MAG Insights

Mar 16, 2022, 14:04 by Erica M Forman

Spring brings payment card networks’ rules changes. Networks communicate these changes to the acquirers, who then inform their merchants. This chain of events must happen in a matter of three to four months before the next round of changes come in the fall. This year, the impacts are more unique as the networks have delayed a number of fee increases due to the pandemic and they will implement them in April. The financial implications to the merchant community will be significant.

Feb 25, 2022, 10:38 by Erica M Forman

The MAG held the 2022 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, GA, and virtually February 14-17. The successful event brought together merchants and industry partners, and speakers covered a range of timely payments topics.

Feb 10, 2022, 16:34 by Erica M Forman

Back in 2016, the International Standards Organization (ISO) announced a forthcoming change to the length of the Issuer Identification Number, also known as IIN or Bank Identification Number (BIN), due to the increasing number of card issuers in the market and the expectation that there would eventually be a shortage in the available supply of BINs. While the standard change had several impacts, the most prominent for merchants is that the existing fixed-length 6-digit BIN standard will be converted to 8-digits.

Feb 10, 2022, 16:33 by Erica M Forman

Merchants, and the industry overall, will experience significant challenges if there is not a solution to properly identify the BIN at the point of sale (POS). The PCI Security Standards Council recently updated their FAQ#1091 in January 2022 to allow visibility to the first eight digits of a PAN on 16-digit cards. The update to the FAQs is extremely tight with the April 2022 requirements.

Feb 2, 2022, 10:03 by Erica M Forman

The Merchant Advisory Group is excited to officially introduce Merchant Payments 202: Exploring Card Types and Products, an eLearning course designed to enable the learner to effectively analyze and manage the payment card products a merchant accepts. At the end of this course, learners will exhibit knowledge of how to optimize the card product mix to successfully achieve their organization’s payments, customer relationship, and expense goals.

Jan 31, 2022, 11:20 by Erica M Forman

Arguably the most exciting thing to happen in payments policy in 2021 was the Federal Reserve’s proposed rulemaking to clarify the debit routing provision of Regulation II to apply to all online transactions. Merchants have said for years that ALL debit transactions should have routing choice; however, they have faced many hurdles routing debit transactions in the ten years since the law was enacted.

Jan 13, 2022, 10:07 by Erica M Forman

Corporate treasury and payments teams are building agile and modern payments infrastructure to help grow their businesses and remain competitive. In the process, the future of shopping—and the way we think about payments—are becoming real time, contextual, data-driven, global and experiential.

Dec 30, 2021, 17:46 by Erica M Forman

Holidays bring joy to many – including sellers as ‘tis the season’ for sales – traditionally a LOT of sales. One always popular gift is gift cards. Who hasn’t bought or received one during the holiday season, or throughout the year for that matter, to recognize other celebratory occasions? While many have joy in receiving these gifts, shouldn’t we all share that joy by selling those gifts? Let’s hear more.

Dec 27, 2021, 07:54 by Erica M Forman

Rewind twelve months and some aspects of life and business look very similar to the end of 2020, while other aspects have changed. We hear the continued urge to wear a mask, get vaccinated, and be aware of in-person and indoor gatherings. The Covid-19 virus, and its variations, created what I call the “pandemic effect.”

Dec 22, 2021, 10:12 by Erica M Forman

Today, merchants are faced with a plethora of choices on not only how consumers pay but how to ensure the payment is valid. Developing a strategy will help you both prioritize initiatives and gain alignment within the organization. The end of the year is a great time to either revise or create a new payments strategy document.

Dec 20, 2021, 13:54 by Erica M Forman

The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) recently added a Digital Access Membership option for merchants with under $1B in revenue. This new opportunity gives more merchants access to MAG’s networking, education, live and recorded webinars, and best practice resources.

Dec 20, 2021, 13:53 by Erica M Forman

Plans are well underway for MAG’s upcoming 2022 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum that will take place February 14-17, 2022, in Atlanta, GA. We look forward to welcoming both Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum attendees back in-person at the Hyatt Regency.

Nov 30, 2021, 12:01 by Leah R Collins

Earlier this year, the MAG launched its first eLearning course, Merchants Payments 101. We will also release Merchants Payments 201: Managing Your Payments in 2021. Merchant Payments 201 is the first in a series of five 200-level courses that will dive deep into topics like card products, fraud and chargebacks, touchless payments, and debit routing.

Nov 15, 2021, 13:45 by Leah R Collins

Buy Now, Pay Later, or BNPL, is a service offered by providers that allows consumers to purchase goods or services and to pay them off over an extended period of time, the length of which can vary from a few weeks to much longer. A short-term loan, consumers typically can pay off their purchases interest-free and with relative ease. Third-party companies offer these ‘pay over time’ arrangements to consumers, and services can be directly integrated with merchants or not. Many of the providers claim that BNPL services extend a line of credit to consumers who may be hesitant or otherwise unable to make a purchase and, as a result of access to the credit, may ultimately spend more and more frequently with the retailer.

Nov 8, 2021, 15:22 by Leah R Collins

The Asia Pacific region is undergoing a payments transformation. MAG Asia-Pacific (APAC) Executive Director Yash Yadav shares her insight into what she believes are the top three challenges and tips for merchants on how to handle them.

Oct 19, 2021, 20:41 by Leah R Collins

Buy now, pay later' is transforming the dynamic between shoppers and merchants by empowering consumers to spend on their terms. Learn how the rapid growth of BNPL globally is driving four major trends in the US retail sector.

Oct 8, 2021, 13:02 by Leah R Collins

In 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.

Sep 16, 2021, 14:37 by Mary M Platz

You 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.

Sep 9, 2021, 12:29 by Mary M Platz

The 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.

Aug 19, 2021, 09:00 by Mary M Platz

As 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.