Ralph Rogue, CEO of Open-Banking Startup Crazecore

Provide an online checkout for B2B businesses without the need for card-schemes like Visa or MasterCard.

Crezco is a business-to-business open banking payment platform that makes B2B invoice payments as frictionless as card payments but processes account-to-account payments up to 1 million in real-time, without the associated costs. CEO Ralph Rogge talks to Business Matters

What kind of business do you work with?

We typically work with UK and EU small businesses, many of which have integrated their payment processing APIs with their accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero. Others use our app directly or connect with us through some of our integrated booking and supply-chain platforms.
Does your company solve the problem?
Online checkouts that rely on card-schemes are not suitable for B2B businesses These are costly, fraudulent, chargeback, delayed settlement time, and subject to payment limits. These weren’t just for B2B business purposes because they were originally created for personal point-of-sale payments. Crezco was built with the sole purpose of facilitating B2B invoicing. Payments through Crazeco are not subject to fraud, chargeback, delayed settlement time, or lower payment limit – our maximum payment is 1 million per.

What is your USP?

We are the only checkout solution that can process up to এবং 1 million instantly and for free – without any hidden costs.
What is the value of your company? Have you ever challenged them and if so how did you deal with it?
We were very clear about our company’s values ​​- customer-centric, collaborative, humane, innovative and results-driven. These were not scheduled, but the whole team carefully curated.
We are a startup that is passionate about tackling challenges, whether it’s about creating new complex payment products, ensuring the company’s collegiate environment and maintaining a sense of ownership or care for our customers.

How do you ensure that you are hiring a team that reflects your company’s values?

Recruitment is difficult but we also know the importance of hiring our first team. We are aware that the first 20 or 30 employers can form the foundation of our company and will determine the growth of Crazecore over the next ten years. This is why our recruitment process is highly structured and data-driven. This is not a continuous process, we ask all the candidates the same question and we get the existing team members to score the interviewer independently across different variables of both professional and personal type. Selling yourself is also really important. Sometimes we meet great candidates who like to take jobs elsewhere. Recruitment is a relationship that needs to be seen and felt by both parties.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid work model for the next home / office?

Krejko was founded during the epidemic, so hybrid work is in our culture and DNA. Stereotypically, at least start-up, fin-tech or otherwise, working from home (remote work) breeds powerful processes, while office-work helps build friendships. For further generalization, developers are stronger with the former and do business with the latter. A hybrid culture teaches you to value both.

Do you have any tips to effectively manage suppliers and customers?

Communication is so important. We want happy suppliers and happy customers and, if we ever feel their expectations are low, why contact us? People are very understandable, we are human beings above all, and so if we are sincere in our reasoning, both the supplier and the customer show more patience and understanding. However, it is easier to deliver better than expected or expected.
Any money or cash-flow tips for starting a new business?
Granted we’ve created an online checkout solution for instant payments, without fees, I’d recommend merging with Crazeco. Whether invoices are paid via Xero or QuickBooks, or as an e-commerce checkout option in Stripe, our customers have found with CrazeCo that they not only save fees, but pay quickly.

What if you could change the government one thing for business?

Last February (2021), the Chancellor prepared a report to determine the scenario and strategy for Fintech in the UK. The Califa report is named after Ron Califar, the former CEO of payment giant WorldPay. There are some great recommendations to help the industry in covering the UK: control, talent, acquisition and investment. I want the government to follow the proposed strategies so that the UK maintains its international appeal for fintech players due to the huge increase in competition from the continent recently. Open banking, for example, was an incredibly innovative proposal by the UK’s competition and market authorities when it was first introduced, but it remained an unfinished project, and the rest of the world accepted it. We need to keep our focus and finish what we started.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

From time to time, a contestant collects an obscene amount of money. It can paralyze you like a deer in a headlight, uncertain about how to react or where to turn. Each company is unique and therefore the path to their success. Competition is good because it helps us better position ourselves and offer exceptional value to our customers. If there was no competition, we would be creating something that no one would value

Any thoughts on your company and the future of your dreams?

My focus is on creating a product and service that solves the biggest headaches for small businesses. The pioneer of Crezco B2B Invoice Payment – the only checkout solution that can process up to 1 million instantly and for free – without any hidden costs. My goal is to continue to ensure that we do not lose track of value for all our stakeholders (customers, employees, shareholders and partners) as long as possible.

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