2023 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum (2024)

Last updated on Friday, December 22, 2023. All times are in (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

Agenda Key

  • In Person

  • Virtual

  • Livestream

  • Rebroadcast

  • Merchant Only Session

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  • Tech Business

    Registration Hours

  • Tech Business

    Networking Reception - Hosted by PULSE, a Discover Company

    Sponsors

    2023 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum (1)

    Description

    Networking Reception

  • Tech Business

    Registration Hours

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall

    Tech Business

    Breakfast

    • Tech Business

      Exhibit Hall

    • Tech Business

      Breakfast

  • Tech

    Education Session - Redefining Payment Authentication in 2023

    Business

    Education (100): Introduction to Payments

    Business

    Education (200): Fraud and Tokenization

    • Tech

      Education Session - Redefining Payment Authentication in 2023

      Speakers

      Frank Mendicino, VP NuData Business Development, Mastercard

      Description

      There is no shortage of authentication methods to help secure payments. Your customers log in, they need a password. When they purchase an item, your customers get a text message to approve it. They might want a higher-ticket item that requires a code from an authentication app. All of which create friction in the customer transaction.

      Payment authentication is a requirement for nearly all of today’s transactions, but it can be frustrating for both the business and the customers. Balancing the business risk versus customer frustration can be difficult with many authentication solutions.

      During this session, Mastercard authentication expert Frank Mendocino will share insights into the following:

      • Covering the basics of active vs. passive authentication
      • Understanding the differences between biometrics and behavioral biometrics for authentication
      • Perspectives on best practice authentication without friction strategies
      • Looking at future authentication methods, including passwordless technologies
    • Business

      Education (100): Introduction to Payments

      Speakers

      Paul Larsen, Senior Director, Optimized Payments, LLC

      Alan Vickness, Vice President of Product and Delivery, Optimized Payments, LLC

      Description

      This engaging foundational session is designed for anyone seeking a role in the merchants' payments industry as well as anyone who has a stake in the acceptance of payments looking to brush up on their skills. Whether or not you have taken MAG’s Merchant Payments 101 eLearning course or not, this session is designed to give you a taste of the more in-depth content the course provides. This live Merchant Payments 101 session will discuss how payments affect the customer journey and will answer the following questions:

      • Who are all the players in payments and what do they do?
      • What is an authorization?
      • How does authorization affect the customer and the merchant?
      • What are clearing and settlement?
      • When do funds switch hands?
      • What happens if there is a dispute, or the customer wants a refund?
    • Business

      Education (200): Fraud and Tokenization

      Speakers

      Galit Michel, VP, Payments, Forter

      Jeff Hallenbeck, Head of Payment Partnerships, Forter

      Description

      Payment tokenization has certainly been one of the most talked about topics over the last year. Many questions remain about the various Token Autofill products that will replace a primary account number (PAN). One in particular is how merchants’ fraud engines will be able to risk-assess known and unknown customers if they are not receiving the consumer's full PAN.

      In this session, experts from Forter will cover the essential questions that merchants should be considering if you are using tokenization, including best practices for choosing a solution, benefits and limitations of network tokenization, and predictions for what the future of tokenization will look like (and how to stay ahead of the curve).

  • Tech Business

    Keynote Fireside Chat: How Acquirers and Merchants Build a Lasting Relationship

    Speakers

    John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group

    Robert Goldberg, Director of Finance, Universal Orlando

    Guy Harris, Head of Merchant Services, Bank of America

    Description

    Acquirers play a key role in the payments system by helping merchants create a seamless customer experience. As the payments industry continues to evolve, an ongoing relationship is critical for merchants to best understand the most important changes to prioritize. Guy Harris, Head of Merchant Services at Bank of America, John Drechny, MAG CEO, and Rob Goldberg,Director of Finance atUniversal Orlando,will discuss how all stakeholders cooperate and collaborate to create a better experience for our common customers.

  • Tech Business

    2023: The Year of Online Routing

    Speakers

    David Schneider, President, PULSE, a Discover Company

    Brian Dammeir, Global Head of Unified Commerce, Adyen

    Kothai Senthil, VP, Head of Payments, Albertsons Companies, Inc.

