put the merchant perspective in front of regulators and legislators; and the expanded slate of conferences, meet-ups, and education on the 2027 calendar. I’ll also highlight some of what we have delivered in 2026 that sets up this next chapter.

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  • International Perspective

    Connecting the Global Merchant Community: MAG Launches International Membership
    Paul Tunstall

    Connecting the Global Merchant Community: MAG Launches International Membership

    Oct 23, 2026

    The payments landscape is increasingly global, but merchants face challenges shaped by local markets, regulations, and customer expectations. For organisations operating across multiple geographies, navigating this complexity requires more than local expertise. It demands opportunities to learn from peers, share practical experiences, and strengthen the collective merchant voice. The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) is expanding its membership internationally, extending the benefits valued by U.S. members to payments teams across Europe and Asia-Pacific.

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  • MAG Insider

    Ready to start thinking about 2027?
    Erica Forman

    Ready to start thinking about 2027?

    Sep 30, 2026

    Can you believe we’re entering the last quarter of 2026? As you think about what you want to accomplish and what’s next in the year ahead, the MAG has plenty of opportunities for you along the way.

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  • Payments Technology

    Shaping the Merchant Voice in Agentic Commerce
    Steve Cole

    Shaping the Merchant Voice in Agentic Commerce

    Sep 24, 2026

    Agentic commerce is emerging as a significant evolution in how consumers discover, evaluate, and purchase products and services. As artificial intelligence (AI) agents increasingly take on tasks such as product research, price comparison, payment selection, and transaction execution, the payments ecosystem is entering a new phase, one in which merchants will need to play an active role in shaping the rules, standards, and economics of agent-driven transactions.

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  • Advancing Payments

    Special Interest Group (SIG) Sessions at MAG Payments Conference 26
    Kelly Andrus

    Special Interest Group (SIG) Sessions at MAG Payments Conference 26

    Sep 9, 2026

    What are other retailers seeing? What challenges are they facing? And perhaps most importantly, how are they addressing them? That’s what makes our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) such a valuable part of the MAG Payments Conference. They provide an opportunity for merchants to step away from the formal conference agenda and have open, peer-to-peer conversations about the issues that matter most.

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  • Policy Perspective

    Common Sense: Common Cents Act Advances in Both Chambers
    By Beth Provenzano

    Common Sense: Common Cents Act Advances in Both Chambers

    Aug 19, 2026

    The United States Senate approved S. 1525, the Common Cents Act, by Unanimous Consent just before adjourning for the August recess. Earlier this summer, the United States House of Representatives passed its version, H.R. 3074, by suspension of House rules. Both chambers used Congressional procedural motions to expedite passage of this non-controversial bill, which aims to make coin rounding easier for merchants and their customers in the wake of the penny’s retirement. Because the Senate version of the bill differs from the House version, the House will need to either vote on the Senate version or the bill will move to a Conference Committee to iron out the differences.

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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.