Kevin Wall, Chief Financial Officer at Stax discusses more on how modern fintech has become deeply integrated into core business needs and functions across sectors in this interview by Global Fintech Series:
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Hi Kevin, tell us about your fintech journey so far and the biggest learnings you’ve come away with?
My fintech journey began with Metavante, the spin out of the fintech and payments arm of M&I bank. I served as controller for the processing business unit to drive integration and consolidation of seven boutique acquisitions across the fintech landscape. As controller, I had the unique opportunity to create financial, operational and commercial processes to drive scale and growth. Metavante was acquired by FIS which allowed me to assume additional responsibilities on a larger and global scale. My most recent role was CFO of Paysafe’s merchant solutions segments. I was brought in by a former mentor at FIS to assist with stabilization and growth to set the stage for a public offering which was successfully completed via a SPAC. This was a key learning opportunity in my career to work cross functionally to drive enterprise and shareholder value.
One key learning I have seen across the fintech landscape is the real need for adaptability in a fast-evolving space. Continue to set your strategic goals as the North Star but recognize the path to get there may evolve. You may not build all the products on your roadmap but you may have to partner or acquire the technology. Don’t be afraid to change mid-stream. It doesn’t mean your original path was incorrect, just that you need to evolve with the changing environment.
What about the modern state of fintech most interests you?
What’s most compelling about today’s landscape is how integrated financial technology has become in everyday operations, particularly through embedded payments. The fintech industry is moving at a rapid pace, transitioning from isolated financial tools to fully integrated, real-time systems that streamline business processes and create new revenue streams. This evolution is empowering merchants to treat payments not just as a backend function, but as a strategic driver of user experience, loyalty and growth.
As CFO at a fintech, what are some of the core strategies you look at to scale paytech companies?
Scaling in the payments space requires a dual focus: technology ownership and operational efficiency. From a financial perspective, the ability to reduce third-party reliance through full-stack processing capabilities can lead to both cost efficiencies and margin expansion. This also unlocks richer data ownership, which is critical for dynamic pricing, interchange optimization and fraud prevention.
Another key strategy is the efficient acquisition and retention of new customers. In a highly competitive space, adding robust, growing customers creates a recurring revenue stream that will fund future product enhancements and growth.
Tell us about some of the fintech you often rely on to drive financial growth?
Every company has a unique financial tech stack. Modern finance leaders are increasingly relying on fintech platforms that offer visibility, control and real-time insights, especially as embedded finance and automation expand. At Stax, we are building our own to move the needle in that direction. Tools like Stax Engine and Stax Processing were explicitly designed to provide unified dashboards, configurable revenue shares, and seamless data across channels, enabling platforms and finance leaders to drive more profitable and scalable models.
Read More: The Future of Banking Starts with Customers
What do modern day CFOs most look to achieve with modern fintech and where do the biggest challenges lie despite a range of fintech to choose from for finance and CFO teams?
CFOs are looking to leverage fintech for three different goals: visibility, efficiency and scalability. Whether it’s real-time reporting, embedded monetization models or AI forecasting, modern fintech is unlocking agility. However, the biggest challenge that remains is integration. Many tools are point solutions that don’t speak to each other, or they’re reliant on legacy infrastructure that limits flexibility. The ability to orchestrate financial operations through a single source is still a challenge for many.
What challenges plague modern payment processes especially for companies dealing with global payments on a regular basis?
Global payments introduce many layers of complexity. There are varying compliance rules, settlement delays and conversions to deal with. Fragmentation across providers results in data silos and reconciliation headaches. One significant challenge in regulatory compliance is navigating the complex data protection laws and preventing fraud. As companies scale internationally, they need to have a payment infrastructure that is not only flexible but built for secure transactions that won’t disrupt the consumer experience.
How can AI powered paytech and fintech enable seamless processes here, how can modern finance teams capitalize on this more effectively?
AI in financial operations is transforming how finance teams are operating internally and externally. By designing structured data systems, organizations can fully unlock AI’s capabilities, from streamlining reconciliations and invoice matching to forecasting with greater accuracy. On the consumer side, chatbots and onboarding assistants are now standard, offering real-time support and reducing friction at critical touchpoints. However, none of these work without strong governance. In our regulated industry, finance leaders must pair innovation with oversight, ensuring AI initiatives comply with privacy mandates and data usage protocols. The real opportunity of AI lies in using the technology for embedded insights, where decision support, analytics and strategic guidance are no longer delayed by manual processes but delivered in real time.
Five thoughts you’d leave everyone in fintech with before we wrap up?
Trust, innovation and adaptability are foundational in fintech. Trust is earned every day with customers, partners and regulators through transparency and consistency. Innovation is now a table stake; staying ahead in this industry means embracing technologies like AI to solve real-time problems. Compliance shouldn’t be viewed as a hurdle but rather as a strategic tool that sharpens competitive edge. Don’t be afraid to evolve in the fintech space; sometimes, the most impactful transformations happen when you’re willing to change course to meet the moment.
Read More: Global Fintech Interview with Radha Suvarna, Chief Product Officer of Payments at Finastra
[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]
Stax is a leading, high-growth payments technology provider that helps software companies, resellers, and SMBs realize the value of integrated payments for their business. Stax helps drive incremental revenue through frictionless, secure, and reliable payment processing and recurring billing solutions. From robust reporting to easily reconciled payments, Stax offers a full suite of adaptable tools and payment features to build the right solution at any scale, unlocking partner and customer success. Since 2014, Stax has grown to process over $30 billion in payments and serve more than 30,000 businesses and software platforms across the U.S. and Canada.
As the Chief Financial Officer at Stax, Kevin leads the company’s financial strategy, leveraging his expertise to guide Stax’s next chapter of strategic expansion.Prior to joining Stax, Kevin accumulated extensive experience in financial leadership roles, with a particular focus on the payments industry. He brings over 35 years of progressive financial leadership, including more than 15 years in the payments sector. Most recently serving as CFO of payment processing at Paysafe. His experience also includes over a decade-long tenure as division controller at FIS. Kevin began his career in the audit practice at KPMG. Kevin is a CPA and earned a BBA in Accounting from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
