What's the best career advice you've ever received? We asked the leaders shaping payments and fintech.
Oana Ifrim
27 May 2026 / 8 Min Read
The advice that shapes a career rarely arrives in a boardroom. We asked the leaders behind some of the most influential work in payments and fintech where theirs came from.
In The Paypers` Women at the Forefront of Payments series, Lead Editor Oana Ifrim sat down with leaders across payments and fintech and asked them one thing: what do you know now that you wish you had known earlier, and what would you say to your younger self?
Miranda McLean, Chief Marketing Officer at Ecommpay and Executive Board Member of the European Women Payments Network (EWPN)
The network you build is the career you have
The most revealing moment came when Miranda landed on the advice she now gives without hesitation: build a network, belong to a community. She'll be the first to admit she came to this late – years of pouring everything into work and family, with little left over for her professional community. That changed in 2015 when she was invited onto the EWPN executive board. One door, and suddenly there were connections, friendships, perspectives from people she'd never have otherwise encountered – different backgrounds, different functions, different ways of seeing the same problems.
She didn't stop there. Miranda joined the Fin.Tech Marketing Community's advisory board, trading ideas and hard-won experience with fellow marketers. She sits on two working groups for the Payment Association — one tackling ESG, the other diversity and inclusion.
"Join as many communities as you can, as long as they are personally meaningful, because they will widen your perspective and build your network in ways that are invaluable to your career growth."
Wrapping up the conversation, Jess shared a piece of career advice she received early on that has stayed with her: you will rarely feel ready for your next challenge, and that's exactly when you should dive in. She encouraged professionals to have the confidence to try, and even the confidence to fail and get back up again. Throughout her career, she has embraced opportunities that pushed her outside her comfort zone rather than shying away from them.
She also emphasized the power of teamwork and asking for help, noting that there are no stupid questions and that supporting one another is the foundation of building great businesses.
"Have the confidence to try. And then have the confidence to fail — and get back up."
Perhaps the most compelling moment of the conversation came when Miriam shared the best piece of career advice she ever received, though it wasn't advice in the traditional sense. As a young university student feeling stuck and unhappy, she met a professional athlete who asked her a deceptively simple question: "What would you do if you were totally free?"
That question became a north star for Miriam's career decisions. It gave her the courage to leave the travel industry and join a tiny, unknown startup when everyone around her questioned why she would abandon a safe corporate job at a well-known brand. By stripping away the noise of others' opinions and expectations, she was able to trust her gut, and it changed her life.
"Strip away the noise of others' expectations and trust your gut. That's where the real answer lives."
When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Mai offered three powerful lessons. First, don't wait until you feel ready. Confidence comes from doing, not from some imagined future moment of qualification. Second, be generous with your own story. For years, she tried to smooth over the things that made her different, her accent, her immigrant background, being the only woman in the room, only to discover that those very qualities are what make people trust her and want to work with her.
"Choose your people carefully and hold on to them fiercely."
From her co-founder Alexis, to investors who backed SAPI through three funding rounds totaling GBP 80 million, to early team members who moved continents to build alongside her, Mai Le credits relationships as the most career-defining force in her life.
Four leaders, four different paths. But the same quiet truth running through all of them: the people and the moments that shape a career are rarely the ones you planned for.
About Oana Ifrim
Oana Ifrim is Lead Editor at The Paypers, keeping a close pulse on the banking and fintech sectors. She brings passion for content strategy and narrative design, along with rigorous trend analysis and industry research, to fintech, banking, and payments coverage, delivering clarity, depth, and strategic insight. Oana conducts expert interviews and thought leadership content, moderates webinars and conference panels, leads research projects and industry reports, and represents The Paypers at key industry events.
She can be reached at oana@thepaypers.com or on LinkedIn.
The Paypers is a global hub for market insights, real-time news, expert interviews, and in-depth analyses and resources across payments, fintech, and the digital economy. We deliver reports, webinars, and commentary on key topics, including regulation, real-time payments, cross-border payments and ecommerce, digital identity, payment innovation and infrastructure, Open Banking, Embedded Finance, crypto, fraud and financial crime prevention, and more – all developed in collaboration with industry experts and leaders.
