What's Next In

From swipe to dip to tap to smile? On the podcast "What's Next In," Mastercard’s Jennifer Marriner and Dennis Gamiello discuss with host Vicki Hyman the evolution of physical checkout, from the zip-zap machines of yore to today’s tap and go revolution and beyond, including the rise of biometric-powered payments in store. Looking ahead, they discuss the future of checkout as a place where online and offline experiences converge, with hyper-personalized shopping experiences and seamless checkouts. “Think about the experience you can offer, the rewards, everything associated with that payment,” Gamiello says. “I show up, I’m recognized, I’m trusted … You’re seeing it all moving in the same direction and it comes together to unlock that transformational experience.”

With rise of advanced technology, fraudsters are tricking consumers out of more money than ever before, through more channels than ever before: emails, texts, social media, phonecalls. In just the U.S., consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a record — and many people are too embarrassed or ashamed to report they’ve been scammed.  In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Chris Reid, the company’s executive vice president of Identity Solutions, on the evolution of various fraud and scam tactics, how we’re using technology to combat them and measures we’re encouraging customers and consumers alike to take to protect their money.   “The wonderful thing about humans is that we are inherently trusting, and that is what makes society function and be vibrant,” Reid says. “It’s that small subset of criminals who take advantage of that.”  To fight this growing threat, Mastercard last week announced Scam Protect, a suite of products and services powered by AI, biometrics and open banking. “The same cutting-edge technology that can fight fraud can also help identify and protect consumers from scams,” Reid says. “But we’re going beyond tech — we are collaborating with organizations across the ecosystem to fight scams through new technologies and education.” To hear more from Reid, tune in now.

In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman talks with Brandon “Stix” Salaam-Bailey, the Watts-born-and-bred hip-hop artist who is the force behind the ThinkWatts Foundation, the nonprofit delivering an ever-expanding range of programs — from weekly food distribution, environmental justice initiatives, and coding, financial education and entrepreneurship workshops, to name a few — to underserved residents in his community, where the poverty rate is more than twice the national average, and beyond. On the podcast, Stix shares his journey from rapper and producer to activist and social entrepreneur, highlighting some of the success stories he’s shepherded through ThinkWatts, his plans for the foundation’s future, and his reflections on the community that forged him.

In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Einat Haftel, the chief product officer at Dynamic Yield, the AI-powered experience operating system that helps companies build hyper-personalized digital experiences with great agility and speed. And in a modern world where personalization is key, Shopping Muse, Dynamic Yield’s new virtual digital assistant driven by generative AI, is bringing a new edge to conversational commerce. “You can go into a store, talk to consultant, say, ‘I have light features and want this makeup,’ and they help you, but you can't do that when you shop online. Shopping Muse is designed to solve exactly that,” she says. Haftel also discusses the future of personalization, how AI is evolving and how that is changing how people interact with it and trust its outputs. “I think AI will actually start to be empathic to the user and we are going to see people adapt,” she says.  

In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Nitendra Rajput, senior vice president and head of Mastercard’s AI Garage, which applies AI at scale across Mastercard, developing new algorithms and collaborating with teams to design and develop new products and services. Rajput discusses the way cyber criminals are capitalizing on AI, how the company is accelerating the adoption of AI through innovative partnerships, and why it’s critical to put in place guardrails to ensure AI is used responsibly. A researcher and prolific patent developer who started his career in speech recognition, Rajput says AI can help us better understand the world around us – and perhaps better understand ourselves as well.

In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Mastercard's Tara Nathan, the  founder of Community Pass, a digital infrastructure that increases access to critical services including healthcare, agriculture and micro-commerce for people in underserved, remote, and frequently offline communities. As world leaders gather in New York City for the U.N. General Assembly to discuss how to accelerate action on the sustainable development goals, including reducing poverty, hunger, and inequality, Nathan discusses the role the private sector can play in delivering services in a commercially sustainable and scalable way and how people can harness digitization and their own data to improve their lives and livelihoods. "We're peeling back the layers to a problem and creating solutions," Nathan says. "Digitization is helping to bring critical services and brighter opportunities to people in developing markets — and Mastercard is working to bridge the stiff digital divide."  