    Jacqueline Chilton, Global Payments Operations, McDonald's Corporation

    Josh Pynn, Senior Manager, Payments Content, Merchant Advisory Group

    Description

    The Federal Reserve’s Clarification of online debit routing made waves throughout the merchant community. With a flurry of activity rippling around the community astheenablement deadline of July 1 approaches,we arebringing together the experts to talk about whatthey aredoing to ensure merchants and their partners are prepared.

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

  • Tech

    Tech Forum Kick-Off: Synching Payment Data via the Cloud to Reduce Risk, Manage Costs, and the Enhanced Checkout Experience

    Speakers

    James McGeehan, Snowflake

    Brandy Wood, Vice President, Head of Client Experience Products, Fiserv

    Kothai Senthil, VP, Head of Payments, Albertsons Companies, Inc.

    Description

    Payments data is a foundational tool for merchants, underpinning modern technology that manages everything from fraud prevention and authorization engines to loyalty and customer engagement tools. Large enterprises with access to data spanning millions of card transactions grapple with providing adequate resources needed to extract maximum value from that data.

    To manage cumbersome data sets, many organizations invest resources to access, analyze, and utilize their payments data. But manual intervention is costly, inefficient, and can be all too time-consuming. To that end, cloud-based data sharing is revolutionizing how large enterprises can tap into the power of payment data. These new data-as-a-service (DaaS) capabilities allow businesses to have near-real-time access to their enterprise-wide transaction data, critical intelligence that can help businesses make informed decisions. DaaS allows businesses to sync transactions payments data across reporting and analytics provided by their acquirer, and within the business’ existing data warehouse. Synching via the cloud removes the need for enterprises to build ETL (extract, transform, load) integrations, reducing operational costs and removing the need for manual intervention. Doing so allows a business to access transactional data with speed and accuracy. It also empowers the business by providing rich insights that will help strengthen commerce models. With ready-to-query data, a business can also enhance consumer experiences by integrating real-time payments data into the checkout process. This can enable the business to use data intelligence to strengthen loyalty and rewards programs, improve decisioning for embedded financial services, and augment fraud mitigation.

    In this session, Fiserv, Albertsons Companies, Inc., and Snowflake will discuss how cloud-based data capabilities can reduce risk, optimize commerce, and enhance checkout experiences.

  • Tech Business

    Networking Lunch

  • Business

    The Rise of Online Bank Transfers in the US Payments Landscape

    Business

    Where in the World are Cross Border Payments?

    Business

    Payments Innovations from Argentina to Zambia

    Tech

    Deep Dive on Network Tokenization and PAR

    Tech

    Digital Payments: What Merchants Need to Know for Global Growth

    • Business

      The Rise of Online Bank Transfers in the US Payments Landscape

      Speakers

      Keith Olson, VP of Sales, ACH & Online Banking , Nuvei

      Description

      This session aims to introduce and explain trends around direct bank transfers as a method of payment, which enables consumers to buy products and services from merchants. Why this topic now? The recent rise in real-time payments, coupled with the FedNow launch coming up in mid-2023, and an already established consumer preference for frictionless, speedy, mobile-enabled payments has caused the perfect environment for new forms of payments, such as Online Bank Transfers, to flourish. The session will evaluate this rising trend and outline the challenges and opportunities merchants can expect to face when offering this payment method to their customers.

    • Business

      Where in the World are Cross Border Payments?

      Speakers

      Tim Diggs, Pan-American Life Insurance Group

      Daniel Carter, Senior Director & Head of Global Payment Strategy, Redbridge Debt & Treasury Advisory

      Description

      Accepting international transactions is an integral part of the payments value chain; in fact, it is a link in the chain that many merchants can extract significant additional value from. In today’s global economy, multinational corporations must position themselves not only as brands that transcend borders, but also resilient payments innovators. This often means building a customer journey that leads to a frictionless buying experience, whether that be through translated websites, currency options, local payment methods, provider harmonization, and proper messaging.

    • Business

      Payments Innovations from Argentina to Zambia

      Speakers

      Adrielle Andrade, Business Development Manager, dLocal

      Juan Cambon, VP Customer Success, dLocal

      Description

      Over the last two years, payments, fraud, and regulations in emerging markets have drastically changed. The challenges. The infrastructure. The regulations. Brazil introduced the instant payments system PIX, with the world's fastest adoption rate. India updated regulations on recurring payments, hitting the SaaS in an unprecedented way. The payments infrastructure in emerging markets is changing and evolving – and it won’t stop. This panel is a key step in understanding current payments innovations from wallets in Asia, mobile money in Africa, and instant payment systems in Latin America. Dive into how localization affects your checkout, fraud prevention, and, therefore, conversion rates.

