Welcome FINTECHTALKERS!
In this episode, I sat down with Han Park, Founder & CEO of Payment Labs, to explore how payments innovation is reshaping the worlds of sports, Esports, and the creator economy. From paying athletes across 180+ countries and 150+ currencies to handling compliance, KYC, and taxes seamlessly, Payment Labs is solving one of the hardest challenges in global finance: frictionless payouts.
Han shares his journey from Wall Street to Samsung to Esports, and how the pain of slow, fragmented tournament payouts led him to build Payment Labs.
We dive into:
Why esports was the perfect storm that exposed broken payment rails.
How Payment Labs became the Stripe for sports — powering payouts for Microsoft, X Games, and Sega.
The explosive growth of emerging sports like pickleball and flag football, and why they need modern payment infrastructure to scale.
The rise of sportsfluencers in the NIL era, and how student-athletes are becoming mini-entrepreneurs.
What verticalized embedded finance means for the future of fintech.
Han’s story is one of timing, grit, and foresight — spotting the payments crisis in Esports years before the gig economy and NIL brought it mainstream.
The infographic titled “Major Payment Innovations Across Web Eras” illustrates the evolution of payment technologies and platforms from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0, highlighting how each digital era transformed how money moves online. At the forefront of this new wave is PaymentLabs, a platform purpose-built for emerging sports, eSports payouts, and evolving NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) models, reflecting how digital payment infrastructure is expanding into new creator and athlete-driven economies
SportsTech—and the broader sports industry—has seen a notable uptick in investor interest. Recent moves in the private equity space highlight this momentum, with CVC Capital Partners announcing a $14 billion dedicated sports fund and Apollo unveiling a $5 billion sports investment vehicle. These developments underscore the growing institutional appetite for sports as a scalable and high-yield asset class. As professional leagues such as the NFL begin opening up to private equity participation, the next wave of growth may emerge in the very segments that Han and Payment Labs are focused on — emerging sports like Pickleball, Flag Football, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), and eSports.
Listen now to the full episode!
Timestamp Table
0:00 – 2:00 – Welcome + Meet Han Park
From Wall Street to Samsung to esports — Han’s unconventional path to fintech.
2:01 – 6:00 – Why Esports Exposed the Payments Problem
Tournament prize money delayed for months — and how that sparked Payment Labs.
6:01 – 10:30 – Building the Stripe for Sports
How Payment Labs handles payouts across 180+ countries and 150+ currencies.
10:31 – 15:00 – Compliance as a Service
Embedding KYC, AML, and tax reporting into every payout flow.
15:01 – 20:00 – Big Names, Big Partnerships
Working with Microsoft, X Games, Sega, and top esports leagues.
20:01 – 24:00 – The Rise of Emerging Sports
Why pickleball, flag football, and drone racing need scalable payment infrastructure.
24:01 – 29:00 – NIL and the Sportsfluencer Era
How Payment Labs empowers student-athletes to become global earners.
29:01 – 33:00 – Verticalized Embedded Finance in Action
Why niche verticals like sports and esports are the next wave for fintech.
33:01 – 36:00 – Future Roadmap
Expanding beyond sports into adjacent creator and gig economy payouts.
36:01 – 38:00 – Closing Thoughts + How to Connect
Han’s vision for Payment Labs and where to learn more.
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Enjoy and always be in the know,
Paddy Ramanathan
Founder of iValley and Host of the FINTECHTALK™ Show (on Substack, Apple Podcast, YouTube, and Spotify)
Interested in sponsorship opportunities and be associated with sculpting the future? Please reach out to fintechtalk@substack.com.
Thanks to ChatGPT for suggestions.
(Violin piece in podcast, courtesy of my daughter Ilina)
