As a CEO-led organization, the Payments Leadership Council is committed to expanding global commerce and driving inclusive growth by encouraging public policies that protect consumers, foster inclusion, and promote innovation and competition in payments.
By uniting industry chief executives in its mission, the Payments Leadership Council will serve as the voice of the industry on select government policy and regulatory issues. It will promote public policies that enable our mission of inclusive growth through:
Enhancing the resilience of the payments systems by safeguarding consumer information while strengthening system-wide cybersecurity.
Enabling greater access for consumers and small businesses, including internet, financial education, fast payments systems, and partnerships to support minority-owned businesses and underserved and unbanked communities, while committing to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the payments industry.
Advocating for a clear and robust national framework for consumer privacy and personal data that enhances consumer rights and enables continued innovation in the use of data.
Promoting national treatment of private companies that ensures market access and incentives for private sector investment and new products, as well as cross-border data flows.
Ensuring U.S.-led innovations in payments are widely accessible and encouraged around the world, improving access, security, and ease of use for consumers, small businesses, and governments.
Raj Date is the founding director of the Payments Leadership Council. As a longtime investor in and advocate for the promise of financial technology, Raj established the PLC as a forum for industry CEOs to share their perspectives on the public policies and payments solutions that will expand global commerce and drive inclusive growth.
Outside his work with the Council, Raj serves as the Managing Partner of Fenway Summer→, a fintech venture investment firm, and the Co-Founder and Senior Advisor of FS Vector, a fintech advisory firm. He also serves as a Director for a number of innovative firms in financial services.
Raj was the first-ever Deputy Director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As the Bureau’s second-ranking official, he helped steward the CFPB’s strategy, its operations, and its policy agenda. He also served on the senior staff committee of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and as a statutory deputy to the FDIC Board. Before being appointed Deputy Director, Raj acted as the interim leader of the new agency, serving as the Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury. He led the CFPB for most of the first six months after its launch.
Prior to his time in public policy, Raj was a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group at Deutsche Bank Securities and Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Development at Capital One Financial.
Raj is a graduate of the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and the Harvard Law School.
Stephen J. Squeri became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company on February 1, 2018. In his previous role as Vice Chairman, Steve led the company’s Global Commercial Services group, as well as its shared services groups, which include technology, customer servicing, credit administration and business services functions.
Steve joined American Express in 1985 as a manager in the Travellers Cheque Group. From 2000 to 2002, he served as President of the Establishment Services group in the U.S. and Canada, and he was President of the Corporate Card group from 2002 to 2005, during which time he globalized the business. Steve became the company’s Chief Information Officer in 2005 and also led the Corporate Development function, overseeing mergers and acquisitions. In 2009, Steve was named Group President and led the formation of the Global Services Group, consolidating and globalizing the company’s shared services functions. He was named Vice Chairman in 2015.
Before joining American Express, Steve spent four years as a management consultant at Arthur Andersen and Company. He holds a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from Manhattan College.
Before joining American Express, Steve spent four years as a management consultant at Arthur Andersen and Company. He holds a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from Manhattan College.
Steve currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Valerie Fund and Manhattan College, and he is a member of the Board of Governors for Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School. He previously served on the boards of J.Crew Group, Inc., Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, American Express Global Business Travel, NY Downtown Hospital and the Columbus Citizens Foundation.
Michael Shepherd was named interim chief executive officer and president of Discover in April 2024, having previously been elected to the Discover board of directors in August 2023. Before joining Discover, Michael joined BancWest and Bank of the West in 2004 and served as General Counsel, President and Chairman and CEO. Michael also served as the Chairman of BNP Paribas USA, Inc. and as a Director. Bank of the West was acquired by BMO in February of 2023. Before joining Bank of the West, Michael was General Counsel of The Bank of New York Company, Inc. and of Shawmut National Corporation. He served in government as Senior Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, Associate Counsel to the President of the United States and Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Michael is also a director of Pacific Mutual Holdings Inc., and previously was a director of First Hawaiian Inc. and CoreLogic. He is a member of the Dean’s Council at the National Cathedral in Washington, the Business Executive Council of the University of California, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Michael previously served as a Member and President of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board, as a Member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, as a director of the Presidio Trust, and as a Director of The Clearing House.
Stephanie Ferris became FIS president and chief executive officer in December 2022 after being named FIS president in February 2022. She also became a member of FIS’ Board of Directors in October of 2022. Prior to her current role, Stephanie served as chief operating officer and chief administrative officer of FIS, responsible for leading our global strategy, technology transformation and the global integration of FIS and Worldpay, driving cost, revenue synergies and long-range strategic planning.
