Blog

Merchant Community Reacts to Preliminary Approval of the MDL-1720 Settlement

The preliminary approval of the MDL-1720 settlement marks a pivotal moment in payments, introducing new flexibility for merchants. Yet while awareness is high, many remain cautious, weighing cost opportunities against operational complexity and customer experience before committing to any meaningful changes.

PINless Routing: Expectation vs. Reality in a Post-Durbin, Tokenized World 

PINless routing promised cost savings and greater control, but tokenisation is changing the game. This blog explores how post-Durbin expectations stack up against reality, unpacking the technical and regulatory challenges shaping merchant routing strategies today.

Ideas with Impact ‘26 – The CMSPI Future Technologies Prize

CMSPI is supporting the University of Manchester’s Ideas with Impact Awards 2026, helping fund and mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs as they transform innovative ideas into ventures with real-world impact.

Breaking News: Preliminary Approval for MDL-1720

In a major development for the payments industry, a federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a proposed MDL-1720 settlement between Visa, Mastercard, and approximately 12 million U.S. merchants following more than 20 years of litigation. The agreement includes temporary reductions to certain credit card interchange rates, expanded merchant flexibility around surcharging and discounting, and the ability for merchants to decline selected premium and commercial credit card products.

Getting Ahead of Payments as a Head of Payments – Part Two 

Our payment experts provide three industry trends merchants should be watching and a few words of wisdom for those seeking to better understand their data in this two part blog series.

Getting Ahead of Payments as a Head of Payments – Part One

Our payment experts provide three industry trends merchants should be watching and a few words of wisdom for those seeking to better understand their data in this two part blog series.

$200 Million in Estimated Cost for International Scheme Fee Updates

CMSPI estimates the scheme fee updates in April 2026 could cost merchants up to $200 million in Europe and Australia. In this blog, we review six of the new and updated fees from the schemes this month.

April 2026 U.S. Network Fee Updates:
$3 Billion Estimated Cost Impact for Merchants

CMSPI estimates the network fee updates in April 2026 could cost merchants up to $3 billion. In this blog, we review five of the new and updated fees from the networks this month.

OPINION: The Real Threat of Agentic Commerce (And How Merchants Can Keep Control)

Agentic commerce is coming, and who owns your customer data has yet to be decided. Merchants should be aware of the silent threats of agentic commerce and how best to respond.

Reviewing Australia’s Payment Reform

Australia’s payments landscape is undergoing major reform as the Reserve Bank introduces new rules on interchange, surcharging, and fee transparency. These changes could significantly shift merchant costs and pricing strategies. This blog explores what’s changing, industry reactions, and how merchants can prepare ahead of the October 2026 deadline.

Card-Present Chargebacks: An Overlooked Payments Problem (Part 2)

In part two of this series on card-present chargebacks, we discuss what trade-offs to consider when balancing the optimization of payment and fraud strategies and provide an approach to aide merchants in the journey of identifying dispute pressure.

Card-Present Chargebacks: An Overlooked Payments Problem (Part 1)

In this two-part blog series, we discuss an emerging and overlooked payments problem, card-present chargebacks. First up, we highlight why card-present chargebacks deserve attention and how more descriptive reason codes could provide additional insight for merchants.