Steve Smith, Mastercard Fellow for Global Open Banking, is a serial technology entrepreneur, business mentor and idealist. Steve’s focus extends beyond business success to a commitment to financial inclusion and quality education, which he sees as a catalyst for change in breaking the chains of generational poverty to lift individuals, families, and local economies.

While in college, he began his career as an executive at a rapidly growing technology company. After several years in leadership positions across start-ups and publicly traded companies, he co-founded Finicity Corporation. Steve established the company as a trailblazer in the exchange of consumer-permissioned financial data, commonly known as open banking. Finicity was acquired by Mastercard in 2020, where Steve currently serves as a Mastercard Fellow.

In this role, Steve exercises his extensive industry knowledge, leadership in key organizations, and broad relationships to further open banking across the globe. He also holds key industry leadership roles such as Co-Chair of the Financial Data Exchange, a nonprofit organization unifying the financial industry around a common, interoperable, and royalty-free standard for the secure exchange of consumer-permissioned financial data.

Steve is a graduate, supporter, and rabid fan of the University of Utah.