MAG Insights

If payments feels harder to keep up with lately, you’re not imagining it. The pace has accelerated.

New capabilities arrive before old ones are fully operational. Fraud tactics evolve faster than fraud mitigations can respond. Global expansion introduces new layers of authentication, routing, and reporting. And the most consistent question we hear from members is simple: What’s coming next, and how do we plan for it?

That question is exactly why the MAG is planning and publishing content in a more intentional, connected way, so members have credible visibility into what we’re building, when to expect it, and how the pieces connect.

This article is that view: MAG’s Q1 2026 Payments Content Roadmap. It’s a quarterly look-ahead at what we’re planning to deliver across MAG’s education, advocacy, technology, and collaboration pillars, so you can anticipate what’s next and plan accordingly.

MAG’s Q1 2026 Payments Content Roadmap 

• AI Primer (Microlearning): To support members at every starting point, the MAG will release an AI primer microlearning developed through the lens of MAG’s education and technology pillars. Expect a fast, practical foundation.
• International Growth and Global Readiness: International expansion is not a single decision. It’s a series of payments decisions that either compound into growth or compound into friction. One cornerstone Q1 deliverable will be MAG’s first eLearning in this space: Smarter Orchestration for European Growth (developed with Gr4y). This course is designed to help merchant teams think more clearly about orchestration strategy in a European context, where authentication, issuer behavior, and regional norms can dramatically change outcomes.
• Chargeback/Risk Reference Guide and Compelling Evidence Guide:  Practical resources to support day-to-day execution and program navigation.

Webinars

• January 20: Pre- vs. Post-Auth Risk Decision — The Impact on Your Bottom Line — a practical session on where risk decisions happen and what that timing can mean financially.
• March 17: 5 Ways Merchants Are Increasing Profits by Hundreds of Millions — a results-oriented session focused on profit drivers merchants are using right now.

MAG Insights

Q1 also includes a strong set of articles and MAG Insights updates designed to keep members oriented on what’s changing and what’s coming.

• January
  • Leadership Lens: The Payments Content Roadmap — a leadership-level view of the Roadmap (you’re here!)
  • Advancing Payments: SIGs Reimagined — how SIGs will evolve in 2026 
  • MAG Insider: Payments MAGnified agenda preview — how the upcoming conference programming fits into the broader Payments Content Roadmap
• February
  • Leadership Lens: International perspective and educational content update — what the MAG plans to release in 2026 through an international lens
  • Policy Perspective: Debit update — discussing an amicus brief and related industry correspondence
  • MAG Insider: All About 2026 Webinars — what’s changing and what to expect
• March
  • Advancing Payments: Chargebacks — trends, implications, and what merchant teams should be watching
  • Payments Technology: Identity and Access Forum and mobile driver’s license — a look at a newer entity and the conversations emerging around identity, access, and credentials
  • MAG Insider: All About the Payments Summit — A preview into MAG Payment Summit-London 26 and what members can expect