When Kevin Wall first stepped into industry from public accounting, it wasn’t by accident—it was through a client he already knew well. The company, in the midst of an ERP conversion and preparing to go public, saw in Wall someone who understood both their numbers and their needs. “They were familiar with me. I was familiar with them,” he tells us.
That early pivot from audit into operational finance set the tone for a career defined by depth over speed. Wall spent 13 years at Alcatel-Lucent and a decade at FIS, climbing steadily while broadening his remit from general accounting to pricing, FP&A, and global finance operations. His longevity at these firms, he tells us, allowed him to “move and see new things under one roof” while growing his leadership footprint.
Today, as CFO of Stax Payments, Wall is again stepping into transformation. The company, which serves over 40,000 SMBs and processes more than $20 billion in volume annually, is preparing to launch its own end-to-end processing engine. Wall’s priorities reflect a blend of commercial focus and operational precision: “It’s the top of the funnel,” he says, referencing lead generation, “and speed to revenue.”
A self-described servant leader, Wall believes in “clearing obstacles” so teams can grow. That mindset also drove a past strategic move—reorganizing finance functions like billing and AP to other departments. It was a bold step, but one grounded in clarity: “Let’s really define what we want finance to be,” Wall tells us.
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CFOTL: Tell us about Stax Payments. What is this company about today?
Wall: Stax Payments is a leading, high-growth payments technology provider that supports software companies, resellers, and merchants across the U.S.—primarily in the Main Street USA, small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment. These businesses want to focus on what they do best—whether that’s running a restaurant, a dry cleaner, or another operation. They don’t want to worry about navigating the complexity of the payment process.
We provide end-to-end solutions that help them handle the various payment rails—whether it’s debit card, credit card, ACH, or another method—both online through e-commerce and in person at a storefront. What really drew me to Stax is that we’re on the cusp of becoming a full end-to-end processor. That allows us to remove reliance on some of the legacy processors out there and puts us in a position to lead with technology—introducing new tools faster and offering more ways to integrate payments directly into software.
Last year, we launched our Stax Connect Plus platform, and we’ve already seen a 20 to 40 percent lift in payment attachment through that program. It allows payments to be seamlessly embedded into our customers’ workflows, making transactions easier and more efficient.
We’re now servicing over 40,000 businesses and processing more than $20 billion in annual volume. With strong backing from our investment partners, an exceptional team, and a compelling product, Stax is positioned for a significant growth trajectory in the coming years.
Stax Payments | www.staxpayments.com | Orlando, FL