Share the story of Cashflows, how did it come into fruition?

Cashflows was created to make it easy for growing businesses and financial institutions to accept card and digital payments whether that’s online, in-person, or on the move. It has its own built and managed end to end technology stack which provides a safe, secure ecosystem for processing payments, including core acquiring, e-commerce gateway, in person payments and a number of value-added services operating across UK and EEA.

Cashflows is a unique organisation within the payments ecosystem. It is one of very few companies whose origination was e-commerce first in UK payments, and the first independent organisation to be approved for their own Visa and Mastercard licenses.

What is Cashflows' biggest achievement so far?

When I look back at the progress Cashflows has made over the last four years, I am hugely proud of what we have all achieved. Not only have we stayed focused on executing our strategy and embraced challenges and opportunities, but we have built a highly engaged team that continues to raise the bar. At the same time, we have delivered strong financial performance year after year, creating a solid platform for the next phase of our growth. We’ve seen real momentum across the business, and I know the best is yet to come.

What has been the biggest surprise during your time at Cashflows?

The biggest surprise throughout my tenure at Cashflows has been one of mindset and agility, which means that it has a unique capability to quickly mobilise the entire company at pace to deliver on business objectives. It’s not a tanker that takes years to turn. When you are less than 150 people, you can bring everyone together to talk about the future, growth objectives, and ensure everyone from top to bottom in the company understands their part in delivering against those objectives.

What has been the hardest lesson learned so far?

The basics of running a payments business should never be taken for granted. Running a high availability transaction business solution means exactly that - it is critical that you consistently deliver a service that it is always on, with the right people managing and maintaining that every minute of every hour of every day. In the early days of Cashflows we had to work hard to ensure that was the case, but now it is one of our greatest strengths.

What advice would you offer other growth companies about financing their business?

My advice to other growth companies is to work with a broker who genuinely understands your business, your sector and your growth plans. It is important that they understand not just how much funding you need today, but why you need it and how your financing requirements are likely to evolve as the business grows.

Financing should support the strategy of the business so taking the time to understand your options and finding the right people – whether that be brokers, advisers, or funders - who understand your ambitions can make a significant difference.

Any further tips for aspiring founders?

Building a business can be demanding but it is also incredibly rewarding. My advice for tomorrow’s business leaders is first and foremost to build strong relationships. That starts with your team, surround yourself with great minds and people that you trust, but it expands out to your customers too. Fostering great relationships means mutual respect and it also gives you the best chance at understanding and anticipating their needs and being able to provide for them.

Another tip is to be prepared to adapt as your business evolves. Naturally you won’t get everything right, and you won’t have all the answers all of the time, so being open to learning and taking advice is important.

I’d also recommend pairing ambition with patience, as building a great business takes time, and there will inevitably be challenges and setbacks along the way. Stay focussed on the end goal and be flexible enough to pivot when you need to.

About the Author

Hannah Fitzsimons joined Cashflows as CEO in 2022, after more than a decade at Elavon, holding several positions and working her way up to EVP and General Manager.

Prior to this, she also thrived at Citibank and Natwest, and has built high-achieving, international teams with a track record of fast expansion and growth, as well as being a champion for workplace diversity and innovation.

Today, she is leading Cashflows' next stage of growth while putting people and customers at the centre of the brand's strategy and vision: enabling business by making payments simple.

About Cashflows

Cashflows is a new breed of fintech payments company that makes it easy for small corporates and SMEs to accept card and digital payments – online, in store and on the move.

Through its own acquiring platform and gateway, Cashflows provides a safe, secure ecosystem for processing payments right across Europe. Cashflows products and services are built with the latest technology and the future in mind, always to meet the specific needs of partners and customers.

Learn more at www.cashflows.com