In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Steve Flinter, vice president for artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing at Mastercard, and Murray Thom, vice president of quantum business innovation at D-Wave, the British Colombia-based company that develops and delivers quantum computing systems, software and services.  They discuss the challenges of evolving quantum computing from the theoretical to the practical — “You’re trying to harness and control the most fundamental properties of the universe at the smallest possible level,” Flinter says — as well as D-Wave’s partnership with Mastercard and other corporations to explore potential use cases while mitigating potential pitfalls often inherent in emerging tech.

Today, there are more real-time digital transactions in India than the U.S., China and Europe combined. That’s a testament to the country’s enormous size — it recently passed China to become world’s most populous nation — but even more so, it’s a testament to the country’s embrace of digitization.  In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Gautam Aggarwal, division president, South Asia, and Mastercard’s country corporate officer for India. Aggarwal gives us his take on the evolution of the once largely-agrarian economy into one of the world’s great technology hubs, the government’s Digital India initiative and digital public infrastructure, and the partnerships Mastercard is forging to move that vision forward for the microentrepreneurs and small business owners, both in rural and urban areas, that are the backbone of the Indian economy. “If you won't do the right things, by being inclusive, you won't be able to scale,” he says. “It’s almost become the beacon for the rest of the world and showing to the rest of the word how to do it right.”

Atlanta routinely makes the “best cities” lists — best places for creatives, best places to start a business, cities with the most Fortune 500 company headquarters, and, most recently, it topped Money magazine’s annual “Best Places to Live” ranking. But Atlanta also finds itself at the top of a far less vaunted list: It ranked first for income equality among large cities, according to the latest U.S. Census data, with experts pointing to deep-rooted racial disparities in a city that is nearly 50% Black. The innovation for which the city is celebrated has not reaped benefits for all of its citizens, but that can change. In fact, innovative data tools and partners that connect Black families and entrepreneurs to the digital economy could go a long way in creating a more inclusive and equitable city. In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Atlanta’s deputy chief equity officer La’Shawn Brown Dudley and Salah Goss and Arturo Franco, both with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, on how harnessing data with inclusion in mind can help leaders make smarter decision and use their resources more effectively. Dudley was part of the inaugural cohort of Data for Equity, a 10-week program that brought together equity, technology and data officers from around the country to learn new ways to use the power of data to advance economic inclusion. Launched by the Centre for Public Impact and the Center for Inclusive Growth, the program is part of Mastercard’s $500 million In Solidarity initiative to narrow the racial opportunity gap, with a focus on Atlanta and six other American cities. In Atlanta, that work includes a $950,000 grant to the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs to support RICE’s Big IDEAS curriculum, including education, technical and financial assistance, and support of Operation HOPE’s 1 Million Black Businesses initiative, to create and grow Black-owned businesses through financial wellness education, small business coaching and help accessing capital.

Long before generative AI began capturing the public’s imagination, Mastercard has been harnessing AI to help financial institutions and other businesses make smarter decisions — from spotting fraudulent transactions to enabling seamless onboarding for cardholders and merchants to identifying fraud, waste and abuse in health care claims. In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman chats with Amyn Dhala, the chief product officer for Brighterion, a Mastercard company. Dhala dives into how Mastercard uses AI, how it enables trust in the payments ecosystem, and the need for companies to embrace ethical and explainable AI to ensure that trust continues and enables even more innovation and better customer experiences.

“In the end, I'm hoping that one day digital assets will actually become boring. And that's actually one of my aspirational goals.” Of all the virtual ink spilled on the crypto economy, particularly in recent weeks, no one is accusing it of being boring. But that’s what Linda Jeng, the chief global regulatory officer for the Crypto Council for Innovation, believes could happen if new regulations are eventually written to make digital currencies safer.In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” the Mastercard podcast that explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman discusses digital currency regulation and crypto innovation. Her guests for this episode are Jeng, whose organization encourages responsible crypto regulation, and Jesse McWaters, Mastercard’s head of regulatory advocacy.

