The modern CFO’s tech stack: Systems over sprawl

Key takeaways

• Fragmented tech stacks create operational drag, reconciliation gaps, and hidden cross-border friction.

• Global scale requires unified infrastructure, not loosely connected local entities.

• AI delivers impact only when built on interoperable systems and regulated financial rails.

Today’s CFOs are expected to accelerate growth while strengthening control – scale globally, close faster, improve reporting, adopt AI, and reduce risk – all at once. Expectations are compounding, while tolerance for blind spots is shrinking.

For decades, the solution was to build a rock-solid tech stack. Finance teams adopted best-in-class point solutions: one for cards, one for FX, one for payables, another for reporting, and yet another for reconciliation. 

And while each tool solved a problem well, stitching them together created a different problem altogether.

The result? Sprawl. And sprawl doesn’t scale.

What modern CFOs are starting to realize is that quantity does not equal quality, especially when only 30% of fast-payment systems are interconnected. Many global businesses are running on outdated financial rails with long settlement windows and hidden fees. And when you add AI to the equation, the gap only widens if underlying systems aren’t connected.

In 2026, the shift is clear: CFOs are moving from tacking on tools to building systems.

Global fluency is no longer optional

Today’s companies are global by default. A business headquartered in one country can hire across borders, sell internationally, and manage suppliers worldwide on day one. 

Many financial institutions describe themselves as global. The business may appear unified, consisting of a network of local entities operating under one brand.

Yet customers still encounter friction each time a transaction crosses a border – whether during onboarding, compliance checks, or settlement.

Modernizing cross-border payments has been a global priority since the G20 introduced its roadmap to make global payments faster, cheaper, and more transparent. Yet recent reporting suggests 2027 targets may be difficult to meet, particularly around payment initiation and final settlement.

Domestic-first fintech tools have helped modernize payments within single markets. But technology designed primarily for domestic operations, layered on top of legacy banking systems, struggles under multi-currency, multi-entity, and multi-rail complexity.

Built-in is better than bolted-on

With every new add-on that joins the tech stack, another door opens for errors, delays, risks, and reconciliation gaps. And when the menu of options keeps growing, so does the opportunity for confusion, hype, and fragmented buying decisions. The “best in class for each component” era is giving way to “work smarter, not harder.” CFOs are searching for fewer platforms that do more with less – truly unified infrastructure.

In practice, that looks like cleaner data, real-time visibility, and automation. It aligns well with the 49% of CFOs who say a top priority is freeing up employees to do higher-value work. 

That foundation is what determines whether AI becomes a force multiplier – or just another tool in the stack.

Infrastructure first, AI second

AI has been framed as transformative for the global financial industry, and 87% of CFOs expect it to play a critical role in their operations in 2026. But even the most advanced AI cannot compensate for fragmented infrastructure.

Without unified data, consistent workflows, and interoperable systems, AI can only generate fragmented insights. It cannot replace regulated licenses or resolve structural settlement delays.

AI enhances decisions. But infrastructure enables them.

To that end, CFOs are prioritizing technology that treats interoperability as infrastructure. With an understanding that cross-border and multirail transactions will define the future, they want the ability to bridge asset types, jurisdictions, and compliance in real time. And they want adaptive infrastructure that supports this natively. 

From there, AI can enhance routing decisions, improve fraud detection, accelerate reconciliation, and surface strategic insights. But AI doesn’t replace the rails – it sits on top of them.

How finance teams can plan ahead

The shift toward systems translates to practical steps you can take below.

1. Unify your tools: Fragmented systems slow teams and break the data lineage AI depends on. When payments, FX, cards, and reconciliation operate on one connected platform, finance can scale without constant patchwork.

2. Adopt AI workflows early: Start with reconciliation, expense categorization, and fraud scoring. Let automation handle repetition while teams focus on judgment. Early implementation strengthens accuracy over time.

3. Route payments through local rails: Local payment networks offer faster, more predictable settlement than traditional correspondent chains – and often at lower cost.

4. Prepare for regulatory shifts: With PSD3 (the EU’s updated Payment Services Directive), centralized AML oversight under AMLA, and tighter lending rules emerging, infrastructure must adapt automatically rather than require manual rebuilds.

5. Test emerging rails: Small account-to-account pilots or controlled stablecoin tests build familiarity before scale becomes urgent.

Unified financial platforms built for global operations from the start are becoming increasingly relevant. Providers like Airwallex are investing in infrastructure that connects payments, FX, local rails, and automation into a single system – rather than a stitched-together stack. 

The goal? To connect transactions, visibility, and control into one global system that finance teams can rely on and trust.

Control and speed no longer require trade-offs.

1. https://www.gfmreview.com/fintech/the-global-payments-bottleneck-holding-back-the-remote-work-economy

2. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/g20s-cross-border-payments-push-set-miss-2027-target-2025-10-09/

3. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/about/press-room/deloitte-q4-2025-cfo-signals-survey.html

4. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/about/press-room/deloitte-q4-2025-cfo-signals-survey.html