Merchant Risk Council 2021 details
The Merchant Risk Council conference 2021 is back after a long period of event restrictions. This time the event will take place in Vegas and will gather merchants and experts from almost 400 companies. With this article, Maxpay‘s team wants to introduce the Merchant Risk Council, explain what exactly it does, why it is so important for the eCommerce market, and what to expect from MRC 2021.
What is the Merchant Risk Council
The Merchant Risk Council or MRC is an international non-profit membership organization that unifies eCommerce fraud and payments experts in educational initiatives, conferences and forums, networking events, and career development programs.
The MRC was established in 2000. The cause of it was a boom of the Internet and the subsequent rise of eCommerce fraud in the online payments field. With the development of the eCommerce market, fraud technologies grew as well. As a result, the flow of merchants who joined the Merchant Risk Council expanded. Today the MRC network consists not only of merchants eager to protect their businesses from fraud, but also payment and solution providers, issuers, card brands, law enforcement, and financial organizations that deal with fraud protection.
Today over 500 companies are obtaining Merchant Risk Council memberships across the US and Europe. More than half of the members work with fraud prevention solutions, payments optimization strategies, and risk management.
The Merchant Risk Council membership types
There are 3 types of membership in the Merchant Risk Council organization. The first one is a Merchant Member, and it refers to eCommerce business merchants that aim to prevent fraud, upgrade payment acceptance, and reduce false positives.
The second type is a Solution Provider, which is a business that provides payment systems or risk management. The Solution Provider category also includes members working with security solutions supporting eCommerce businesses.
And the third type of MRC membership is an Industry Partner. The Industry Partner category applies to law enforcement institutions and organizations, issuers, and businesses providing industry-related additional services that include research work, education programs, and advisement.
Why the MRC is important for the industry
The Merchant Risk Council provides members and attendances with expertise, key materials, and events in the field of eCommerce fraud. Frequently the MRC holds member-hosted conferences, webinars, industry initiatives, a calendar of which is available on the MRC website.
Besides that, the Merchant Risk Council offers a range of supportive materials and studies on its online platform:
- Case studies on the topics of advocacy, fraud and risk, law enforcement, and payments from the year 2015 until the current period;
- Surveys on the topics of advocacy, fraud and risk, law enforcement, and payments from the year 2014 until the current period;
- White papers and presentations on the topics of advocacy, fraud and risk, law enforcement, and payments from the year 2014 until the current period;
- Rapid educational materials about chargebacks, fraud, and payment in the form of short video presentations;
- MRC mentor program that allows merchant and other members to get skilled or informed on any MRC topic;
- MRC Fraud & Payments Industry Job Postings consist of the constantly updating list with job offers.
Generally speaking, we can highlight 3 major bonuses that the MRC brings to the industry:
- Leading educational opportunities. Access to expertise and insights from experienced merchants and market leaders enables learning about the international influence of the latest upgrades in the payments and fraud prevention industry.
- Professional development opportunities. A pool of valuable materials online and interactive sessions on the physical events that allow to expand the knowledge and gain the next level of expertise about payments and fraud prevention.
- Networking opportunities. A calendar of self-initiated and MRC organized events that bring together professionals of the payments and fraud prevention industry for learning, exchanging, and sharing their best practices.
Members of the MRC Vegas 2021
This year, finally, after the pandemic restriction went on ease, the Merchant Risk Council conference will happen in Vegas at Aria Resort & Casino and will be lasting full days from 30 of August till 1 of September. The MRC Vegas event will be focusing on payments and the fraud prevention industry. The main goal of the conference is to set up an inspiring and creative atmosphere for members to get new knowledge and skills, industry updates, collaborations and partnerships, and engaging experiences.
During the 2021 event, we will be able to see almost 400 attending companies. Among them, there are members from such well-known companies and organizations as Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Mastercard, Visa, Ethoca, Lenovo, Disney, FBI, and many many more. The full list is present on the website of the event.
For those merchants and experts who currently can’t travel for pandemic reasons, the MRC Vegas will provide an online conference that is going to happen in a month after the physical gathering.
Virtual conference vs offline
The MRC 2021 takes an inclusive step to adapt to the pandemic scenario and introduces two editions of the conference. The first one will happen physically in Vegas from 30 of August till 1 of September. The agenda of the MRC Vegas 2021 is already available on the conference website. It will include sessions, presentations, focus groups, roundtables from such experts as Mastercard, Microsoft, Ethoca, Visa, and others. The topics that will be covered during the MRC Vegas vary from fraud prevention, payment security, and protection innovations, to compliances with regulations, payment digitalization, and eCommerce future tendencies.
Regarding the virtual event, the dates are settled from 21 of September till 23 of September. The organizations of the Merchant Risk Council conference claim that the virtual event will closely mirror a physical one, maintaining both experiences at the top level. Currently, the program is still being worked on. We are currently informed that there will be both keynote sessions and focus groups, along with annual surveys presentations. Generally speaking, the virtual Merchant Risk Council conference will cover all the same points, as a physical gathering, offering exclusive knowledge and expertise of its members and leading companies.