Pamela Joseph, US Bancorp

Apple Pay's debut late last year brought marketwide attention to how mobile technology could enable a new wave of payments innovation, a potential boom that's been on Pamela Joseph's radar at U.S. Bancorp for years.

Joseph, the bank's vice chair of payment services, has been in her position for about ten years and oversees Elavon, U.S. Bank's processing subsidiary. She has been recognized in previous years as one of PaymentsSource's Most Influential Women in Payments and American Banker Magazine's Most Powerful Women in Banking.

Under Joseph's leadership, the Minneapolis bank has been an early mover, developing uses for alternative payments technology as varied as contactless payment stickers, voice recognition and iPhone skins.

Joseph, who plans to retire this year, has placed the bank in a favorable position to take advantage of the myriad payments and financial services innovations hitting the market. Joseph will be succeeded by Shailesh Kotwal, who has served in payments executive roles at TD Bank, Fidelity National Information Services and American Express.

Speaking at a SourceMedia conference in the spring of 2014, Joseph likened the industry's current dynamic to the earliest days. "The time that we're in right now very much resembles, to me, the time that the Internet was exploding … there's so much going on," she said.

During her time as U.S. Bancorp's payments chief, Joseph also spearheaded the payment and merchant services operation's international expansion and helped the bank become one of the top gift card issuers in the U.S.

"Our industry demands creativity and innovative thinking," she told PaymentsSource last year.  "Traditional ways of doing business in the financial and payments space will continue to be challenged, and I think women—as well as younger people who are just beginning their careers—have tremendous potential to flourish in payments by offering new viewpoints and fresh perspectives on how commerce will evolve."