The payments industry is at a turning point. Every year brings new regulations, emerging fraud patterns, and innovative technologies, but this year felt different.
This year’s MAG Payments Conference, held in San Antonio, Texas, was a reminder of just how quickly the ground is shifting for merchants. Over four days, more than 150 major U.S. merchants and their partners gathered to share challenges, solutions, and insights.
The conversations that stood out most were those that focused on what merchants need today: practical education and proactive strategies. These themes appeared across sessions, side conversations, and networking moments, painting a picture of an industry that is ready for real solutions, not just big ideas.
Across four days of discussions, one theme was impossible to miss: merchants are asking for clarity and solutions they can act on immediately. The mood was pragmatic. Instead of chasing buzzwords, merchants wanted to know how to keep revenue safe, prepare for evolving fraud tactics, and stay in control of their payment performance.
Throughout the MAG Payments Conference, the sessions that drew the most engagement were those that cut through complexity and offered a clear path to handling the growing wave of friendly fraud. The merchants in the room weren’t looking for a list of trends. Instead, they wanted answers to the problems they wrestle with every day. What works? What doesn’t? What needs to change?
When presenters shared real examples, encouraged dialogue, and treated merchants like peers rather than prospects, the energy shifted. You could see attendees leaning in while comparing notes and asking questions that went deeper. It was a reminder that the most valuable thing a partner can bring to the table is expertise that feels immediately useful.
For us at Chargeback Gurus, this reinforces the importance of putting our subject matter experts out front. When education is grounded in real-world experience, it resonates. And when merchants leave with something they can take back to their teams and implement right away, that’s when real progress is made.
Another strong current running through the conference was the call to stay ahead of problems instead of reacting to them after the damage is done. Several merchants shared how a delay in catching an issue cost them far more than the original dispute or fraud loss; which ranged from revenue leakage to reputational strain inside their own organizations.
Tools like Visa’s VAMP have given merchants better visibility into their standing, but many still struggle to access or interpret the data in time to make changes. This is where the role of a true consultative partner becomes critical. It isn’t just about reporting data; it’s about helping merchants see the story the data is telling and adjust before thresholds are breached or losses mount.
That’s the kind of partnership we at Chargeback Gurus believe matters most: one where merchants feel supported in building processes that catch risk early and prevent teams from scrambling at the eleventh hour.
The conversation around friendly fraud was perhaps the most charged of the event. Merchants are no longer treating it as a background issue; it has moved front and center. Many shared that they’ve seen a sharp rise in cases over the past year, and what’s most concerning is how coordinated some of these attacks have become.
For sectors like food delivery, digital goods, and subscriptions, this creates a perfect storm. Transactions happen quickly and disputes come in faster, as the line between a legitimate claim and fraud becomes harder to draw. Some merchants admitted that despite their best tools, they simply don’t feel confident that they can tell the difference every time.
Friendly fraud may be evolving, but so can the strategies used to fight it. The merchants that act now will be the ones that turn this challenge into a competitive advantage.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the central role chargebacks play in the payments ecosystem. Whether merchants were talking about fraud, customer experience, or network compliance, disputes inevitably came up as a pain point.
This validates what we see every day, that managing chargebacks is still one of the most impactful ways a business can protect its bottom line. It’s also where merchants consistently recognize Chargeback Gurus as a trusted leader. The feedback we heard from attendees reinforced that our innovative technologies, AI Insights and human oversight set us apart, especially in a space where many are still focused purely on transaction-level wins.
Innovation in payments continues to open new opportunities, but it also introduces new challenges that merchants and payment providers must solve together. One of the more intriguing topics was the rise of AI agents and how they could influence the way transactions are initiated and managed in the future.
While this technology promises to simplify certain customer interactions, it also raises new questions for fraud detection and dispute resolution that the industry is only beginning to explore.
Another topic that sparked debate was the role of stablecoins in the payments ecosystem. Some stakeholders anticipate that stablecoins will gain adoption over time. Mastercard has made a significant push to enable and encourage stablecoin adoption, for example. However, many others remain skeptical that cryptocurrency will ever play a major role in payments.
A retail giant highlighted its own experience in El Salvador, where stablecoin acceptance resulted in less than 1% of purchases being made using this method. The company also pointed out that there are currently hundreds of stablecoin options, which can overwhelm consumers. The retail giant suggested that widespread adoption is more likely if the market consolidates to just a handful of stablecoin choices, making it simpler for shoppers to engage.
Additionally, they raised concerns about the friction stablecoin transactions can add to the payment process, emphasizing the need for solutions that balance innovation with smooth customer experience.
If there’s one clear message to take from this year’s conference, it’s that merchants are ready to move from complexity to clarity. They don’t just want more data or more tools. Instead, they want to feel confident that they can stay ahead of fraud, reduce disputes, and keep payments running smoothly without pulling focus away from the customer experience.
For Chargeback Gurus, that means continuing to lean into the role of trusted advisor. We will keep helping clients see around corners, interpret risk signals, and design solutions that work for their business today, and prepare them for tomorrow.
The industry will keep changing, but one thing is certain: merchants are looking for partners who can guide them forward with expertise and confidence. That’s the opportunity ahead, and we’re ready to lead the way.