INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
GoCardless has been around for eight years
But the company has experienced tremendous growth over the past couple of years
It now has a shot at becoming a global leader when it comes to payments via direct debit
Its co-founder and CEO Hiroki Takeuchi has become a fintech expert, and that’s why I’m excited to announce that Hiroki Takeuchi will
join us at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin.GoCardless has a pretty self-explanatory name
While many small and big companies still rely on credit cards and sometimes even (gasp) cheques, GoCardless wants to make it easier to
switch to direct debit payments
The company’s API lets you get started and accept recurring payments in no time.The advantages are obvious
First, card payments were never designed for recurring subscriptions
They expire and lead to churn
If you’re running a subscription business with card payments, you’re basically leaving money on the table.Second, card payments can be
For instance, Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 for each card transaction in the U.S., 1.4% + €0.25 in Europe (Stripe also offers direct debit
GoCardless costs 1% per transaction.If you’re a global company, GoCardless has been slowly expanding its footprint with many supported
direct debit schemes, such as SEPA in Europe, Bacs direct debit in the U.K., ACH debit in the U.S
and many more.But GoCardless doesn’t want to stop at consumer subscriptions
The company thinks direct debit payments could represent a big opportunity for B2B use cases
It’s cheaper and provides a lot more visibility than cheques.While many startups also talk about resilience, Hiroki Takeuchi actually
knows what resilience feels like on a personal and professional level
TechCrunch’s Steve O’Hear wrote a thoughtful interview with him shortly after a serious road accident that has left him paralyzed below
his chest.A few months ago, the company raised a $75 million Series E round with an impressive list of investors that included Adams Street
Partners, GV, Salesforce Ventures, Accel Partners, Balderton Capital, Notion Capital and Passion Capital.Buy your ticket to Disrupt Berlin
to listen to this discussion — and many others
The conference will take place December 11-12.In addition to panels and fireside chats, like this one, new startups will participate in the
Startup Battlefield to compete for the highly coveted Battlefield Cup.Hiroki is co-founder and CEO of GoCardless
Founded in 2011, GoCardless is a global leader in recurring payments
The business is on a mission to take the pain out of getting paid for recurring revenue businesses
More than 40,000 businesses around the world, from multinational corporations to SMBs, transact through GoCardless each month, and the
business processes $10bn of payments a year.Before starting GoCardless, Hiroki studied Mathematics at Oxford University and worked as a
management consultant at McKinsey - Co.
