Hiroki Takeuchi is a British technology entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and CEO of GoCardless, a financial technology company specializing in direct bank payments. He co-founded the London-based business in 2011 with Matt Robinson and Tom Blomfield, who later helped create the digital bank, Monzo. Their idea was straightforward: make collecting payments easier for businesses without relying entirely on traditional card transactions. GoCardless developed technology that allows companies to collect subscriptions, membership fees, invoices, and other recurring payments directly from customers’ bank accounts. Over time, the company expanded internationally and became an established name in the financial technology industry. While Takeuchi is best known for his entrepreneurial achievements, his personal story also drew attention after a serious cycling accident transformed his everyday life.
Before launching GoCardless, Takeuchi studied mathematics at the University of Oxford, where he served as vice-president of Oxford Entrepreneurs. His interest in business eventually led him to McKinsey & Company, where he worked as a business analyst before pursuing entrepreneurship. In 2011, he and his co-founders joined the American startup accelerator Y Combinator. Their original business idea grew from a familiar problem: collecting money from people in university societies, sports clubs and other groups. As they explored payment systems, they saw a bigger opportunity: helping companies manage regular collections. Their solution evolved into a bank-to-bank payment platform that handles recurring transactions without requiring customers to enter card details for every payment. Under Takeuchi’s leadership, GoCardless expanded beyond Britain and strengthened its open-banking services. A major development came in 2022, when the company acquired Nordigen, a Latvian open-banking provider, giving it broader access to European banking connectivity and financial data technology.
Takeuchi’s career took an unexpected turn on September 22, 2016, when he collided with a car while cycling through London’s Regent’s Park. The accident caused a serious spinal injury, leaving him paralyzed below the chest. His wife, Rachel Swidenbank, supported him during his recovery, while co-founder Matt Robinson helped maintain the business during his absence. After several months of hospital treatment and rehabilitation, Takeuchi returned to his leadership responsibilities. In a 2017 TechCrunch interview, he discussed adjusting to life after the accident and his desire to concentrate on building GoCardless. Nearly a decade later, another defining business development arrived. On September 1, 2026, Dutch payments company Mollie completed its acquisition of GoCardless. The combined group serves more than 350,000 businesses across over 30 markets, according to the companies. Mollie CEO Koen Köppen leads the wider organization, while Takeuchi continues to lead GoCardless under its new identity as a Mollie company. His continued involvement links the company’s original startup ambitions to its latest phase of international growth.
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