She came to FIS as the chief financial officer of Worldpay, Inc., which was acquired by FIS in July 2019. Worldpay, Inc. was formed in 2018 when Cincinnati-based Vantiv, Inc. acquired Worldpay Group plc, a London-based leader in global e-commerce and technology-led payment solutions.
She is an experienced global business executive with expertise leading payments and technology platform businesses, driving digital transformation, front-line customer engagement, and inclusive growth. Stephanie is also a multiple award-winning finance leader who has also held a general manager role that transformed an underperforming business unit into the highest growth portfolio within the company. She was the chief financial officer of the payments processing division of Fifth Third Bancorp, which was later spun out and became Vantiv, and held multiple progressive financial leadership roles at Fifth Third. Stephanie began her career in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is also a certified public accountant and graduate of Miami University.
She is a 2019 YWCA Career Women of Achievement honoree, a 2018 PaymentsSource Most Influential Women in Payments winner and a 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business silver honoree (Female Executive of the Year – Business Services – More Than 2,500 Employees – Services Industries).
Frank Bisignano is President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a $15.8 billion global leader in financial services and payments technology solutions for financial institutions, businesses and consumers. The company serves clients in more than 100 countries, and in 2021 was recognized among FORTUNE® World's Most Admired Companies for an eighth consecutive year.
Prior to joining Fiserv, Frank served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First Data. During his tenure, Bisignano transformed the 48-year-old company from the world’s largest traditional payment processor into a technology innovator, industry collaborator, and commerce enabler for the 21st century. He also led its $2.6 billion initial public offering in 2015, the largest U.S. IPO of the year.
Before joining First Data, Frank served as Co-Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Mortgage Banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. With more than 30 years of executive leadership experience in banks and global financial institutions, Frank also served in multiple leadership positions at Citigroup, including Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Executive Officer of the company’s Global Transaction Services unit.
Among a number of non-profit commitments, he serves on the boards of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, the Mount Sinai Health System, and The Battery Conservancy; and is a member of Business Roundtable, a U.S.-based association of CEOs who use public policy to promote a thriving economy and expanded opportunities for Americans. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Humana Inc.
Michael Miebach is Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard and a member of the company’s board of directors.
He is leading the company into a more digital world where the continued application of new technologies will further enable payments to become more seamless in the overall purchasing experience, while bolstering cyber services and data-powered insights.
Over the past five years, first as chief product officer and then president, Michael was critical to setting the strategy that transformed the company’s offerings from a consumer card-centric business to a platform supporting choice in how businesses, people and governments make payments. This strategy, combined with the company’s customer focus, helped Mastercard evolve and diversify into new areas including real-time payments, open banking, digital identity and other value-added services.
His collaborative approach creates scalable and trusted solutions for the exchange of payments and data and can be seen in his leadership of the acquisitions of Vocalink and Finicity, as well as the pending transaction with Nets – each expanding Mastercard’s range of payment flows.
Michael joined Mastercard in 2010 to lead its Middle East and Africa operations, where he helped shape and advance the company’s financial inclusion efforts with targeted solutions for governments and their citizens across the region. Earlier in his career, Michael held senior roles at both Barclays Bank and Citibank.
He is a member of the digital advisory council of Fannie Mae, which makes sustainable homeownership and workforce rental housing a reality for millions of Americans, and a member of the board of directors for the nonprofit Accion, which gives people across the world the financial tools and services they need to prosper.
Michael is also a board member at large for the Ronald McDonald House New York City, a charity that offers vital resources and compassionate care to children and their families being treated by the world’s leading pediatric cancer hospitals.
Michael holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Passau in Germany.
Ryan McInerney has been with Visa since June of 2013 and serves as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to assuming the role of CEO in February 2023, he was President, responsible for Visa’s global businesses.
Prior to joining Visa, Mr. McInerney served as Chief Executive Officer of consumer banking for JPMorgan Chase, a business with more than 75,000 employees and revenues of approximately $14 billion. Previously, Mr. McInerney served as Chief Operating Officer for home lending and as Chief Risk Officer for Chase’s consumer businesses. He also served as Chase’s head of product and marketing for consumer banking.
Previously, Mr. McInerney was a principal at McKinsey & Company in the firm’s retail banking and payments practices. Mr. McInerney received a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Notre Dame.