In the crypto economy, the last few years have been a period of innovation, experimentation and more than a little trepidation. The value of the crypto market skyrocketed to nearly $3 trillion before tumbling again; non-fungible tokens seemed to arrive out of nowhere to capture the imagination of artists, collectors and brands; and blockchain-based applications such as smart contracts began gaining traction. During this time, Raj Dhamodharan has been leading the Mastercard’s efforts in the space as its global head of crypto and blockchain. He says Mastercard’s role is straightforward: enabling choice by bringing simplicity and safety to the crypto economy.  That may be through crypto card programs where people can instantly convert their crypto to pay at merchants who accept Mastercard, by making it easier for people to buy NFTs, or by helping crypto wallets and exchanges perform identity and fraud checks and understand their risk. In the wide-ranging conversation with host Vicki Hyman, he also discusses the evolution of blockchain and crypto, the principles the company developed to evaluate crypto opportunities, and the role of regulation in helping the crypto economy realize its potential.

Data is more valuable than ever – which means, more than ever, it needs to be protected. From the rise of open banking, which enables people to share their financial data to access more choice and better experiences, to the growing desire of companies across industries to harness data to make smarter decisions and create new revenue streams, data security is key. In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman discusses the evolution of privacy-enhancing technologies with Bob Schukai, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Technology Development, Global Open Banking, and Ellison Anne Williams, the founder and CEO of Enveil, the cybersecurity startup that uses homomorphic encryption to secure data while it’s being used to allow companies to innovate while protecting and respecting individual privacy. “Privacy-enhancing technologies enable a decentralized form of data usage, collaboration and monetization to be possible,” Williams says. “These technologies leave the data at the point of origination and enable usage of that data in a secure and private way without having to move or replicate it.” Mastercard’s privacy by design principles ensure that privacy safeguards are built into the design and creation of everything the company does, Schukai says. “We believe that your personal information is just that, it’s personal and we try to take great care to ensure it stays that way.” To hear more from Schukai and Anne, click play and enjoy!

Susan Warner and Abena Danso-Manu both developed a love for STEM from their mothers. Danso-Manu’s mother, a statistics professor in Ghana, and Warner’s mother, a self-taught bookkeeper, sparked a flame in their daughters that eventually connected them years later through Girls4Tech, the award-winning STEM education program that Warner founded in 2014. In the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Mastercard’s podcast that informally explores technology, innovation and ideas, host Vicki Hyman sits down with Danso-Manu and Warner to discuss G4T, which has now reached more than 2 million girls in 50 countries. The original goal was to engage our employees as role models and mentors in the subjects they’re most passionate about -- these can range from cryptology and algorithms to fraud detection, biometrics and Big Data. Danso-Manu recently spearheaded the first Girls4Tech program in West Africa, mentoring girls in her home country of Ghana, to reach, she says, another “little Abena.” During the conversation, they detail the importance of female representation and perspectives, their personal journeys, and the visible impact of the program.

In the first episode our rebooted podcast, host Vicki Hyman chats with Fonta Gilliam of Wellthi and Dennis Cail of Zirtue in honor of Black History Month. They are both part of Mastercard's Start Path programming dedicated to supporting minority-owned startups that further efforts to close the racial wealth and opportunity gap. Gilliam founded Wellthi, an app and white-label solution for financial institutions that modernize the concept of savings circles, enabling family and friends to encourage one another to reach their savings goals. Cail is the co-founder and CEO of Zirtue, a leading relationship-based lending app with a mission to drive financial inclusion. Recently, Zirtue launched a debit Mastercard card for the unbanked and underbanked, potentially removing financial barriers for millions of American families. They discuss their mission to bring more financial security to underserved communities, the challenges Black fintech founders face and the worst advice they’ve ever received.  

