Nicola Entwistle works in Mastercard's digital payments team and focuses on developing the UK and Ireland's digital payments strategy. The market development area that Nicola works in focuses on introducing new ways people can make payments in the UK and Ireland, and identifies ways to drive customer usage of these new technologies. An example could be using an app to pay the bill after a meal, or tapping into a tube station using a smartphone.

Exciting and innovative work

"I work closely with our issuing customers and digital customers to deploy new technology into the market. Last year I managed the engagement with our issuing customers and Apple Pay in the UK to launch our tokenisation technology, one of the biggest developments in the payments industry since chip and pin," explains Nicola.

Nicola has worked at Mastercard for a number of years. She started off in the strategy development team focusing on the emerging payments strategy and has since spent six months in Mastercard's Mexico City office to help define the digital strategy for some of Mastercard's key customers in the market.

"I was responsible for taking our learnings from launching digital technology in the UK and bringing this learning to a new market. It was a fantastic opportunity - I experienced how a completely different region operates, got to know a new culture and understood a different arm of our business. I picked up new skills, a new language and some incredible memories," Nicola reflects. "It has opened my eyes to a wealth of opportunities and I'm now deciding which market I'd like to work in next. Latin America looks likely as I fell in love with the place." Nicola then returned back to London to continue her work focusing on deploying new digital payments technologies across the UK and Ireland.

"My work is not just about understanding the technology," says Nicola. "I'm required to build trusted relationships with our partners and simplify technically-complicated solutions to gain senior buy in."

Why did Nicola choose Mastercard?

Previously working at a conference company that organised payment conferences, Nicola came across Mastercard at numerous events. "Mastercard was always a really interesting participant at the conferences with innovative solutions, a fantastic ethic towards financial inclusion and really passionate employees. I had also come across Mastercard’s impressive female executive leaders in publications and realised it had real potential for women who wanted to work in technology," says Nicola.

Since Nicola started working at Mastercard, she has had the opportunity to work on innovative technologies, such as the launch of Mastercard's tokenisation platform which drives the transactions behind Apple Pay and Android Pay in the UK.

Mastercard supports women's advancement

Mastercard has a number of employee networks such as their Women’s Leadership Network, Pride Network and STEM Network. Having the freedom and support to get involved with these networks and drive engagement amongst employees appeals to Nicola.

"Last year I managed the relationship with our local Food Bank to raise awareness, recruit volunteers and fundraise for a cause close to home. I also worked on setting up coaching for 40 members of our Women’s Leadership Network. The ability to get involved in additional projects that I'm passionate about is one of the best aspects of working for Mastercard. I also get to work with many great people," explains Nicola.

Nicola shares some tips for ambitious women

"Women don't always need to have a specific technical degree to work in technology," says Nicola. "I have a business management degree with no engineering or mathematics focus. A lot of the learning is on the job, so if you enjoy the work and have a passion for it, then go for it. Technology is the future and there are so many opportunities for women within this industry. Consider everything and be open to every opportunity."

Find out more