Women in Payments

Remote work has not created isolation, but in fact has brought digital connections to bring people closer together, according to Kazazean.

The expansion of the True Name card program is an important step in the fight for equality for transgender people, according to Habner.

Digital technology grew quickly during the pandemic, but making it work for everyone will be the hard part, according to Seshadri.

PaymentsSource is proud to recognize the Most Influential Women in Payments, spanning multiple industries including financial services, retail, investment and technology.

In the tech-centric payments industry, the number of women in C-suite roles is rising after decades of incremental progress, but the path to leadership for Black people in the payments industry remains steep and lonely.

American Express has named Glenda McNeal, honored by PaymentsSource last year as one of the Most Influential Women in Payments, to its executive committee, marking the first time a Black woman has held that role.

While the entire economy will slow due to stay-in-place orders and temporary economic shutdowns, payments fintech is expected to fare much better than other investment sectors due to these trends.

Suneera Madhani, CEO of the digital acquirer Fattmerchant, tells PaymentsSource how the coronavirus pandemic has affected how her employees go to market with new payments technology — and how making the shift to digital helps both the acquirer and its clients.

The payments industry bridges many markets — including technology and finance — that haven't always demonstrated diversity at their highest ranks. Things are changing, and this year's Most Influential Women in Payments honorees demonstrate the importance of women to all aspects of the payments industry and all corners of the globe.

"Watch what customers do, not what they say," said Melissa Smith, president and CEO of WEX.

Women in the workplace exeprience not only sexual harassment but micro-aggressions that could lead them to miss a promotion, a raise or a high-profile assignment, according to Wells Fargo's Karen Elinski.

Empathy isn't a buzzword; it's how we should be talking to each other — and it should be expressed through our products, says Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO of Fattmerchant.

The Women in Payments Leadership Exchange is a platform for prominent female executives to share not only their expertise and advice for their peers, but also to share the defining moments in their own careers.

Our annual Most Influential Women in Payments feature, now in its seventh year, highlights the women who are creating change and opportunities in the payments industry. For the first time, the editors of PaymentsSource have also recognized one woman for lifetime achievement.

Two years ago, Ellen Richey became Visa's vice chairman and chief risk officer, propelled to this role by over a decade of work that fundamentally changed how the average consumer makes a payment. Richey plans to retire this summer, ending a 40-year career in law and risk management.

First Data’s transformation over the past few years has involved much more than transaction automation, and has relied heavily on the creativity and ingenuity of executives such as Mia Shernoff.

As president of enterprise strategic partnerships at American Express, McNeal has been right in the middle of developing the technology and use cases for Amex to advance in a digital and virtual payments world.

A good way to gauge the future is to watch where technology money goes, and that makes Janet Bannister one of fintech’s best barometers.

When longtime TSYS finance executive Theresa Gongora was promoted to CFO and senior vice president of TSYS' Merchant Solutions unit last year, she was struck by the dramatic changes in the payments industry since joining TSYS 15 years ago.

Understanding how the payments ecosystem works is a basic tenet for anyone aspiring to work in the industry. Visa's Taira Hall has that understanding, plus she is ingrained with a trait many others may not have — she has experienced what happens when there is no accessible payments system in place.