    • Tech

      Deep Dive on Network Tokenization and PAR

      Speakers

      Mark Ericksen, Specialist Leader, Payments, Deloitte Consulting LLC

      Description

      200 Level** - Network Tokenization and Payment Account Reference (PAR) are the new kids on the block for protecting PAN data, but what are they exactly? Do they have limitations? How can PAR be leveraged? These are a few of the many questions merchants should consider and answer in their designs ahead of an implementation. In this technical session, panelists will dig into these challenging topics to prepare you for your tokenization and PAR journey.

    • Tech

      Digital Payments: What Merchants Need to Know for Global Growth

      Speakers

      Jean Kany, VP Retail & Commerce BU, CITCON

      Description

      100 Level** - Digital payments methods are replacing cash, checks, and credit cards. Having a variety of payment options to serve a wider demographic of customers is essential to the success of any merchant looking to expand their customer base. Panelists will discuss important considerations as digital payments methods evolve.

  • Business

    Unleash the Power of Pay: The Benefits of an Open Commerce Platform

    Business

    Optimizing Fraud and Risk Management Operations to Drive Growth

    Tech

    2023: The Year for Open Banking Payments in North America?

    Tech

    Payment Orchestration

    • Business

      Wyoming Stable Token for Zero Cost Payments

      Speakers

      Randy Gibbons, Sr Manager Payment Strategy & Risk, Southwest Airlines

      Scott Moeller, Organizer, American CryptoFed DAO

      Senator Chris Rothfuss, Co-Chair, Wyoming Legislative Select Committee for Blockchain

      Representative Jared Olsen, Co-Chair, Wyoming Legislative Select Committee for Blockchain

      Description

      The Wyoming Legislature is discussing a bill called the “Wyoming Stable Token Act” which will enable the State of Wyoming to issue “a virtual currency representative of and redeemable for one (1) United States dollar.” Senator Chris Rothfuss and Representative Jared Olsen, co-chairs of the Wyoming Legislature Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology, and Digital Innovation Technology, will provide an introduction on the Wyoming Stable Token Act and answer questions from participants.

      American CryptoFed’s mission is to create a two-token monetary system with zero inflation, zero deflation, zero transaction costs, and maximum employment. In this session, learn how The American CryptoFed Blockchain, which will be an open and free, public utility platform, can be one of the blockchains for the Wyoming Stable Token to provide merchants with zero cost payments services.

    • Business

      Unleash the Power of Pay: The Benefits of an Open Commerce Platform

      Speakers

      Liesl Smith, SVP, Marketing & Sales Enablement, FreedomPay

      Description

      Globally, merchants and their customers are demanding greater control, convenience, and flexibility in their payments processes. Non-traditional, complex digital payments types are rising in popularity, including account-to-account (A2A) and business-to-business (B2B) transfers, splitting costs with Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), the use of super-apps, request to pay, and cross-border transactions. To meet customer expectations of in-store, mobile, or online checkouts, merchants are upgrading from their siloed, legacy payments platforms to innovative, fully integrated, agnostic solutions that support global commerce.

      Speed, customization, and convenience are top of mind for today’s consumers, with commerce’s shift online during the pandemic continuing into 2023. As such, both brick-and-mortar and eCommerce businesses can benefit from adopting non-traditional, frictionless, and innovative methods of engaging with customers. Open-loop technology gives consumers the flexibility to pay as they choose across many verticals including hospitality, retail, F&B, gaming, healthcare, and education, to name a few. It enables payment methods such as contactless debit and credit cards as well as emerging technologies. These include Apple Pay, Google Pay, Retail kiosks which use AI and cameras to detect items, QR codes for ordering and payment at F&B establishments, and personalized in-app reservation management including room key generation and booking services. Panelists will share how adopting agnostic, fully integrated, open-loop platforms empower merchants to manage their own strategy.

