Optimising Payments for SMEs

By ACC Finance Team
Follow Us:

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 for Optimising Payments 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!

Follow Us:
Author
Black GBP (£) currency symbol inside a black circle, representing finance, money, and UK currency transactions

ACC Finance Team

ACC Finance are a team of experienced CFOs and management accountants who combine executive financial leadership with practical commercial judgement to work closely with founders and leadership teams to strengthen margins, improve cash flow, and guide critical financial decisions.
Date:

Apply for a Financial Health Check

Gain independent clarity on profitability, cash flow, and financial controls before your next stage of growth.
Applications are reviewed to ensure a strong fit.

Find Out More or Become A Guest: 
Speak to us at The Fractional CFO Show

Read our next articles

Revenue is up. The team is busy. The pipeline looks strong. But cash feels tighter than expected, and the monthly numbers never quite line up with what is happening on the ground. This is where the accrued and accrual distinction stops being accounting theory and starts being a practical problem.
By ACC Finance Team
Most agency founders can quote their EBITDA. Far fewer can explain why it moved last month, what is driving it, or how to improve it deliberately. This article gives you the information you need to understand EBITDA in your business.
By ACC Finance Team
Most founders understand what an accountant does. Fewer are clear on what a CFO does differently, and why that distinction starts to matter as the business scales. This article sets out the role of a Chief Financial Officer, how fractional CFO services make that expertise accessible, and what effective financial leadership actually delivers in a growing agency.
By ACC Finance Team
Revenue is rising. The team is growing. But cash feels tight and margins are harder to find. If this sounds familiar, revenue is not the problem. It is what sits beneath it. This article sets out the financial signals that matter, and what CEOs of scaling UK service businesses should also be tracking.
By ACC Finance Team
Most growing agencies can tell you their revenue. Very few can tell you which clients are profitable, what their cash position looks like in eight weeks, or whether their margins have quietly compressed over the past two quarters. That gap is not a bookkeeping problem. It is a leadership problem.
By ACC Finance Team
At £2 - 5m revenue, turnover of senior staff is costly, and salary inflation constrains growth. This article explains how share options and EMI schemes help SMEs retain talent, protect cash flow, and support long-term value.
By ACC Finance Team

Related podcasts

By ACC Finance Team
By ACC Finance Team
By ACC Finance Team
By ACC Finance Team
By ACC Finance Team