John Adams

The app ecosystem has enabled payments to blend almost invisibly into the background of many cash-based services, such as ride-sharing and food delivery, but sometimes there is a need to let payments take center stage.

Most consumers, when dining, still enjoy the simplicity of dropping cash on the table than using something newer, like an EMV card or a mobile wallet, even when those payment forms are becoming more commonplace in other stores.

Heartland Payment Systems is quickly accumulating technology to serve smaller merchants and restaurants, two key pieces of the services that made the processor attractive to Global Payments, which is in the midst of acquiring Heartland.

PayPal technology exec James Barrese will leave the company April 1, according to an SEC filing.

Hong Kong's status as an iconic financial capital stands in contrast to its relatively lackluster record for technology. The city is regarded as below average as a hub for startups, and MasterCard places Hong Kong in the middle of the pack for mobile payments readiness.

Financial institutions that are considering technology to power digital and mobile payments have an unconventional choice—the underlying blockchain structure that enables bitcoin to hasten execution and cut costs.

Ericksen is one of the "EMV people," part of the card network-driven push to get the entire globe dipping instead of swiping.

Ann Cairns, president of international markets for MasterCard, helps guide initiatives such as financial inclusion and other international initiatives. The rapid uptake of payments technology is challenging MasterCard to create an attractive experience that goes beyond payments.

In addition to battling crime, bankers face a more competitive market filled with well-funded bank alternatives, putting Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Stephanie Wolf on the spot to play offense and defense for one of the world's largest financial institutions.

McNamara has been recognized in prior years as one of PaymentsSource's Most Influential Women in Payments, partly on the influence of her organization, Citi Retail Services, which accounts for a huge portion of Citi's overall business.