Optimising Payments for SMEs

In this first episode of the new season, I’m thrilled to be joined by Lewis Turek, the General Manager of North America at GoCardless, a payment company that allows a simple, secure way to get paid, without the chasing stress or expensive fees. In this conversation, Lewis and I discuss his journey from IBM Intern, through to setting up Uber for Business in the UK and dive into his current experience as an English ex pat, leading GoCardless expansion into the U.S.🌟 Some of my favourite parts were:✅Lewis’ experience of starting in a new country “as an absolute zero and as a nobody” (referring to his credit history!), and the challenges of building that up with no track record in the U.S.;✅How U.S businesses manage the data protections and controls around customer bank details – Lewis provides an anecdote on business attitudes that you won’t want to miss;✅How, on the B2C side, we are seeing a downwards trend in credit card spend as Millennials and Gen Z have chosen an alternative route and are less comfortable with debt.;✅How as a graduate trainee Lewis was up into the wee hours trying to work out how best to present to his bosses and the life lessons gained from that experience;✅The differences in the way B2B payments are made in America – over 20% of B2B payments are still made by paper checks!