The Merchant Advisory Group

Name

The Merchant Advisory Group

Legal name

Merchant Advisory Group

Website

https://merchantadvisorygroup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Merchant Membership Dues: Merchants pay annual membership dues to join the MAG and gain access to educational resources, SIGs, Committees, Communities, networking opportunities, and industry advocacy.
2. Sponsor Fees: Payments industry vendors and providers pay sponsorship fees at various tiers (Tier 1 Elite, Tier 2 Premier, Tier 3 Select, Tier 4 Associate, Tech Forum) to gain brand visibility, access to merchant members, speaking opportunities, and advisory council participation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Merchant Advisory Group is a nonprofit, merchant-led membership organization that convenes over 200 of the world's largest merchants (representing more than $4.8 trillion in annual sales) for peer collaboration, education, and advocacy in the payments industry. It monetizes via annual merchant membership dues and multi-tier sponsor fees, delivering value through merchant-only Special Interest Groups, Committees, Communities of Practice, the PathLMS-powered MAG Learning Center, eLearning courses, best practice guides, and flagship U.S. and regional conferences (Singapore, London).

Product overview

The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) is a membership-based industry organization, not a software product company. It provides a portfolio of member services centered on collaboration, education, and advocacy in the payments industry. The core offerings include the MAG Learning Center (operated via PathLMS) for eLearning courses including Merchant Payments 101, Merchant Payments 200 Level courses (201-205), and Executive Overview; Best Practice Guides covering topics like debit routing and fraud prevention; annual conferences (MAG Payments Conference, Payments MAGnified) and regional summits (Singapore, London); Special Interest Groups (SIGs) organized by merchant vertical; Committees; Communities of Practice; the MAG Insights Newsletter; and Payments News subscription service. The organization also maintains external resources including KnowYourPayments.com and isMobileforYou.com. These services work together to provide merchants with education, peer networking, industry advocacy, and access to best practices in electronic payments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Merchant Membership Annual membership product for enterprise merchants that grants access to MAG's education, merchant-only Special Interest Groups, Committees, Communities of Practice, best practice guides, conferences, and industry advocacy.
• MAG Sponsorship Program
• MAG Learning Center
• Merchant Payments 101 (100 Level) eLearning Course Foundational five-module eLearning course (~6-9 hours) covering payments history, ecosystem overview, customer journey, cost of payments, and value of analysis, designed for individuals entering the merchant payments industry.
• Executive Overview of Electronic Payments in the U.S. Abbreviated four-section eLearning course (~45 minutes) for senior leaders that provides a high-level overview of the U.S. electronic payments ecosystem.
• Merchant Payments 200 Level Courses (201-205) Series of five à la carte online payments courses for skill-building in focused areas: Managing your Payments Program (201), Card Types and Products (202), Fraud and Chargebacks (203), Touchless Payments (204), and Debit Routing (205), which can be taken in any order.
• Best Practice Guides Member-only best practice guides covering Central Bank Digital Currency Development Principles, Payments Data Management, Interchange Downgrades, Petroleum AFD Fraud Prevention, Debit Routing, and COVID-19 best practices.
• MAG Payments Conference Flagship annual U.S. conference bringing together key payments ecosystem stakeholders, with educational sessions, merchant-only SIG roundtables, networking, and an exhibit hall showcasing payments technology.
• Payments MAGnified Mid-year conference featuring in-depth insights into payments industry challenges and opportunities for business and tech professionals, with customizable experiences tailored to different career stages and top-tier educational sessions.
• MAG Payments Summit - Singapore (APAC) Annual Asia-Pacific regional conference focused on payments innovation, collaboration, and education for merchants operating in the APAC region, hosted in Singapore.
• MAG Payments Summit - London (Europe) Flagship European Payments Summit bringing together merchants, payments providers, technology innovators, and industry experts to discuss trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of commerce, hosted in London.
• MAG Tech Forum Technology-focused track aligned with the MAG Payments Conference offering education and networking for payments IT professionals, connecting payments technology experts and leading providers to explore innovative applications of ecosystem advancements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ merchant members representing many industries including airlines, retail, restaurants, insurance, amusement parks, grocery, and software
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered tier 1 elite, tier 2 premier and operational.

