GoCardless has been around for eight years. But the company has experienced tremendous growth over the past couple of years. It now has a shot at becoming a global leader when it comes to payments via direct debit. Its co-founder and CEO Hiroki Takeuchi has become a fintech expert, and that’s why I’m excited to announce that Hiroki Takeuchi will join us at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin.

GoCardless has a pretty self-explanatory name. While many small and big companies still rely on credit cards and sometimes even (gasp) cheques, GoCardless wants to make it easier to switch to direct debit payments. The company’s API lets you get started and accept recurring payments in no time.

The advantages are obvious. First, card payments were never designed for recurring subscriptions. They expire and lead to churn. If you’re running a subscription business with card payments, you’re basically leaving money on the table.

Second, card payments can be expensive. For instance, Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 for each card transaction in the U.S., 1.4% + €0.25 in Europe (Stripe also offers direct debit for 0.8% + €0.25). GoCardless costs 1% per transaction.

If you’re a global company, GoCardless has been slowly expanding its footprint with many supported direct debit schemes, such as SEPA in Europe, Bacs direct debit in the U.K., ACH debit in the U.S. and many more.

But GoCardless doesn’t want to stop at consumer subscriptions. The company thinks direct debit payments could represent a big opportunity for B2B use cases. It’s cheaper and provides a lot more visibility than cheques.

While many startups also talk about resilience, Hiroki Takeuchi actually knows what resilience feels like on a personal and professional level. TechCrunch’s Steve O’Hear wrote a thoughtful interview with him shortly after a serious road accident that has left him paralyzed below his chest.

A few months ago, the company raised a $75 million Series E round with an impressive list of investors that included Adams Street Partners, GV, Salesforce Ventures, Accel Partners, Balderton Capital, Notion Capital and Passion Capital.

Buy your ticket to Disrupt Berlin to listen to this discussion — and many others. The conference will take place December 11-12.

In addition to panels and fireside chats, like this one, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield to compete for the highly coveted Battlefield Cup.