After lying low for a couple of years, wealthy consumers are poised to unleash nearly a quarter-trillion dollars in a card-spending binge that only a COVID-19 resurgence could derail, according to Visa's chief economist, Wayne Best.

For women, the path to leadership isn't always the same one that men take. Talus Pay CEO Kim Fitzsimmons says her career moved fastest whenever she refused to stay in her lane.

The retail chain is uniquely positioned to tie its growing slate of financial products to its customers' shopping needs, both in stores and digitally, said Julia Unger, Walmart's vice president of financial services, at American Banker's Payments Forum.

A more active Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, competition from Big Tech and sanctions on Russia are combining to make compliance a much larger concern than in the past, according to legal experts who spoke at American Banker's Payments Forum.

Segpay's employees returned to their Florida desks nearly two years ago. Oregon-based Umpqua Bank has permanently adopted a hybrid approach. Both strategies are succeeding, executives at the companies say.

Consumers are still the driving force of payments innovation — even in business use cases, according to honorees from this year’s Most Influential Women in Payments who spoke at American Banker’s Payments Forum.

The pandemic brought a flood of digital transactions to Visa's network. Fraudsters tried to take advantage, but "It’s my team’s job to be a step ahead of the bad guys," said Kelly, the card network's global head of risk strategy.

Bhattacharjee is charting a path for the transaction banking business to use fintech partnerships and cloud technology to court small businesses to the investment banking giant.

This year's Most Influential Women in Payments honorees span the globe, demonstrating the universal importance of personal connections and career mobility, as well as the ways technology can connect a hybrid workforce and propel commerce.

Martincevic, one of American Banker's Most Influential Women in Payments for 2022, immigrated to the U.S. alone at age 17 without knowing how to speak English. She became the first person in her family to obtain a college degree.

Muse, one of American Banker's Most Influential Women in Payments for 2022, has put the wireless carrier ahead of many banks in its adoption of real-time payments technology for billing.