    • Business

      Optimizing Fraud and Risk Management Operations to Drive Growth

      Speakers

      Eyal Raab, VP of Sales, Riskified

      Steve Eastham, Director of Technology, At Home

      Description

      According to a report by Juniper Research, retail merchants are set to lose $130 billion in digital fraud between 2018 and 2023. This staggering number emphasizes how important it is for customer service and payments teams to address fraud. In this session, the audience will learn the tactics and strategies that merchants can implement to ensure that the correlation between fraud management and company growth is recognized across the organization.

    • Tech

      2023: The Year for Open Banking Payments in North America?

      Speakers

      Vinay Nilakantan, Vice President Product - Platforms and Embedded Finance, Adyen

      Description

      2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the open banking landscape in the United States and Canada, with a range of regulatory changes and new payment technologies set to shake up the industry. In this session, we will explore the current state of open banking in these countries, including the typical friction points that businesses may encounter when accepting ACH/EFT payments in a B2C context. We will also delve into the evolving ways that businesses can accept bank payments, both for B2B and B2C transactions. Finally, we will discuss the potential role of a digital wallet and the impact of initiatives such as FedNow and RTP on the future of open banking and bank payments. Join us to stay up-to-date on the latest developments and strategies for navigating this complex landscape as it undergoes significant changes in the coming year.

    • Tech

      Payment Orchestration

      Speakers

      Todd Wade, VP, New Solutions, Visa

      Steve Cole, Director, Tech Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

      Description

      The growth in card-not-present commerce, cross-border transactions and evolving payment experiences is raising the bar for better use of data insights, machine learning and AI, and services orchestration to achieve better outcomes. Join this session with Visa to think again about payment orchestration and trends in the ecosystem.

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

  • Tech

    How to Gain Access and Leverage First Party Data

    Tech

    3DS Myth Busting: Challenge What You Think You Know About Optimizing Conversions

    Business

    Are You Ready for the Post-Pandemic Wave of Asian Travelers?

    Business

    A/B Testing to Analyze Conversion and Overall Impact

    Business

    Evolving Your Subscription Payments Journey

    • Tech

      How to Gain Access and Leverage First Party Data

      Speakers

      Tim Dardis, VP of Business Development and Strategy, Alviere

      Description

      100 Level - In this session, we will talk about the ways embedded finance gives brands the ability to offer financial services to their customers which in turn gives them access to first-party spend data. We will also talk about how to use that data to increase CLV and monetize that data.

    • Tech

      3DS Myth Busting: Challenge What You Think You Know About Optimizing Conversions

      Speakers

      Galit Michel, VP, Payments, Forter

      Description

      200 Level - Fraud prevention has changed dramatically in recent years — and former truths are increasingly becoming outdated myths. In this “Myth Busting" session, we're busting the myth that ‘3DS is a conversion killer.’ When you learn how to leverage 3DS smartly, you can drive a huge amount of value and revenue for your business.

    • Business

      Are You Ready for the Post-Pandemic Wave of Asian Travelers?

      Speakers

      Mikaho Hara, Vice President / Marketing, JCB International Credit Card Co., Ltd.

      Eric Liebman, Sr Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, JCB Credit Card (Japan)

      Description

      In 2019, the United States welcomed more than 12 million travelers from Asia, ranking in the top five inbound markets. While the pandemic essentially shut down travel from Asia, we are now seeing the resurgence of travelers from the Asia-Pacific region in record numbers. The United States remains one of the top travel destinations for these affluent visitors. They collectively spend billions of dollars every year on everything from airlines, hotels, and rental cars to retail, gas stations, restaurants, and more. With this wave of inbound tourism upon us, is your business ready to welcome them? Join our session to hear about the impact on your industry or business, learn the buying behaviors of Asia travelers, and get a how-to guide on how to make them feel welcome in your business.

    • Business

      A/B Testing to Analyze Conversion and Overall Impact

      Speakers

      Tiffany Raymond, Head of Global Customer Advocacy, PayPal

      Description

      For a merchant to modernize and expand their payments offerings, a key part of this process should include measurement to access the effectiveness of their new capabilities. As businesses remain on high alert for an impending recession, being able to prove the value of every decision is non-negotiable.

      Recognizing the impact every basis point in conversion could have on their business, search website Spokeo engaged with PayPal to go beyond credit card acceptance and add the PayPal button to payments offerings. As part of the implementation, the two companies conducted controlled A/B testing and found a staggering spike in conversion rates of 20 percent within the first week.

