David Heun

In a financial services career that dates back to 1983, Lou Anne Alexander has experienced many upheavals of the status quo of payment technology.

Early in her career, Monica Eaton-Cardone had to deal with the tough part of being a retail entrepreneur — constantly being hit with chargebacks on card payments — to ultimately develop an idea to help retailers navigate that unpleasant part of payment acceptance.

Executives in the payments industry know the key to future technological advances rests solely in the hands of the consumer. Without consumer adoption, advances in payments quickly collect dust. Reetika Grewal understands this reality particularly well.

In high school, Kara Kazazean joined the marching band and competed to be a leader for the clarinet section. As part of the selection process, aspiring section leaders participated in a rigorous leadership training program.

The Most Influential Women in Payments are the ones taking risks with new ideas and investments, and developing the technology that will forever change the way people handle money. Not only do they set an example for their peers, they are unafraid to learn from newcomers and are diligent about encouraging a freshness and diversity of ideas.

Throughout her payments technology career, colleagues have pointed to the steady hand of Archana "Archie" Puri as one of her key traits.

Even though Racy Morgan may have learned about financial services, payments and management as part of her education, her career's foundation is more firmly set in her real-life experiences as an immigrant from India living in the U.S.

Serena Smith's never-say-no attitude is emblematic of her passion and perseverance.

Technology and payment companies are both trying to get businesses to automate supply chain payments, but for years their efforts have stalled.

Issuers are using mobile technology to bolster plastic cards, adding new features and controls for consumers.