Hendrik Schulenburg has been with Payrexx since 2021 and rapidly advanced from a working student to Chief Financial Officer. During this time, he has made a significant contribution to the company's development and propelled pioneering processes forward.

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 it is not age or years of service that are the focus, but expertise, integrity, and entrepreneurial thinking. Hendrik embodies exactly those qualities that are crucial for sustainable and forward-looking financial management – especially in the dynamic SME environment where Payrexx acts as a market leader.

Since its founding in 2015, Payrexx has established itself in Thun. Today, the company has over 45 employees and ranks among the most innovative FinTechs in the region. With the appointment of Hendrik Schulenburg, Payrexx also aims to contribute to regional talent development and strengthen Thun's position as a growing FinTech hub.

In conversation, Schulenburg provides insights into his career and his perspective on the future of digital payments and his vision for the coming years.

How come you are already CFO of Payrexx at the age of 24?

Hendrik Schulenburg: “I have always had an interest in economic topics. Therefore, I pursued my Bachelor's degree 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 excites me greatly, and I am grateful to the board and management for the trust they place in me with this role.”

Was it always your goal to become CFO?

“The goal of eventually becoming CFO developed over time at Payrexx. The insights I could gain 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 this opportunity now at Payrexx.”

What makes Payrexx a special employer for you?

“Firstly, the market itself – the payment industry is incredibly exciting, constantly evolving, and offers much room for innovation. Secondly, I am impressed by how Payrexx has established a strong position in the Swiss payment market over the past ten years with a lot of dedication and customer proximity. We are particularly proud that Payrexx was voted the most popular provider for Swiss SMEs ahead of providers like PayPal, Worldline, or PostFinance in the 2023 national online merchant survey.

That's exactly what makes Payrexx special for me: Innovation with a clear focus on SME needs – 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, always staying agile and innovative, and working together towards a clear goal. This is what it takes to succeed in a dynamic market environment.”

How do you see the development of the payment industry?

“I am convinced that both online and offline businesses will continue to move towards simplification and efficiency. We can already observe, for example, that instant payments – i.e., real-time bank transfers – are gaining global relevance, and it will only be a matter of time before this becomes established in the Swiss market too. Changes will also occur at the point of sale. The classic payment terminal (POS terminal), as known in retail today, will increasingly be replaced by so-called SoftPOS solutions in the coming years: A regular smartphone or tablet becomes a fully-fledged payment terminal – without additional hardware. This technological development makes card payments more flexible, cost-effective, 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 pleasing that Payrexx can soon offer its customers both of the aforementioned solutions.”

And where do you see Payrexx in 5 years?

“The question is particularly exciting. Payrexx continues to develop and has recently started processing not only e-commerce payments but also point-of-sale payments (payments directly at the physical point of sale, e.g., at the cash register or on-site with customers) and thus becomes a real omni-payment provider. Therefore, I see Payrexx as the number one in the omni-payment sector for SMEs in Switzerland in 5 years. The All-in-One solution from Payrexx with all important Swiss payment methods from one source is unique – and particularly 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 cooperation.

About Payrexx

Payrexx was founded in Thun in 2015 and, as a registered Payment Facilitator of Mastercard, Visa, TWINT, PostFinance, CENTI, NAKA, and REKA, enables 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, Donationen, QR Pay, Terminal). All systems of Payrexx are redundantly designed and meet the highest security standards. Already over 60,000 merchants worldwide use Payrexx, including renowned Swiss companies such as BKW, Carvolution, Zweifel Pomy-Chips AG, Hotelcard, or Selecta.