Past Articles
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MAG Payments Summit, London 2024
Jul 22, 2024The Merchant Advisory Group's inaugural MAG Payments Summit-London 24, held on June 10-12, was an extraordinary event! Despite having no merchant or sponsor engagement until November 2023, the summit's success exceeded all expectations.
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The MAG’s Latest Microlearning Course, “Brand Release Essentials” Now Available
Jul 22, 2024The Merchant Advisory Group is excited to announce the launch of our latest microlearning course, "Brand Release Essentials," as part of our ongoing commitment to providing valuable learning opportunities in payments.
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Continued Discussion on the Debit Regulated Rate
Jul 10, 2024With the comment period coming to a close, there is a flurry of activity in Washington surrounding the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) proposal to reduce the regulated debit card fee cap. Introduced in November of 2023, this was the first proposed change to the regulated rate since it was introduced in 2011.
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Don’t worry about getting dirty….BE A SPONGE!
Jul 9, 2024Picture this: a lifelong hotelier who's worked in 12 different hotels, transitioned from food and beverage to finance, and somehow ended up in the world of payments. Well, that's me!
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What Makes the MAG Work
Jun 18, 2024You may have noticed over the last couple of years we have accelerated the way the MAG supports the merchant community. Most notably the addition of our tech community, online-learning education courses, and international expansion. Our mission of giving the merchants a voice in the payment system has improved many aspects within our industry. This is all possible because of the merchants who make the MAG a special place. As we look to the future, merchants’ participation will be the key to our continued growth and success. Let me give a couple of examples of how this has worked and led to our growth.
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ISO 20022: A New Era of Card Processing
Jun 12, 2024nexo standards enables fast, interoperable, borderless, and global card processing by using ISO 20022 to standardize the exchange of data between merchants, acquirers, payment service providers and other payment stakeholders. nexo’s specifications and messaging protocols are advanced through its member community, free to download, and globally implemented.
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EBT Chip Cards - Ready or Not, Here They Come and Retailers Should Beware!
Jun 12, 2024If you think EBT chip cards won’t be used in your store, you may want to keep reading! The first chipped EBT cards will come from the state of California, which also uses their cards to distribute cash benefits. The cash benefits can be used more broadly than the food benefits (SNAP) that come to mind when you hear EBT, so the issuance of chip cards may impact your systems, including ATMs, even if you are not a SNAP participating retailer.
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Why Matera Became a MAG Sponsor!
Jun 6, 2024Matera is a new Sponsor of the MAG joining, in 2024. Matera provides solutions such as QR code payments software to help accelerate the adoption of pay-by-bank. The MAG sat down with Carlos Netto, CEO/Co-Founder of Matera, to discuss how they decided to sponsor the Merchant Advisory Group.
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A look at the Biometrics Market
Jun 5, 2024The latest buzzword in payments seems to be “biometrics”. It isn’t a new term or a new concept, but it is growing in popularity and acceptance and there are a few factors that exist in the market that merchants should consider.
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MAG Payments Summit - London 24: Pioneering Payments Innovations in London
May 21, 2024The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) is thrilled to announce its inaugural European Payments Summit, set to take place from June 10-12 at Convene, 155 Bishopsgate, London. This landmark event underscores the MAG's commitment to driving positive change and innovation in the payments industry, serving merchants' interests through collaboration, education, and advocacy.
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Why We Joined the MAG
May 14, 2024Brownells is a new Merchant Member of the MAG joining us in 2024. Brownells, a global merchant in the sporting goods industry, recently joined the MAG in 2024 as a merchant member. We sat down with Krystle Lafountain, Brownells’ Payments & Fraud Strategy Manager to discuss how they decided to join the Merchant Advisory Group.
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Introducing Our New Microlearning Course: Adopting and Implementing Payment Account Reference (PAR)!
May 6, 2024The MAG is thrilled to announce the launch of our second on-demand microlearning course, "Adopting and Implementing Payment Account Reference (PAR)." This course is part of our commitment to providing timely and impactful learning opportunities in the ever-evolving landscape of payments technologies.
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The MAG’s International Expansion
Apr 22, 2024One of the key strategies for the MAG is to develop a comprehensive vision for expanding the MAG's presence in the APAC and European regions and build an international program that aligns with the MAG's mission. This includes leading efforts to engage local merchants within the payments system and fostering collaborative relationships with payment processors, technology providers, and regulatory bodies in these regions.
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Are You Taking Advantage of Your Member Benefits?
Apr 15, 2024The MAG offers a wide variety of benefits to its merchant members – from committees to conferences, advocacy, education, and more, and we want to ensure that you are maximizing your benefits to get the most out of your membership.
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New Educational Offerings!
Apr 8, 2024The MAG is excited to announce that our 200 Level eLearning Series is now FREE to All-Access Merchant Members, and T1 Sponsors! The Merchant Payments 200 Series includes five online payments courses designed for anyone seeking to increase individual skills. Each course focuses on a different topic including Managing a Payments Program, Card Types/Products, Fraud, Chargebacks, Touchless Payments, and Debit Routing.
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Regulation II Review: The Proposed Rate Reduction
Apr 4, 2024Regulation II, the Federal Reserve ruling that regulated debit card interchange in the U.S., has not seen an update since it was issued in 2011. In that time, there have been changes to not only payments technology, but also consumer preferences and shifting channels of commerce. Regulation II has a stipulation in which the Federal Reserve can reassess the debit rate cap and its applicability given issuer costs, and in late 2023 they proposed the first update to the regulated rate since its introduction. Their proposal is open for public comments until May 12, 2024.
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Decoding the QR Code
Apr 1, 2024The Quick Response Code, more commonly known as the QR Code, has become a familiar sight in our daily lives. QR Codes seem to be everywhere these days whether on restaurant tables, plastered to light poles, or at the exhibit booths of your favorite payments conference. How did this come to be? Let’s take a closer look at what QR Codes are, how they work, and why payments professionals should care about them.
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New Age of Customer Interaction
Mar 25, 2024In 2023, EMVCo defined the introduction of minimum acceptable criteria and a supporting approval process for TaptoMobile acceptance devices. These changes have allowed solution providers, the networks and processors to -venture into this new TaptoMobile space.
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MAG’s First Payments MAGnified is in the Books!
Mar 21, 2024Thank you to the record-setting number of attendees who joined us at our first-ever Payments MAGnified at the Hyatt Regency Dallas!
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Growing the Merchant’s Voice Globally
Mar 18, 2024Over the last several years, the MAG has expanded the merchant's voice in the industry through many avenues. In 2019, we added the Tech Forum to include professionals who are responsible for the programming of payments to join our discussions. In 2020, we started engaging with merchants in the APAC area to help understand their needs for a voice in the payment system. In 2021, we launched our Merchant Payments 101, followed by our 200 level courses as well as a Technical course. In 2022, we held our first international summit in Singapore.
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