For most people, the word franchise may conjure up an image of their favorite fast food outlet. But what it really mean? It means people know what to expect when they stop for a meal and can trust the franchise to deliver that experience. Mastercard’s franchise model is no different (OK, hold the fries). Franchise creates, manages and maintains the Mastercard business model, setting the standards for our customers to create the common, consistent payment experience across the world – and, increasingly, so much more. On the latest episode of "What's Next In," we chat with Chief Franchise Officer Paul Petta,  who explains why franchise is so important to our business strategy and key to the company’s growth beyond payments – from how we engage with fintechs to accepting new payment types to ways we can lend our expertise and technology to completely new areas, such as digital identity. Hear from Petta about how he and his team not only tackle growing the existing Mastercard ecosystem but identify new opportunities for growth. We'll also learn about one of his personal passions and who'll play him in his biopic (hint: he lives in the John Hughes universe).

What comes with three billion cards with 90 billion transactions a year at roughly 70 million merchants in 210 countries and territories? Data. A ton if it.   On the latest episode of our podcast “What’s Next In,” Raj Seshadri, president, Data and Services, explains how Mastercard helps empower its customers with faster, better business decisions, all based on the company's real-time transaction data and proprietary analysis. Hosted by Arthur Baker, each episode of “What’s Next In” informally explores big ideas and trends in the world of payments technology and beyond. In this episode, Seshadri and Baker chatted about her early aspirations of being a doctor, implications of doing business in a data-driven world and how a company like Mastercard can build better outcomes for not only customers but communities. 

From 5G to blockchain to quantum computing and more, emerging technologies have the potential to transform almost every aspect of our lives. Ken Moore, Mastercard’s chief innovation officer, is behind the company’s efforts to harness them in new ways, modernizing payments and transforming transactions. On the latest episode of "What's Next In," Moore shares his thoughts on Mastercard's approach to innovation, risk-taking and collaboration. He discusses which emerging tech excites him the most, including the hot topic from CES this year, 5G: “It's ten times faster, responds ten times quicker and can support 300 times more simultaneously-connected products," he says.  Hosted by Arthur Baker, each episode of "What's Next In" informally explores big ideas and trends in the world of payments technology and beyond. Hear from Moore about how Mastercard accelerates emerging ideas to create more meaningful digital experiences in everything from 5G to blockchain to quantum computing and artificial intelligence. 

How a city looks is often different than how it functions, with even the most diverse and cosmopolitan urban centers struggling to bring the growth and extend the benefits of the digital economy to all of its citizens. On the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Miguel Gamiño Jr., head of Global Cities and City Possible at Mastercard, discusses how his career in information and technology has spanned the continent and why a city only works if it works for everyone. But don't jus think of them as 'smart cities.' Before COVID-19, he says, “the digitization of public services and advancement of these quote-unquote smart cities concepts were a ‘nice to have.’ COVID all of a sudden made that a health concern, sometimes a life safety concern … All of sudden, resources can get reprioritized when you’re talking about those kinds of consequences of not acting.” 

There was once a time when sustainability meant environmental causes. These days, though, it's much more than that. And for Mastercard it's all about being a force for good and harnessing decency. Earlier this year, Mastercard reached its goal of bringing 500 million people into the financial system. They almost immediately doubled the commitment to connect 1 billion people to the digital economy and 50 million small businesses by 2025. And in the midst of the global pandemic, the company quickly mobilized the full strength of its resources – technology, people, funding - to help not only their customers but communities around the world to recover. Fresh off the heels of releasing Mastercard's annual Sustainability Report, it seems more than apropos that Chief Sustainability Officer Kristina Kloberdanz appears on the latest episode of "What's Next In." Hosted by Arthur Baker, each episode of “What’s Next In” informally explores big ideas and trends in the world of payments technology and beyond. In their engaging discussion Kloberdanz explains the roadmap to tapping our people and our networks to build a more equitable society. She also discusses her early days at IBM (as a client rep), what it meant to be Mastercard's first sustainability officer, the road ahead and her early career as a ballerina for such prestigious Balanchine companies as The New York ballet and San Francisco Ballet.