227: How Mastercard Payments is Centering Cybersecurity in Innovation

In this episode of Nordic Visionaries, I had the chance to sit down with Magnus Egeberg, CEO of Mastercard Payment Services, live at TechBBQ. Magnus shared his journey from consulting and Nets to leading Mastercard’s Nordic business, and how he found himself at the center of one of the company’s most significant acquisitions. He walked me through what it meant to migrate national payment infrastructures across five countries, handling trillions of dollars while making sure everything worked flawlessly from day one.

We talked about the role of account-to-account payments as the backbone of both consumer and business transactions, and why the next wave of innovation lies in embedded finance. Magnus described how payments are being integrated directly into the workflows of professionals in industries such as law and healthcare, making once cumbersome processes faster, safer, and far more intuitive.

Cybersecurity was another prominent theme in our conversation. Magnus explained why security is never an add-on at Mastercard but part of the DNA, from zero-trust design to developer training and global threat intelligence. He also shared a very personal story about his battle with cancer, and how it deepened his admiration for medical innovation.

As we wrapped up, Magnus pointed to sustainability as the innovation challenge of our time and why Mastercard is pushing toward net zero by 2040. It was an inspiring reminder of how financial infrastructure, resilience, and human stories all intersect in the Nordics.