Versapay Names PayPal Vet Carey O’Connor Kolaja CEO

Versapay has appointed a former PayPal and Citi Fintech executive as its new CEO.

Carey O’Connor Kolaja is taking over the operations and strategic direction of the accounts receivable (AR) provider, Versapay said in a Tuesday (March 7) news release. She will replace Craig O’Neill, who moves into a strategic advisory role for the Toronto-based company.

“O’Connor Kolaja brings over 25 years of executive leadership experience in the financial services and payments industry with a broad and successful background in profitably scaling companies and developing robust company culture,” the release said.

She joins Versapay from automated identity intelligence and cyber fraud prevention firm AU10TIX, where she also served as CEO. O’Connor Kolaja also worked for Citi Fintech as global chief product officer, and as vice president of global consumer products for PayPal.

The release notes that she joins Versapay amid a period of “rapid growth.” Among other things, Versapay now has 1 million companies in its payment network, saw an 82% year-over-year increase in software bookings and recently launched partnerships with American Express and Wells Fargo.

PYMNTS collaborated last year with Versapay on “The Strategic Role Of The CFO,” a report examining accounts payable (AP) and AR modernization.

The report found that nearly 93% of American companies with at least $25 million in revenue said they were integrating digital technologies into their accounting operations in the wake of the pandemic. COVID gave companies a boost to upgrade inefficient, manual invoicing and payment practices, such as a major reliance on paper checks.

PYMNTS also spoke with Versapay’s O’Neill in December about what companies should look for in an all-in-one cash flow management solution.

While the appeal of all-in-one platforms is well-established, there is a crucial distinction to make about what they can do, O’Neill said.

Many platforms claim to handle both accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR), but few do this in reality, he said.

“If the platform is not providing end-to-end servicing of transactions, it is not really a comprehensive solution,” PYMNTS wrote. “To make cash flow move quickly, the entire transaction cycle must be addressed, and that happens most efficiently with one integration, as opposed to a patchwork of niche or incomplete solutions.”

Meanwhile, a number of smaller companies rely totally on one individual for AP and AP management. O’Neill argued these firms are the ones that should be most concerned about cash flow, as there are intricate nuances with different customers that no one else could know about, if that individual were to leave.