Ellie Smith, a 15 year payments industry veteran, is the Head of the Chip Center of Excellence for Discover Financial Services. In this capacity, Ellie is responsible for leading the contact and contactless EMV programs across Discover, Diners Club and PULSE networks. She manages EMV product strategy, leads policy development, and drives optimization of critical vendor programs. Ellie’s team also partners closely with issuers, acquirers, and merchants globally to enable the successful implementation and rollout of advanced payment technologies.

Prior to joining Discover, Ellie was a consultant focused on payment-related projects, and also worked for nearly 10 years at American Express with significant time spent in the emerging payments area.

Ellie sits on the EMVCo Executive Committee and is also a member of the U.S. Payments Forum Steering Committee. Ellie holds a BS from the University of Iowa and is a Certified Training Director.