David Heun

Quick service restaurant and other small business owners are warming up to new technology, giving Verifone and Paysafe a chance to sell their collaborative payment products.

A motivating speech from a female executive at the Ogilvy ad agency 15 years ago helped steer Denise Pickett to new heights at American Express. As did having a family willing to move to the U.S. from Canada.

To accomplish what she has in her 10-year tenure with Mastercard, Dana J. Lorberg simply had to be two things: "I am a programmer and a girl geek."

Ask Carleigh Jaques to build a new digital payments system, and there's a very good chance she'll turn to her "inner architect" and deliver the goods. After all, the senior vice president and global head of digital products for Visa has designed and built three houses — in her spare time.

In a 26-year career at Discover Financial Services, it would seem that Amy Parsons has earned the title of a "doctor" of payments.

To hear Archie Puri tell it, the technology changing the payments market is every bit as dramatic as laser eye surgery is to someone with poor vision.

This year, as PaymentsSource honors The Most Influential Women in Payments, a new pattern has emerged. This year's list recognizes the contributions of entrepreneurs who took their ideas directly to market, showcasing new ways of handling business in an industry that is forced to quickly adapt to rapid changes in technology and global culture.

Against the backdrop that is the contentious immigration debate in the U.S., Louise Pentland can say she has a passion and firsthand experience for improving the lives of those navigating the process of being accepted into this country.

The many fintech startups that burst on the scene to compete with Western Union or MoneyGram are morphing into something else — white label providers for companies running on dated infrastructure.

Total System Services is implementing software at Walmart and Sam's Club locations nationwide to link loyalty rewards to health care payments, while also recognizing qualified purchases from a consumer's health plan.