Hendrik Schulenburg has been working at Payrexx since 2021 and quickly advanced from a student worker to CFO. During this time, he has made a significant contribution to the company's development and driven forward pioneering processes.

Hendrik Schulenburg hat sich in den vergangenen vier Jahren bei Payrexx als äusserst verlässlicher, analytisch starker und verantwortungsbewusster Kollege bewiesen. Er kennt unser Unternehmen sowie den Zahlungsmarkt bis ins Detail und bringt ein ausserordentliches Engagement mit, das weit über das Übliche hinausgeht. Seine strukturierte Arbeitsweise, sein ausgeprägtes Zahlenverständnis und seine Fähigkeit, auch unter Druck fundierte Entscheidungen zu treffen, haben uns überzeugt, ihm diese zentrale Verantwortung zu übertragen.

Ivan Schmid

Geschäftsführer der Payrexx AG

With this appointment, Payrexx affirms its belief that age or years of service are not the focus, but rather expertise, integrity, and entrepreneurial thinking. Hendrik embodies exactly those qualities that are crucial for sustainable and forward-looking financial leadership – especially in the dynamic SME environment where Payrexx operates as a market leader.

Since its founding in 2015, Payrexx has established itself at the Thun location. Today, the company has over 45 employees and is one of the most innovative FinTechs in the region. With the appointment of Hendrik Schulenburg, Payrexx aims to contribute to regional talent development and strengthening Thun's position as a growing FinTech center.

In conversation, Schulenburg provides insights into his career path as well as his vision for the future of digital payments and his outlook for the coming years.

How is it that you are already CFO at Payrexx at the age of 24?

Hendrik Schulenburg: “I have always been interested in economic topics. That's why I did my Bachelor's in Business Administration at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and joined Payrexx as an intern during my studies. That was over four years ago, and since then, I have had the opportunity to accompany the company in various roles, experience many exciting developments, and gradually take on more responsibility. The combination of finance and strategic development fascinates me greatly, and I am grateful to the Board of Directors and management for the trust they have placed in me with this role.”

Was it always your goal to become CFO?

“The goal to become CFO one day developed over time at Payrexx. The insights I gained and the topics I was able to engage with showed me that I would like to take on the corresponding responsibility one day. I am very pleased to have received this chance at Payrexx now.”

What makes Payrexx a special employer for you?

“On one hand, the market itself – the payment industry is incredibly exciting, constantly in motion and offers much space for innovation. On the other hand, I am impressed by how Payrexx has built a strong position in the Swiss payment market over the past ten years with much commitment and customer proximity. We are particularly proud that Payrexx was chosen as the most popular provider for Swiss SMEs in the national online retailer survey in 2023, ahead of providers like PayPal, Worldline, or PostFinance.

That is exactly what makes Payrexx for me: Innovation with a clear focus on the needs of SMEs – with a solution that simply works and provides real added value for SMEs.”

What does leadership mean to you in a FinTech like Payrexx?

“Leadership at Payrexx means to me understanding the needs of customers and the market, staying agile and innovative at all times, and working together towards a clear goal. This is necessary to assert oneself in a dynamic market environment.”

How do you see the development of the payment industry?

“I am convinced that both online and presence business will continue to move towards simplification and efficiency. For example, we can already observe that instant payments – i.e., real-time bank transfers – are gaining global relevance and it will only be a matter of time before this is established in the Swiss market as well. Changes will also happen at the point of sale. The classic payment terminal (POS terminal), as we know it from retail, will increasingly be replaced by so-called softPOS solutions in the coming years: A common smartphone or tablet is turned into a complete payment terminal – without additional hardware. This technological development makes card payments more flexible, cheaper, and efficient – especially for small businesses and mobile providers.

It is important for companies to stay up to date with such trends and choose the right payment provider. Therefore, it is particularly gratifying that Payrexx will soon be able to offer its customers both aforementioned solutions.”

And where do you see Payrexx in 5 years?

“The question is particularly exciting. Payrexx is constantly evolving and has recently started processing not only e-commerce payments but also point-of-sale payments (payments directly at the physical sales point, e.g., at the cash register or on-site with clients), becoming a true omni-payment provider. Therefore, I see Payrexx in 5 years as number 1 in the omni-payment sector for SMEs in Switzerland. Payrexx's all-in-one solution with all important Swiss payment methods from a single source is unique – and especially attractive for SMEs as it is not only comprehensive but also available at the lowest price on the market. Therefore, I am convinced that we will reach many more companies.”

With Hendrik Schulenburg as the new CFO, Payrexx is setting the course for further growth in the Swiss FinTech landscape. We thank him for the exciting insights and look forward to continued successful collaboration.

About Payrexx

Payrexx was founded in 2015 in Thun and enables, as a registered Payment Facilitator of Mastercard, Visa, TWINT, PostFinance, CENTI, NAKA, and REKA, the simple acceptance of payments - both online and on-site. As an all-in-one solution, the self-developed payment platform includes more than 200 payment methods as well as numerous simple sales tools (Pages, Paylink, Invoice, Donations, QR Pay, Terminal). All systems at Payrexx are designed to be redundant and meet the highest security standards. More than 60,000 merchants worldwide already use Payrexx, including renowned Swiss companies like BKW, Carvolution, Zweifel Pomy-Chips AG, Hotelcard, or Selecta.