MAG Insights

Fall is around the corner, and there are ample opportunities for you to connect with the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) community, build your payments knowledge, and add your voice to important industry conversations. From Nashville to Singapore and online, there is plenty happening at the MAG.

Nashville is Almost Here

MAG Payments Conference 26 is less than a month away, and there’s still time to register. Join your payments peers September 27-30 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville. Online registration is open through September 21.

Whether you’re tackling fraud, evaluating emerging technology, looking to optimize your payments strategy, or simply want to hear how other merchants are approaching the same challenges you have, MAG Payments Conference 26 is the place to be. This conference offers four days of education, collaboration, and new connections. Secure your spot and make travel arrangements. Availability is diminishing fast.

Registration is Open for MAG Payments Summit – Singapore 26

After Nashville, the MAG heads to the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibit Centre on October 20-21 for MAG Payments Summit – Singapore 26, bringing together merchants, payments providers, fintech innovators, and industry leaders to explore the trends shaping commerce across APAC. Discussions will cover agentic commerce, fraud mitigation, cross-border complexity, customer experience, and more. Merchant attendance is complimentary, but registration is required. Learn more and secure your spot.

September and October Webinars

Continue building your payments knowledge and hear perspectives on the trends and issues affecting merchants and their customers with these webinars.

On September 8 at 8:00 a.m. CDT, MAG Europe presents 90 Days to Measurable Outcome: The Autonomous Payments Ops Playbook. Examine where autonomous payments operations can make an immediate difference, which use cases merchants should prioritize first, and what meaningful ROI looks like. Get a practical framework for deciding where to deploy agentic AI, what to expect from it, and how to prove its value before scaling.

On October 20 at Noon CDT, join us for The Resilient Shopper: How Working Americans Below 670 are Reshaping Retail Payments. Get a data-grounded view of the macroeconomic conditions reshaping the near- and below-prime household budget. Learn about the specific categories and price points where flexible payments influence the buy/no-buy decision.

New to Payments? Join Us October 14

Our first standalone, virtual Rising Payments Professionals (RPP) event is October 14 at 11 a.m. CDT, and registration is open to all MAG merchants and sponsors. Designed especially for professionals with five years or less of experience in payments, but open to anyone interested in learning and networking.

Through small group conversations, attendees will bust common myths about chargebacks and fraud, debit routing, and interchange. Additionally, BRING YOUR QUESTIONS! Seasoned professionals are ready to share their knowledge with you. Reserve your spot for this unique opportunity today.

Voice of the Merchant

What are payments teams prioritizing? Where are merchants finding value in AI? How are they approaching agentic commerce, alternative payments, and stablecoins? The 2026 Voice of the Merchant Study, jointly sponsored by the MAG and Oliver Wyman, examines these questions and explores how leading merchants are transforming their payments ecosystems to meet evolving customer expectations. The study incorporates insights from more than 40 enterprise merchants across retail, convenience, grocery, QSR, travel, and telecommunications, among others. Explore the 2026 Voice of the Merchant Study.

Where Else Will MAG Be?

MAG will share the merchant perspective at these industry events:

On September 3, MAG’s Senior Director, Tech Engagement, Steve Cole joins the panel, “The Future of Payments: Security, Identity and Intelligent Innovation” at Identity Week in Washington, D.C.

On September 9, Steve presents “Merchant Perspectives on E-commerce for Humans and AI Agents” at the W3C/GS1 Workshop on E-commerce for Humans and AI Agents.

MAG joins Worldpay’s Rethinking New York City event on September 15 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. EDT. This event brings industry professionals together to discuss the changing payments landscape.

MAG is partnering with Accrue for Balance 2026 in New York City on November 5. Balance is a gathering for the people building the infrastructure behind every transaction, reward, and customer decision.

The Global Merchant Voice is Getting Stronger

The MAG is preparing to take another important step in our mission to serve merchants globally by launching MAG membership in Europe and APAC.

Payments challenges increasingly span markets, technologies, and regulatory environments, making it more important than ever for merchants to learn from one another and speak with a collective voice. MAG membership gives merchants in Europe and APAC greater opportunities to engage through summits, regional meet-ups, and advisory groups, while providing access to resources such as best-practice guides, merchant readiness tools, webinars, and eLearning.

If you are a merchant in Europe or APAC and interested in MAG membership, reach out to Paul Tunstall to learn more.

Share Your Perspective on Faster Payments

The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), in collaboration with Volante Technologies, launched the 2026 Faster Payments Barometer Survey to gather industry perspectives on faster payments in the U.S. The survey helps measure market adoption, identify challenges that may be slowing broader adoption, and inform future FPC work streams and focus areas. Your perspective helps build a clearer picture of where the market stands today and what is needed to move faster payments forward. Participate in this important survey.

Stay Connected

From Nashville to Singapore and across the growing MAG global community, the months ahead offer plenty of ways to learn, connect, and contribute. Attend an event. Join a webinar. Share your perspective. Meet someone new. Every conversation helps strengthen the merchant voice. Together, we are driving positive change and innovation in payments. Follow the MAG on LinkedIn.