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Interview with Hristo Borisov, Co-Founder & CEO of Payhawk

Company Overview: Payhawk

Payhawk is a London-headquartered corporate spend and expense management platform serving clients in 32+ countries. With a unified solution for company cards, AP automation, and AI-powered finance tools, Payhawk is one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintech unicorns.

Interview Questions & Answers

1. Can you introduce yourself and Payhawk?

Hristo: I’m Hristo Borisov, co-founder and CEO of Payhawk. We help companies manage and optimize their spend through a unified finance platform.

2. What inspired Payhawk’s creation?

We noticed finance teams using fragmented tools. Payhawk was built to consolidate cards, invoices, and spend approvals in one system.

3. What are Payhawk’s flagship services?

Our key services include company cards, expense tracking, AP automation, budgeting, and AI features for CFOs.

4. Who are your typical clients?

We support mid-market and enterprise clients across 32+ countries, especially in tech, logistics, services, and manufacturing.

5. What’s your competitive advantage?

We offer unified workflows, real-time controls, and deep compliance—plus coverage across multiple legal entities.

6. How did Payhawk become a unicorn?

By solving real pain points in finance ops and raising over $239M from investors. We became Bulgaria’s first fintech unicorn in 2022.

7. What’s your global presence?

We have offices in London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Sofia, Vilnius, Barcelona, and New York.

8. What major scaling challenges did you face?

Scaling compliance across regions, hiring globally, and maintaining user experience at scale.

9. How does AI support your CFO features?

Our “AI Office” automates reconciliation, policy enforcement, and month-end reporting—freeing CFOs from routine tasks.

10. What role does regulation play in your roadmap?

We’re regulated under GDPR, PSD2, and FCA, which shapes our compliance infrastructure and data strategy.

11. Who are your main competitors?

Brex, Ramp, and Airwallex. But Payhawk leads in European compliance, entity support, and multi-currency spend.

12. How do you differ from Brex and Ramp?

We have stronger EU rail integration, better entity-level controls, and a native focus on compliance automation.

13. What are your latest product updates?

We launched AI purchase approval logic, real-time invoice OCR, and advanced onboarding automations.

14. What industries do you target?

Primarily tech, consulting, logistics, education, and increasingly healthcare and retail.

15. What’s next in your roadmap?

We’ll launch embedded lending, expand SEPA and ACH capabilities, and introduce treasury tools.

16. How did the pandemic shift your product focus?

Remote finance made digital cards and mobile-first controls a must-have, accelerating our mobile and AI investments.

17. What KPIs define Payhawk’s success?

Revenue growth, daily card usage, active clients, and automation adoption are our key metrics.

18. Can you share a client success story?

A logistics firm reduced invoice processing time by 70% after adopting Payhawk’s automated workflows.

19. What’s your approach to fundraising?

We emphasize sustainable growth, enterprise traction, and product leadership to drive valuation and investor confidence.

20. What fintech trends do you anticipate?

AI-led CFO automation, deeper API integrations, and embedded finance in vertical SaaS platforms.

Payhawk’s Services and Positioning

Key Services

  • Company cards (physical & virtual)
  • Expense management workflows
  • Accounts payable automation
  • Budgeting and policy controls
  • AI tools for finance teams

Competitors

Provider Focus Strength
Brex US-based startup finance Integrations, card rewards
Ramp Expense optimization Cost savings, automation
Airwallex Global payments & FX Cross-border coverage

Related Searches

  • Payhawk vs Brex comparison
  • Best European spend management tools 2025
  • AI CFO tools for startups
  • Payhawk compliance features
  • Payhawk company valuation 2025

FAQ

What is Payhawk?

Payhawk is a B2B fintech platform offering spend and expense management with cards, AP, and AI-powered finance tools.

Where is Payhawk based?

Headquartered in London, with offices across Europe and the US.

Is Payhawk regulated?

Yes, it complies with GDPR, PSD2, and FCA rules.

Does Payhawk integrate with accounting systems?

Yes. Payhawk connects with leading ERP and accounting tools for seamless finance workflows.

Who are typical Payhawk users?

Finance teams at scale-ups and enterprises, especially in the EU, UK, and US.

Citations

Official Payhawk Website

Tech.eu on Payhawk Funding

Payhawk on LinkedIn

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