Investing in fintech growth stocks is an excellent strategy for those seeking high returns in the stock market. Fintech companies use technology to disrupt the traditional financial services sector, creating innovative solutions that increase efficiency and accessibility. This disruptive potential can lead to impressive growth, making it an attractive sector for investors with a more aggressive risk tolerance threshold.

Such investors will certainly hope 2023 will be better than 2022, which saw fintech stocks waver. Payment stocks performed worse than the overall S&P 500, which dropped more than 19%. That said, this disruptive sector promises better days.

When investing in fintech growth stocks, as with all stocks, you must do your due diligence and research the companies you are considering. That means seeking companies with strong financials, solid growth potential, and a competitive edge in their niche.

Here are seven fintech growth stocks I think are worth diving deeper into.

Adyen (ADYYF)

Adyen (OTCMKTS:ADYYF) is a global payment technology company offering a simplified platform to accept payments anywhere in the world. The company helps businesses increase revenue by providing customer payment solutions across multiple channels and devices. These solutions include a range of payment methods and currencies, as well as fraud prevention and data analysis tools to assist their customers.

The company recently released its full fiscal year 2022 earnings results. Most metrics indicate that the company continues to experience strong overall growth, making it a reasonable investment.

Adyen processed €767.5 billion of payments for the entire year, representing a 49% year-over-year increase. That resulted in €1.3 billion in total revenues, up 30% over the same period a year earlier.

Adyen noted solid growth in North America and Asia, and its shares carry several hundred dollars of upside beyond their current price. The company maintains hubs in Singapore, Chicago, San Francisco, Madrid, and Sao Paolo.

MercadoLibre (MELI)

Latin American e-commerce company MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) provides various fintech offerings in Latin America. The company offers payment processing, digital wallets, and other financial services. Those services allow users to make payments, send money, and access credit in markets that may otherwise be under-served.

The company and its fintech platform have become very popular in Latin America, where traditional banking services are less accessible. The company’s high-quality offerings have contributed to the its regional growth and success.

Mercadolibre’s recent earnings report highlights the firm’s fintech success. Unique active users reached 44 million in the fourth quarter, representing a 27% increase year-over-year. MercadoLibre also rocessed $36 billion in total payment volume in Q4, a 45% increase over the same time frame. Notably, more than $25 billion of that volume was off-platform. The company’s POS (point of sale) business has expanded rapidly, with that $25 billion in payment volume representing 51% year-over-year growth.

The company’s strong growth across an underserved Latin American payments landscape provides excellent upside to long-term investors.

Shift4 Payments (FOUR)

Another up-and-coming fintech stock, Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) provides payment processing solutions and related services. The company’s offerings include contactless payments, gift cards, loyalty programs, and advanced security and fraud prevention tools. Shift4 Payments also offers a variety of software integrations to support businesses in a range of industries.

FOUR stock has been relatively stable over the last year, price-wise, yet it still offers approximately 15% upside according to analysts.

Shift4 Payments serves more than 200,000 current partners across the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Europe, processing over $200 billion of transactions annually.

One of the more exciting developments from the company is its recent partnership with the self-checkout company Mashgin. Mashgin’s kiosks are equipped with computer vision-enabled cameras that allow users to place all their goods on kiosk trays and have them instantly rung up.

Mashgin’s stadium kiosks have seen sales increases between 25%-400%, with the partnership promising to increase Shift4 Payments’ total processing volume substantially over the long-term.

Global Payments (GPN)

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) provides similar offerings to the companies on this list. The company is a leading provider of a comprehensive suite of payment processing solutions and related services, including point-of-sale systems, online payments, and fraud prevention tools.

But unlike the other shares listed above, GPN stock isn’t currently experiencing robust growth. Instead, 2022 revenues increased by a modest 5.2%, reaching $8.975 billion. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, with the company posting only 2.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Fortunately, Global Payments’ net income grew by 19.1% to $258.56 million – a bright spot for the firm overall.

However, Global Payments has a clear path toward growth with its acquisition of EVO Payments (NASDAQ:EVOP) expected to be completed by the end of March. That acquisition will increase the firm’s addressable markets and strengthen its current B2B payment solutions portfolio.

Global Payments is shifting toward enterprise clients and away from consumer-focused businesses, with plans to divest two businesses soon.

Toast (TOST)

Some fintech stocks, including Toast (NYSE:TOST), also serve more niche areas of the fintech market. Toast is a cloud-based restaurant management platform that offers a variety of software and hardware solutions to support restaurant operations. Its solutions include point-of-sale systems, online ordering, and delivery management. The company serves a growing customer base domestically and internationally.

Toast is fast becoming a household name within restaurant payments, posting 60% revenue growth in 2022. However, that impressive growth still did not propel Toast’s bottom line out of the red in 2022. The company posted a net loss of $275 million. The positive spin is that this net loss narrowed significantly from $487 million in 2021.

Toast expects its $2.731 billion in 2022 revenues to grow to between $3.57 and $3.66 billion in 2023. That would represent top-line growth between 30.7% and 34%. The company also anticipates as much as $30 million in EBITDA, meaning it will still produce net losses in 2023 based on management’s expectations.

PayPal (PYPL)

Despite its size and prominent name, PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) remains a noteworthy fintech growth stock to buy. It may be a pioneering name in the payments space, but that doesn’t mean it is a dinosaur that can’t keep up.

It is more established than other names on this list. And as a consequence, it doesn’t boast the dramatic growth of several other stocks above. That said, PayPal reported meaningful Q4 and FY ’22 top-line growth of 7% and 8%, respectively.

Of particular importance for fundamentals-based investors, PayPal’s earnings per share grew by 19% in Q4 after falling 41% in 2022. One interpretation of that metric is a reversal of negative momentum and a positive forward outlook.

PYPL stock has proven volatile this year. It began 2023 trading at $74.58, rose to nearly $87 to start February, and has since fallen to $73. The positive is that analysts have pegged its target stock price above $99, so growth is certainly there.

Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO)

Fair Isaac Corp. (NYSE:FICO) provides analytics software and tools. These solutions are utilized across the banking, insurance, and healthcare industries. Fair Issac provides credit risk assessment, fraud detection, and decision management. Most of us know Fair Isaac Corp. for the FICO credit score, determining individual and business creditworthiness.

It’s also a fintech stock worth considering, underpinned by moderate growth. The company’s net income rose by 15% in Q4, reaching $97.6 million. Revenues grew by a more modest 6.98% during the same period.

FICO will likely push fintech leaders to continue to define their AI strategies shortly. The company recently released its third annual State of Responsible AI in Financial Services report. The report notes an ongoing increase in demand for AI in fintech but a lack of transparency. Further, most companies surveyed have only vague notions of how to define and implement standards for AI across financial services.

FICO could benefit from AI if it can improve the accuracy of the credit scores it assigns to individuals and businesses.

On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.