      Join this session as PayPal speaker walks you through their payments evolution, exploring what worked and what didn’t, including details on:

      • Integrating a new payment method
      • Assessing customer demand to influence alternative payment methods
      • Controlled A/B testing to analyze conversion and overall impact
      • The role of data science to predict potential outcomes.
    • Business

      Evolving Your Subscription Payments Journey

      Speakers

      Melanie Stout, Head of Recurring Services, Optimized Payments, LLC

      Kenny Ebanyat, Director, Head of Payments Direct To Consumer, NBA

      Jane Frazier, Sr. Director of Payment Acceptance, Charter Communications (Spectrum)

      Description

      Pandemics, recessions, and ever-changing card brand regulations are impacting subscription merchants more than ever. Global events have impacted how consumers pay the economy has impacted how much consumers can afford, and card brand changes have thrown traditional recovery strategies out the window. Using real-life data across multiple recurring verticals, session panelists will review what merchants can do to crush involuntary churn and build a successful recurring payments strategy and hear directly from one of the world’s leading subscription billers.

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

  • Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Recurring Billing/Subscriptions

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Petroleum/Convenience Store

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Recurring Billing/Subscriptions

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Petroleum/Convenience Store

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

  • Tech Business

    Networking Reception Hosted by MAG

  • Tech Business

    Registration Hours

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall

    Tech Business

    Breakfast

    • Tech Business

      Exhibit Hall

    • Tech Business

      Breakfast

  • Tech Business

    International Panel

    Tech

    Merchant Only SIG: Tech Forum Business/Tech

    • Tech Business

      International Panel

      Panel

      Kirkland Morris, Vice President, Enterprise Initiatives & External Affairs, Interac Corp.

      Anusha Ramanujam, Head of Payment Partnerships & Product Enablement, Square

      Howard Sysler, Executive Vice President, Global Sales - Multinational Commerce, Global Payments Inc.

      Martha Southall, Global Market Insights Manager, CMSPI

      Jeff Gallo, Director, Global Merchant Services, IHG Hotels & Resorts

      Description

      Payments innovation is happening around the globe. Whether it is real-time payments in India or evolving wallets in Asia, it is beneficial to understand how payments are changing. Besides just new entrants into the market, we also see international regulators weighing in on everything from customer identification to least cost routing. Our panel will give you a quick around-the-world look at payments and what activity in other markets might mean for the United States.

    • Tech

      Merchant Only SIG: Tech Forum Business/Tech

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

    Sponsors

    2023 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum (2)

    Description

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

  • Tech Business

    Women in Payments

    Speakers

    Sophie Rainford, Vice President Industry Engagement, American Express

    Beth Costa, Partner, Oliver Wyman

    Anusha Ramanujam, Head of Payment Partnerships & Product Enablement, Square

    Kevin Halliburton, Vice President, Enterprise Compliance, Global Payments

    Description

    Back by popular demand! How do organizations enable an environment in 2023 to enhance diversity, overcome barriers, and drive towards a more balanced and equitable workforce in payments? Kevin Halliburton from Heartland moderates a panel of diverse women from across the payments ecosystem. Learn about their journeys - where connections, relationships, and experiences have guided them through triumphs, challenges, and transitions bringing them to where they are today. Hear directly from these leaders on advice, lessons learned, and insight into the steps they took along the way to navigate their careers across the field of payments – touching on topics including building the next generation of payments leaders, the gift of feedback (how to give and receive), and staying hungry for change in this ever-changing landscape. This is a don’t-miss session!

  • Tech Business

    Regulating Payments: A Conversation with Key Government Stakeholders

    Panel

    Christina Brown, Anticompetitive Practices Division, Bureau of Competition Federal Trade Commission

    Tim Boike, Vice President of Industry Engagement The Federal Reserve

    Owen Glist, Attorney Constantine & Cannon

    Beth Provenzano, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Events, Merchant Advisory Group

    Amy Zirkle, Senior Program Manager, Payments and Deposits Markets at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

    Description

    Panelists will discuss their organization’s role in payments, how they interact with industry stakeholders, the issues they are following most closely, and why your engagement is critical.

