MAC Annual Conference

Name

MAC Annual Conference

Legal name

Association of Payment Professionals

Website

https://macmemberevent.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Industry Professional Events and Education

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Educational Services (611), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conference & Trade Show Registration Platforms (THAHAFAB), Certification & Exam Prep Course Marketplaces (EDAFAIAJ), Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Payment risk management
• Fraud prevention education
• Payment industry conferences
• Compliance training events
• Merchant underwriting education

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Organization-funded membership providing access to connections and resources for payment and law enforcement professionals. Most organizations pay no additional cost for membership (some have smaller 1-2 employee tier).
2. Job Board Posting Fees: Employers can post open roles for $95 to connect with APP members. Members get 10% off recruiting services from Impact Payments Recruiting partner.
3. Conference Registration: Early Access pricing for Level Up conference is $895 for members. Regional events increased from $49 to $59 for members, with non-member webinar pricing at $25.
4. M@Cademy Course Sales: Educational platform offering courses like 'Essentials to Underwriting', 'How to Read Financial Documents', 'Intro to Compliance', and various certification preparatory content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

The MAC Annual Conference ("Level Up") is the flagship annual event of the Association of Payment Professionals (APP), delivering multi-day in-person education and networking on six payment disciplines: Risk, Compliance, Regulatory, Security/PCI, Disputes/Chargebacks, and Underwriting/KYC. The parent APP organization complements the conference with the M@Cademy self-paced course platform, APP Alerts (a member-only fraud and MATCH alerting system), Regional Roadshows, monthly webinars, the MACPACK learning package, the "7 Things to Know About..." publication series, and the Job APPlication Hub. Together these serve as the core educational, networking, and risk-prevention offerings for the payment ecosystem.

Product overview

The Association of Payment Professionals (APP), formerly known as MAC (Merchant Acquirers' Committee), is a membership-driven association supporting payment ecosystem professionals. The organization offers a portfolio of educational products and services centered around its flagship annual conference Level Up, the M@Cademy online learning platform, APP Alerts fraud/risk alert system, the Job APPlication Hub job board, Regional Roadshows, MACPACK educational resources, the '7 Things to Know About...' publication series, and monthly webinar programming. These offerings collectively serve payment risk, underwriting, compliance, and fraud prevention professionals through education, community, and loss prevention initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Level Up: APP's flagship annual conference focused on risk, compliance, regulatory, security/PCI, disputes/chargebacks, and underwriting/KYC topics for payment professionals.
• M@Cademy
• MACPACK
• APP Alerts
• 7 Things to Know
• Job APPlication Hub

Products and services

• Level Up Annual Conference Multi-day in-person flagship annual conference delivering education, networking, and industry content on payments risk, compliance, underwriting, security/PCI, disputes/chargebacks, and regulatory topics for payment professionals.
• M@Cademy Self-paced online learning platform offering courses on payment-industry fundamentals, including Introduction to Payments, Essentials of Underwriting, Essentials of Compliance, Essentials of Chargebacks, Essentials of ACH, Essentials of Cryptocurrency, transaction laundering, and certification preparatory content.
• APP Alerts Member-only alerting system providing fraud alerts, MATCH-level issue notifications, and merchant information requests (MIRs) to help payment professionals identify risk across the merchant lifecycle.
• Job APPlication Hub Payment-industry-specific job board offering job posting ($95 per posting for employers), resume visibility for members, and a recruiting partnership with Impact Payments Recruiting that provides a 10% member discount on recruiting services.
• Regional Roadshows In-person regional educational events providing local learning and networking opportunities for payment professionals; priced per event for members and non-members.
• MACPACK Structured educational resource package offering packaged learning materials for payment professionals.
• Monthly Webinar Series (including Tech Day(s)) Recurring virtual educational sessions covering current payment industry topics, regulatory updates (CFPB, PCI SSC, FinCEN), and risk management; some sessions are free for members while non-members pay a per-session fee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Membership grew from 1,300 to nearly 2,400 individual members under leadership of current President-Elect
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Impact Payments RecruitingcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 August 2025Strategic partnership to launch the Job APPlication Hub, a dedicated job board for payment professionals. APP members receive 10% off services from Impact Payments Recruiting. Employers can post jobs for $95 to connect with experienced APP members. Members can post resumes and maintain visibility to top payment companies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Electronic Transactions Association (ETA): ETA is the leading trade association for the payments industry, representing issuers, networks, processors, and FinTechs. Like APP, it runs an annual conference (TRANSACT), publishes educational content, and advocates on regulatory matters — making it the most direct comparable peer.
• Association for Financial Professionals (AFP): AFP serves treasury, corporate finance, and payments professionals with certification (CTP), an annual conference, and educational programming. Its payments risk and fraud content area overlaps directly with APP's mission and audience.
• Nacha (formerly NACHA — The Electronic Payments Association): Nacha governs the ACH Network and operates as a nonprofit association serving payments professionals with education, compliance resources, and rule-setting. It mirrors APP's structure of industry-led governance, educational programming, and risk/compliance content for payments operations.
• International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI): IAFCI is a nonprofit association of financial crimes investigators with chapters worldwide, offering training, conferences, and certifications. Its fraud-investigation focus overlaps directly with APP's risk, fraud, and chargeback content areas.
• ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists): ACAMS is a global membership association serving anti-money-laundering and financial crime prevention professionals with certifications, training, and conferences — closely analogous to APP's community of risk, compliance, and fraud-prevention professionals in payments.
• Risk Management Association (RMA): RMA is a member-driven association serving bank risk professionals with education, certifications, and the annual RMA Conference. Its structure — member-led governance, risk-focused education, and bank-centric membership — closely parallels APP's operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE): ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization, offering credentials, training, and a global conference. APP's Fraud Trends SIG and payment-fraud focus directly overlap with ACFE's mandate, making it a relevant broad incumbent in adjacent fraud/compliance professional services.
• PCI Security Standards Council: The PCI SSC is the broader standards body governing payment card industry security — APP's six core disciplines explicitly include Security/PCI. While PCI SSC is a standards-setting body rather than a membership association, it is a central reference point for APP's educational and compliance content.
• BAI (Bank Administration Institute): BAI is a nonprofit organization providing research, training, and events for the financial services industry — including payments, risk, and compliance topics that overlap with APP's content areas. BAI's broader scope positions it as a broad incumbent rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Money 20/20: Money 20/20 is the largest global payments and FinTech conference, competing for the same senior payment professional audience as APP's Level Up. While it is event-only and commercial rather than a member association, it competes directly for sponsorship dollars and attendee mindshare.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 MAC Annual Conference