HDX Global is pleased to introduce a series of interviews to celebrate women in the payments and tech industry.
For our first instalment we were delighted to chat to Monica Eaton - CEO of Chargebacks911 and Fi911 - who gave us an insight into her career to date.
How would you describe your experience within the industry?
“I think there are lots of opportunities and I have learned that this industry is everything you can possibly want. It’s challenging, it has tenacity and it is very exciting. I’ve been in technology for many years and since I got into payments - it’s like what everyone says - it has a stickiness which you can’t get out of.
Every year I think I must be a true expert now I know everything, but the change and evolution keeps me on my toes. I think some of us were born to keep solving problems.
“There are lots of mountains to climb, always a problem to solve and always endless opportunities. In tech we always want to make things go faster but that isn’t what it’s about. It’s about how do we make these 10 steps into one to have that growth and create something that does not exist - that’s the innovation.”
Over the year’s how have you seen changes of women working in the industry?
“I personally think I, as a woman, can have it all in this industry. I think there's been lots of beliefs and fixed ideas over the years that if you’re a woman you have to choose between having a family or a career. Today it’s more about work life integration and I think Covid showed us what we’re capable of.
“I always like a quote by Jake Mall which goes",
‘women will end up taking over the internet. Men have the tendency to like coding and women want to make it cosy.’
“Think about selling online - it’s really about capturing the attention and creating that content that is alluring. Women will control the purse strings when shopping online. Any company in the industry today should be putting women at the helm in their teams - having a diverse team who know what women want. They’re the people who buy from you.”
Do you think there are any future developments which are key right now and coming to the fore?
“No doubt growth of alternative payment channels and more innovation about choices of payment options they have.
“It doesn’t just have to be about payment with cards - these markets are changing. Consumer behaviour creates change - it’s not just an evolution, it’s a revolution. In our own business we focus on extending that capability to all payment methods and not just cards. There are so many opportunities for any size of business - it does not matter the type of payment - it’s about leveraging the technology that’s really streamlined.”
What would you say to women coming through the payments industry?
Having a mentor is incredibly valuable. I also do really understand the statement ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,’ more, but I also believe continuous learning is also key. It’s about building those relationships which can mean so much. I would say to any woman starting a career 3 things…
Work hard and don’t measure yourself against anyone else. Invest the time into learning and want to be the expert and you will grow.
Always be professional. It’s really important to not burn bridges in payments, it’s crazy how small the industry is. People can change, jobs change in the industry and it is very tight nit network. You will make mistakes but have thick skin and do not take anything personal.
Recognise that we all have weaknesses - but weaknesses are also our strengths. Take the opportunity to look at discomfort and all that to help you to grow. We grow when we feel the most confronted and through hardships. The things that are so difficult - we overcome them - and we should look at a way to grow from them. Turn adversities into positives, rewriting history in a way to turn our negatives into positives for the future.”
Chargebacks911 is an industry leader in itself providing intelligent solutions and unrivalled results to retailers and the brand Fi911 compliments by providing financial institutions with technology solutions for chargeback and merchant lifecycle management. Both aim to create a more seamless payments industry while preparing for future scale.
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