  • Business

    The 7 Simple Truths of Real-Time Payments

    Tech

    From Legacy Processing to a Unified Back-Office Platform, an Optimization Journey

    Tech

    The Evolution of Fraud Inside and Outside of Payments

    • Business

      The 7 Simple Truths of Real-Time Payments

      Speakers

      Bryan Croteau, Executive Consultant, ACI Worldwide

      Description

      The world is moving away from cards toward real-time payments, and the United States is not far behind. By 2026, real-time payments are set to be at the heart of the new global payments landscape, accounting for a significant percentage of electronic payments globally. Will you be ready to take advantage of everything that real-time payments for merchants has to offer? Imagine NO interchange fees, chargebacks, or limits on transaction value along with the benefits of instant settlement and liquidity. For merchants that offer ACH payment options to consumers, imagine no more NSF risk or guaranteed funds expenses. In addition, all fraud exposure is shouldered by the banks. So, what can you do now and how can you prepare to take advantage of real-time payments? This session will cover all you need to know to plan your real-time payments strategy.

    • Tech

      From Legacy Processing to a Unified Back-Office Platform, an Optimization Journey

      Speakers

      Swapnil Mengawade, Founder, Optimus FinTech

      Description

      Level 100 - Retailers are stuck stitching together fragmented data sources to reconcile payments across order-to-cash. Finance and back office teams don’t get the tools and visibility they need and are often left behind managing manual, error-prone workflows that create growth bottlenecks. Companies deserve real-time financial clarity and control to manage their business with confidence.

      During this session, Optimus Fintech founder Swapnil Mengawade will share insights into how organizations can leverage Cloud-based unified Back-office Platforms to aggregate, monitor, reconcile, and account for payments data across the entire lifecycle of money movement.

    • Tech

      The Evolution of Fraud Inside and Outside of Payments

      Speakers

      Casey Zenner, VP - Global Sales, Kount

      Scott Adams, CEO/Founder, CNPMentors.com

      Description

      200 Level - Fraud is constantly changing, and new tactics emerge every day. But no matter what the strategy is or how fraudsters are attempting to cheat the system, the outcome is always the same: your revenue is in jeopardy. The secret to staying one step ahead is data. If you have access to the right data elements and can leverage them in the correct way, you can gain the upper hand. This session pulls back the curtain on data-driven decisions and how they can benefit your business — no matter which fraud risks come your way.

  • Tech Business

    Networking Lunch

  • Business

    Future-Proof Your Payments Strategy with Device and Behavioral Intelligence

    Business

    What Does a Fraud Detection Solution Look Like in 2023?

    Business

    Open for B2B Business; Two Truths and a Lie to Prepare for Expansion in B2B

    Tech

    Building and Migrating to Modern Systems While Maintaining Legacy Systems

    Tech

    Reducing Friction in Ecommerce Transactions

    • Business

      Future-Proof Your Payments Strategy with Device and Behavioral Intelligence

      Speakers

      Hal Granoff, Head of US Market Development, Callsign

      Description

      Like a fingerprint, no two mobile or web devices are exactly the same – and a unique profile can be created for each one. Similarly, human behaviors can also create unique data points that help establish individual profiles. All this data can be collected and analyzed to help process payments in a private, secure, and effective manner. So why aren’t more merchants leveraging this technology? With browser companies increasingly stepping away from the use of third-party cookies – merchants might have to look more to devices and behavior for accurate data signals.

    • Business

      What Does a Fraud Detection Solution Look Like in 2023?

      Speakers

      Jamie George, Head of Account Management, Ravelin

      John Dobson, Senior Product Manager: Merchant Fraud and Security, Elavon

      Description

      Elavon is one of the leading payments companies in the United States. In 2022, they decided to revamp their fraud offering for their customers large and small. But what did the market want? John Dobson of Elavon, in a conversation with Jamie George of Ravelin, will take us through the findings from their extensive research into the U.S. market and what the findings told them about what the modern merchant wants.

    • Business

      Open for B2B Business; Two Truths and a Lie to Prepare for Expansion in B2B

      Speakers

      Dina Vardouniotis, Founder and Principal, Payments + Partnerships Inc.

      Jennifer Tramontana, President, The Fletcher Group

      Allen Bonde, Chief Marketing Officer, TreviPay

      Description

      By 2026, B2B eCommerce will hit $18 Trillion, showcasing that digitalization is well underway as leaders are moving their transformation efforts and omnichannel strategies ahead significantly faster than they previously thought possible. But when we talk about improving B2B payments, it is important to understand that credit cards won’t cut it. Today’s business buyers, shaped by their experiences with B2C, want the option to purchase online and the process to be fast and convenient. In this presentation, we will envisage the B2B payments network of the future and how it will create an experience as frictionless as a credit card purchase. It stands to change B2B forever.

