Employment Hero partners with Crezco to enable faster payroll payments for UK SMEs

• Employment Hero partners with payments platform Crezco to introduce Automated Payments for UK payroll customers
• New integration will allow businesses to pay employees in seconds, removing manual processes and giving employers greater control over payroll
• Businesses will be able to pay employees instantly or schedule payments in advance, removing manual processes and giving employers greater control over payroll
• The partnership comes as Employment Hero research finds 74% of businesses believe their payroll function could be more automated.

London, 10 November 2026: Employment Hero, the global AI-powered employment platform, has announced a new partnership with payments provider Crezco to make paying employees faster, simpler and more flexible for UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

The integration will introduce Automated Payments to Employment Hero’s UK payroll platform, enabling businesses to pay employees directly from their payroll workflow, with funds typically arriving in seconds through Faster Payments.

The partnership removes a longstanding administrative burden for SMEs. Traditionally, businesses processing payroll through BACS have needed to download payment files from their payroll software, upload them separately to their bank and allow up to three working days for payments to clear.

With Automated Payments, employers will be able to move from finalising payroll to approving payments in a few simple steps. Built-in account verification checks will help reduce payment errors, while the option to pay immediately or schedule payments in advance will give businesses greater flexibility and control over their payroll disbursements.

The launch comes as Employment Hero research reveals that 74% of businesses believe their payroll function could be more automated, highlighting a continued demand for tools that reduce administrative work and free up time for business owners.

Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director at Employment Hero, said:

“Running payroll is one of the most important responsibilities a business has, yet for too many SMEs, getting money into employees’ accounts still involves unnecessary admin, manual processes and waiting days for payments to clear.

Small business owners are already juggling enough. They shouldn’t have to spend valuable time moving files between systems or planning their payroll around outdated payment processes.

Our partnership with Crezco is another step towards making employment easier and more valuable. By connecting payroll and payments more seamlessly, we’re giving businesses greater flexibility, reducing the risk of errors and freeing up time they can spend on what matters most: running and growing their business.”

Ralph Rogge, CEO and Founder of Crezco, said:

“Paying people should be the easy part of running payroll, yet for most UK SMEs it still means leaving their payroll software, re-keying figures into online banking and waiting days for wages to land. By embedding payments directly into Employment Hero, we’re closing that gap, so employers can go from approved pay run to paid employees in one place, in seconds and with fewer errors, all while continuing to use the existing bank account they know and trust.”

Automated Payments will launch for eligible Employment Hero UK payroll customers in November 2026. Businesses will retain control over payment approvals through their existing banking app, with the option to continue using BACS files if preferred.