As a payments leader at Fiserv, one of the financial services industry's largest technology companies, Ginger Schmeltzer has been a catalyst for a number of cutting-edge projects at banks.

Jennifer Shasky Calvery has been outspoken about the promise of new technology, and in her job as director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, she has played a pivotal role in making the U.S. a welcoming place for innovators who might otherwise view regulators as roadblocks.

Melissa Smith, became the president of Wex in May 2013 and took over the CEO job at the start of 2014. In these new roles, she is already spearheading a substantial expansion plan that includes the assimilation of Exxon's Esso Card.

Susan Sobbott realizes consumer technologies and back-office payment structures are on a collision course.

After being told to be assertive – and then being told not be assertive – to be a successful woman in financial services, Soranno Keating decided to just be herself, advice she gives to other women wanting to make a mark in the industry.

On the acquiring side of the payments industry, Holli Targan does it all. As an attorney in the Southfield office of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, she chairs the firm's Electronic Payments Group. Her duties include handling mergers and acquisitions, helping clients develop their strategy and alerting the industry to regulatory changes.

Small to medium-sized merchants are asking for more, says Colleen Taylor, executive vice president and head of treasury management and enterprise payments in commercial banking at Capital One.

These 20 women have reached impressive heights in a traditionally male dominated industry and have played a vital role in helping their organizations stay ahead of the curve.

Google Wallet will require Android users to run KitKat, the latest version of the Android operating system, to use the wallet's contactless payments feature as of April 14, according to a post on the Google Wallet support site.

Digicash Payments, a Luxembourg-based mobile payments provider, is testing a system that uses a beacon at the point of sale to accept payments using Bluetooth, Near Field Communication and QR codes.

Klarna raised 90 million euros to finance its acquisition of Sofort through fundraising led by Klarna's founders and existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic and Atomico.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — After switching to a new analytics vendor, $16.8 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union reports that it has improved the application process for its branded credit card, increasing the conversion rate on applications.

China's central bank blocked plans by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to offer virtual credit cards as the government moves to tighten restrictions on online financial products.

Some of the toughest types of payments fraud to combat aren't from an overseas hackers den but from everyday people misusing their own accounts or those of a relative, says Rick Lynch, Verifi's senior vice president of business development.

Credit Card penalties—like over-limit and late fees—are constitutional and do not violate consumers' due process rights, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recently ruled.

Webster Bank's use of advanced alerting allows it to receive valuable, real-time feedback from its customers about how they prefer to make payments, says Greg Jacobi, senior vice president of distribution and customer experience for Webster Bank.

There's a new Bitcoin wallet and vault provider in town, Xapo, launched by payments veteran Wences Casares with $20 million in funding from investors.

Brazilian mobile app marketplace developer Bemobi is working with local carriers to handle payments from consumers who don't use or have access to credit cards.

Micros, an international provider of checkout systems, is integrating Yapital Financial AG's cross-channel payment technology into its Micros POS systems.

Google has upgraded Google Wallet to allow shoppers to automatically track their online orders.