    • Tech

      Building and Migrating to Modern Systems While Maintaining Legacy Systems

      Speakers

      George Leedle, Vice President of Digital Payments Technology, Discover Financial Services

      Scott Raible, VP Application Development, Discover Financial Services

      Description

      200 Level - Like changing the proverbial aircraft engine while in flight, building and migrating to modern payments systems while maintaining the existing systems pose unique challenges. Do you build and migrate incrementally or is a ‘big bang’ approach the way to go? Can it all be done in-house or are there some things better done by external resources? How do you ensure the business and technology groups stay aligned on goals and priorities? Attend this session to hear perspectives on these questions and more to learn lessons that can help in your journey to deploy a modern payments solution.

    • Tech

      Reducing Friction in Ecommerce Transactions

      Speakers

      Elisa Ahern, Lead Field Data Scientist, Ekata, a Mastercard Company

      Frank Mendicino, VP NuData Business Development, Mastercard

      Description

      100 Level - Slowing down any eCommerce experience can lead to lost revenue, lower customer conversions, and decreased reputation. Yet, merchants need to balance their needs for growth and revenue against the reality that cybercrime is expected to rise globally to US$10.5 trillion by 2025. During this session, attendees will learn how they can come to a better balance with improved checkout experiences while adding the right level of friction to the experience, as well as:

      • Understand today’s growing friction trends and challenges
      • Use both consumer and merchant perspectives to make better customer experience decisions
      • Discover best practices for minimizing friction without increasing fraud
      • Balance fraud prevention and customer experience
  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

    Sponsors

    2023 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum (3)

    Description

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

  • Tech Business

    “CALLING ALL SPONSORS (ONLY)”: How to get the most out of your MAG Sponsorship…and more!

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only: SIGs and Snacks

    • Tech Business

      “CALLING ALL SPONSORS (ONLY)”: How to get the most out of your MAG Sponsorship…and more!

      Speakers

      Kristi Simonett, Director, Membership Engagement and Sponsorship Programs, Merchant Advisory Group

      Description

      The MAG is offering a new Sponsor-Only session to discuss the value of being a MAG Sponsor, provide ways to get the most out of your sponsorship, and network with your fellow MAG sponsors. We’ll also have a Q&A session to learn what is most important to you, our sponsors.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only: SIGs and Snacks

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! SIGs are by far the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference – and we have heard you loud and clear that you want MORE! We are breaking down the walls in this first-of-its-kind networking session where merchants will have an opportunity to sit in small groups of no more than eight for an open and honest chat with your peers about the latest going on in payments to collaborate and problem-solve together.

  • Tech Business

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

    Sponsors

    2023 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum (4)

    Description

    Exhibit Hall and Networking Break

  • Tech Business

    Alternative Payment Panel

    Panel

    Tim Boike, Vice President of Industry Engagement, The Federal Reserve

    Greg Worch, Global Head of Revenue, CellPoint Digital

    Nitin Prabhu, Vice President, Merchant Experience and Payment Solutions, PayPal

    Chris Storbeck, Vice President, Business Development and Tech Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

    Tom Carter, Head of Business Development, Citizens Pay

    Description

    Alternative ways to pay continue to be introduced to the payments ecosystem. Whether they are using existing rails like ACH or new alternatives like blockchain, merchants need to understand how these payments work and what the consumer demand is for them. We have assembled a group of experts to examine the most popular ones in the market and the benefits of considering them in your payments mix.

  • Tech Business

    EMVCo, FIDO, and W3C: Specifications Working Together for Safer Payments

    Speakers

    Brian Byrne, Director of Engagement and Operations, EMVCO

    Steve Cole, Director of Technology Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

    Ian Jacobs, Head of Payments, W3C

    Christina Hulka, Executive Director & COO, FIDO Alliance

    Description

    One way the payments landscape is continually changing is through the introduction of new or updated specifications. In some cases, specifications can be used in combination to create solutions that would be otherwise difficult for any one entity to develop alone. Come listen to our panelists from EMVCo, FIDO, and W3C to learn how they are working together to create a safer online payments experience.

