Behind Discover’s EMVCo Ambitions

Discover announced it would become EMVCo’s sixth member on September 3, acquiring a one-sixth ownership of the standards body and taking up a leading role in the organization’s management, technical and operational responsibilities in the process.

But, according to Beth R. Horowitz, the company’s senior vice president of global marketing solutions, the move is not simply a formal gesture that cements Discover’s already ongoing work in the group, it’s about improving the future of payments.

Throughout the discussion, Horowitz provided a clear roadmap that Discover as a global payments company will follow as a member of EMVCo, and addressed more hot-button topics about her company’s involvement in the organization and the body’s decisions as a whole.

For the full responses to these questions and more, listen to our full podcast with Horowitz here.

Part One

Part Two

*If you have trouble with the Pt. 1 audio player above, click here.

*If you have trouble with the Pt. 2 audio player above, click here.

Beth Horowitz, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions Discover Financial Services

Beth R. Horowitz is Senior Vice President Global Marketing Solutions at Discover Financial Services. In this capacity, Beth is responsible for leading the client marketing organization that includes merchant and partner marketing programs, brand and customer communications, product development, emerging payment solutions and global pricing.

Beth joined Discover in 2006 and has held a variety of leadership roles to help Discover’s Payment Services division broaden its product and market capabilities.

Prior to joining Discover, Beth was Senior Vice President, Advanced Payments Solutions for MasterCard International. During her tenure, she held a variety of roles in marketing, sales, product management and new technology integration.

Before joining MasterCard in 1989, Beth held positions at Shearson Lehman Hutton, Development Dimensions International and Working Woman Magazine.

Beth earned her Master MBA from Pace University and holds a BA degree from the State University of New York, College at Oswego. She is a member of the American Management Association, W.net, and International Who’s Who and serves on the board of Lambs Farm, a non-profit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities.