Ajay Banga, President and CEO of MasterCard recently joined Olin Business School Dean Mahendra Gupta and students for a wide-ranging discussion on the evolution of credit cards, experimental payment systems, and cashless societies.

Mr. Banga took time to answer students’ questions and encouraged them to pursue their passions. Hear excerpts from the discussion and students’ reactions to the CEO’s frank and illuminating talk about the future of payment transactions.

Prior to joining MasterCard in 2009, Mr. Banga was chief executive officer of Citigroup Asia Pacific responsible for all businesses in the region, including institutional banking, alternative investments, wealth management, consumer banking and credit cards. He joined Citigroup in 1996 and held a variety of senior management roles in the United States, Asia Pacific, and the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. He was also responsible for Citi’s brand marketing and from 2005-2009 oversaw its efforts in microfinance.