  • Tech Business

    General Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum Closing

  • Tech Business

    Networking Reception Hosted by MAG

  • Tech Business

    Registration Hours

  • Tech Business

    Breakfast

  • Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Recurring Billing/Subscriptions

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Petroleum/Convenience Store

    Tech Business

    Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Mass Merchant

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Recurring Billing/Subscriptions

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: eCommerce

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Petroleum/Convenience Store

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

    • Tech Business

      Merchant Only SIG: Small Ticket/Restaurant

      Description

      The ultimate networking session! Come join the most highly rated sessions of a MAG conference - these merchant-only discussion groups - led by merchant leaders - give you an opportunity in a no-pressure environment for an open and honest chat with your peers about what keeps you up at night.

  • Tech Business

    Networking Break

  • Tech Business

    State of the MAG

    Speakers

    Kathy Hanna, Vice President Payments Acceptance and Services, The Kroger Co., and MAG Chair

    John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group

    Kelly Andrus, Director, Collaboration, Merchant Advisory Group

    Bryan Penny, Vice President, Collaboration and Education, Merchant Advisory Group

    Beth Provenzano, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Merchant Advisory Group

    Chris Storbeck, Vice President, Business Development and Tech Engagement, Merchant Advisory Group

    Description

    Come hear Kathy Hanna, MAG Chair, talk with MAG leadership on how the MAG is focused on being the voice of the merchant. MAG leadership will speak to the key ways the MAG helps to collaborate, advocate, and educate its membership. The group will also cover the health of the MAG and more ways members can get involved.

  • Tech Business

    LIVE! Merchant Benchmarking

    Speakers

    Erika Curtis, Delivery Lead, W. Capra Consulting Group

    Description

    W. Capra will lead this very interactive session where we request only one person who represents their company to respond to live polling on popular benchmarking key performance indicators (KPIs) including authorization and approvals, fraud and chargebacks, tender share, channel share, and much more. So, grab a coffee, a seat near your co-workers, and settle in for this fun and interactive activity. Following the conference, a summary report will be published and shared with all merchants with the outcomes of the polling questions.

  • Tech Business

    Merchants Unleashed: Creating Competition

    Speakers

    Joe Vasterling, Director, Payment Acceptance, Gift Cards, and BNPL, Best Buy

    Kathy Hanna, Vice President Payments Acceptance and Services, The Kroger Co.

    Brenden S. Woodbury, Senior Manager Payments Policy, Amazon.com

    John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group

    Description

    One way to have more control of your payments environment is by creating a competitive payments ecosystem. This can be achieved in several ways including debit routing, multiple acquirers, alternative payments, and engagement with regulators. Hear from our panel of merchant experts on how they create a competitive landscape as well as the barriers which still prevent it.

  • Tech Business

    Break: Boxed Lunches

  • Tech Business

    Improving the Payments Landscape: Collaboration

    Speakers

    Kelly Andrus, Director, Collaboration, Merchant Advisory Group

    Nancy Morgan, Director, Financial Payment Acceptance, The Kroger Co.

    Jutin Staskiewicz, Director, Payments and Fraud Prevention, Restaurant Brands International

    Grant Olson, Director Payments Strategy and Assurance, ADT Security

    Eric Vescera, Director, Payments, Inspire Brands

    Description

    MAG’s mission is to drive positive change and innovation in the payments industry that serves merchants' interests – and one of the primary ways we do that is through collaboration with industry partners. Our objective in collaboration is to identify, prioritize, and execute strategies to improve payments operational challenges most relevant to MAG merchant members and drive the merchant voice through industry participation and enforce payment partners' accountability. In this roundtable discussion, MAG merchant members and staff will discuss how we are amplifying the merchants’ voice through collaboration efforts through payments industry stakeholder discussions and in current Communities of Practice. This is a can’t-miss session!

  • Tech Business

    Improving the Payments Landscape: Advocacy

    Speakers

    Beth Provenzano, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Merchant Advisory Group

    Doug Kantor, General Counsel, National Association of Convenience Stores

    Stephanie Martz, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, NRF

    Austen Jensen, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)

    Description

    There were many highlights in payments policy last year. Merchant trade association partners will discuss the policy accomplishments and election results of 2022. In addition, panelists will share their predictions of how the election results and advocacy efforts may shape the debate around payments issues in 2023.

2023 Mid-Year Conference and Tech Forum (2024)
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