• Fiservtier 1 eliteGTM or Marketing PartnerFiserv is a Tier 1 Elite Annual Sponsor of MAG. As a sponsor, Fiserv participates in MAG conferences, has advisory council representation, and gains visibility with MAG merchant members including access to speak at sessions and connect with leading merchants in the payments ecosystem.
• J.P. Morgantier 1 eliteGTM or Marketing PartnerJ.P. Morgan is a Tier 1 Elite Annual Sponsor of MAG. The firm participates in conference sessions, has advisory council representation, and provides thought leadership on payments topics to MAG merchant members.
• Mastercardtier 1 eliteGTM or Marketing PartnerMastercard is a Tier 1 Elite Annual Sponsor of MAG and participates in conference sessions, provides economic insights, and connects with merchant members through MAG events and sponsorship activities.
• PayPaltier 1 eliteGTM or Marketing PartnerPayPal is a Tier 1 Elite Annual Sponsor of MAG. The company participates in conference sessions and has advisory council representation to engage with MAG merchant members.
• Visa Acceptance Solutionstier 1 eliteGTM or Marketing PartnerVisa Acceptance Solutions is a Tier 1 Elite Annual Sponsor of MAG. The company participates in MAG conferences, provides educational content on Visa payment solutions, and engages with merchant members.
• Worldpaytier 1 eliteGTM or Marketing PartnerWorldpay is a Tier 1 Elite Annual Sponsor of MAG. As a payments technology provider, Worldpay connects with merchant members through conference participation and educational sessions.
• American Expresstier 2 premierGTM or Marketing PartnerAmerican Express is a Tier 2 Premier Annual Sponsor of MAG. The company sponsors networking events at MAG conferences and participates in conference programming.
• Stripetier 2 premierGTM or Marketing PartnerStripe is a Tier 2 Premier Annual Sponsor of MAG, participating in conference sessions and connecting with merchant members through MAG events and sponsorship activities.
• Global Paymentstier 2 premierGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal Payments is a Tier 2 Premier Annual Sponsor of MAG, participating in conference sessions and engaging with merchant members at MAG events.
• Blue Sky eLearn (Path LMS)operationalTechnology or IntegrationMAG Learning Center website is operated by Blue Sky eLearn using their Path LMS platform. This technology partnership enables MAG to deliver eLearning courses, webinar recordings, and conference session materials to members.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Merchant Risk Council: The Merchant Risk Council is a merchant-led membership organization focused on payments fraud, chargebacks, and eCommerce risk, hosting the annual MRC Conference. It is the closest functional peer to MAG: both are nonprofit, member-funded payments associations serving enterprise merchants with conferences, education, and working groups, and the two compete for sponsor attention from the same networks and processors (Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Adyen).
• PCI Security Standards Council: The PCI Security Standards Council is a member-funded industry organization that develops and maintains payment-card security standards used by merchants globally. Like MAG, it is nonprofit, member-driven, sponsors events/training, and counts major merchants and processors among its participants, making it a structural analog with overlapping sponsor audiences.
• U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC): The U.S. Faster Payments Council is a membership-based industry organization advancing faster payments adoption in the U.S. MAG staff participate in FPC, but FPC competes for sponsor mindshare on the same faster-payments/RTP topic area and offers similar working-group, educational programming, and conference models, making it a close comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• Electronic Transactions Association (ETA): ETA is the broader trade association representing the entire payments industry (merchants, networks, banks, processors, fintechs). It overlaps with MAG on payments advocacy, education, and conferences (TRANSACT), but its broader industry-wide remit places it as an incumbent counterpart rather than a direct merchant-only peer.
• Payments Innovation Alliance (from ETA): The Payments Innovation Alliance is ETA's multi-stakeholder payments community covering faster payments, B2B, fraud, and financial inclusion. While part of ETA, it competes with MAG for sponsors seeking merchant access and offers parallel educational programming on the same topics MAG covers in its Best Practice Guides and SIGs.
• Nacha (The Electronic Payments Association): Nacha is the rulemaking body for the ACH network and runs education, advocacy, and events (PaymentsMashathon, Smarter Faster Payments) for the ACH ecosystem. It is comparable to MAG as a member-funded payments industry organization, although its focus is on ACH/Open Banking rails rather than card payments, and its membership base skews toward financial institutions rather than merchants.
• The Clearing House Payments Company: The Clearing House operates the RTP network and is owned by major commercial banks. While not a membership organization in MAG's sense, it runs payments-industry education, advocacy, and working groups that overlap MAG's faster-payments and real-time-payments programming, and competes for sponsor visibility on the same speaking circuit.

Regional players

• ATM Industry Association (ATMIA): ATMIA is a global, member-supported trade association for the ATM industry. Like MAG it is nonprofit, runs conferences, and offers advocacy and education, but its focus is on cash access rather than card/merchant payments, making it an adjacent comparable for the membership association operating model rather than the core payments vertical.
• UK Finance (formerly APACS): UK Finance is the trade association for the U.K. banking and finance industry, with a payments agenda that overlaps MAG's European Payments Summit remit. Comparable as a member-funded payments industry association, but primarily serves a different geography and includes banks rather than merchants as core members.

Emerging players

• Smart Card Alliance / Identity & Payments Alliance: The Secure Technology Alliance (formerly Smart Card Alliance) is a nonprofit industry organization covering EMV, contactless, mobile, and identity credentials. It is a partial-overlap peer: similar nonprofit, member-funded, conference-driven operating model, with overlapping sponsor ecosystems on the contactless/payment technology side.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merchant-advisory-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Merchant Advisory Group