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Letter from the editor

very so often, a discussion reminds us that
some of the industry's biggest challenges
aren't technological—they're human. This
E month's lead feature, a Q&A with Omnia
Payments Marketplace Co-Founder Mark Dunn and
Allure Payments President Anita Meeks, explores mer-
chant contracts, sales practices and transparency, ask-
ing where legitimate business protections end and
predatory behavior begins. In the first of a two-part
discussion, they also consider what it will take to further
professionalize merchant sales while strengthening trust
throughout the industry. The conversation doesn't end
there. Throughout this issue, our contributors examine
the legal, operational and strategic forces reshaping pay-
ments—from artificial intelligence, agentic commerce
and payment testing to merchant portfolio valuation,
retail profitability, lending, back-to-school opportunities
for ISOs and the continuing debate over products versus
capabilities. Together, their insights reflect an industry
that continues to evolve, adapt and challenge conven-
tional thinking.

This month's contributors are Adam Atlas, attorney at
law, who explores the intersection of AI, payments and
the law; George Csahiouni of Tripoli Advisors, continu-
ing his series on merchant services portfolio valuation;
Monica Eaton of Chargebacks911, examining how agen-
tic commerce is creating a new category of disputes; Jaki
Kackert of Kackert Marketing, offering a playbook for
winning the back-to-school season; Elie Y. Katz of Na-
tional Retail Solutions, looking at retail pricebooks as a
driver of profitability; Dale Laszig, continuing her series
on products versus capabilities; David Moscatelli of Go
Abacus, discussing AI pricing as a payments operations
challenge; Chat Otar of Lending Valley, warning of po-
tential turmoil in the lending industry; and Anthony
Walton of Iliad Solutions, examining the hidden costs of
slow payment testing.

Our news coverage also captures a payments industry in
rapid transition. This issue looks at emerging stablecoin
models, open payments infrastructure, evolving debit
network competition, stronger consumer protections
for Cash App and buy now, pay later users, and new
research into consumers' readiness for pay-by-bank. To-
gether, these developments reflect an industry balancing
innovation, regulation and shifting competitive dynam-
ics. We also bring you updates on industry milestones,
including awards, honors, certifications, company ex-
pansions, brand refreshes, research, partnerships, acqui-
sitions and executive appointments, along with compa-
ny, product and innovator profiles, listings of upcoming
events, words of inspiration, our Resource Guide, and
other features designed to inform, empower and con-
nect. Thank you for reading. For questions, comments or
suggestions, please email greensheet@greensheet.com. For
news of your company's milestones, send a press release
to press@greensheet.com.
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