We’re celebrating Buckaroo’s 20th anniversary by sharing stories from our colleagues. Twelve years ago, Jelle Hoes joined Buckaroo as Chief Technology Officer. He has been involved in major projects such as setting up a development hub in Kosovo. Which memories have stayed with him?
Jelle worked at Buckaroo’s former parent company in Dublin. “I first got to know Buckaroo during a project where we helped French companies enable cross-border payments. Of course, that required international payment methods — expertise we didn’t yet have. So it was perfect timing when Buckaroo was acquired by our previous investor. Together, we started a project across 13 countries. When Buckaroo’s former CEO heard that I wanted to move back to the Netherlands, he asked if I’d like to join the company. That’s how I started at Buckaroo twelve years ago — and to this day, I still enjoy working here immensely.”
Jelle still vividly remembers his very first day at Buckaroo. Dressed neatly in a suit — as he was used to in Dublin — he walked into the office. His predecessor jokingly asked if he was applying for a director’s position, since everyone at Buckaroo was wearing jeans and T-shirts. “It was a real culture shock for me. I went from a large corporation to Buckaroo, where things worked quite differently. It was very small-scale and nothing like the Buckaroo of today. When I joined, there were just five people in the IT department — now there are a hundred. Of those, 55 are part of our development center in Kosovo. That brings a completely different dynamic to manage and coordinate.”
Although Buckaroo has grown significantly in recent years, certain values have remained unchanged, Jelle notes. “We still work closely together. When someone has a good idea and can support it with solid reasoning, something is done with it. That was the case twelve years ago, and it still is today. I think that’s one of the beautiful things about Buckaroo. Many great initiatives and ideas are simply born on the work floor — created by colleagues who are passionate about their field, the technology they work with, and the world of payments.”
One of the projects Jelle is most proud of is when Buckaroo became PCI compliant — meaning we adhere to strict security standards for processing payment card data. The migration to AWS and becoming an iDEAL acquirer were also major milestones. Finally, Jelle highlights the transfer of the entire ABN portfolio in terms of transaction processing to Buckaroo — and how successfully it was carried out. “People worked incredibly hard during a six to nine-month period, migrating thousands of clients to Buckaroo. That’s truly a success story shared by everyone and every department within Buckaroo. The fact that we managed to do that so well as an organisation is something we can all be very proud of!”
One of Jelle’s fondest memories is the search for new talent in Kosovo. “When it became difficult to find skilled people in the Netherlands, we started looking in Kosovo. Together with my colleagues Jacob and Sjaak, I travelled there to interview candidates. We wanted to assess three things: their technical skills, whether there was a cultural match, and their level of English. I was truly impressed by the positive conversations — they gave me so much energy. Once we officially started, that feeling was confirmed again. We spent a lot of time in Kosovo, and every evening there were people suggesting we watch a match together or grab something to eat. They never let you feel alone, and that gave me such a great feeling — one that has stayed with me ever since. You can still feel that same sense of connection in the way we work together today.”
In 2024, Buckaroo transitioned from traditional data centers to the cloud. This shift had a major impact on Jelle’s team and enabled Buckaroo to take the next step forward. The benefits that came with this transition still surprise Jelle every day. Large-scale projects such as the ABN project could never have been executed if we hadn’t been in the cloud. Jelle: “That’s why I’m so happy we made the move to the cloud. It opened doors to an entirely new world of opportunities.”
In 2024, Buckaroo introduced the slogan “paying attention.” Jelle believes the slogan perfectly reflects what Buckaroo stands for: “We’ve never just looked at our own product and offered that. We’ve always thought along with our customers. We regularly ask ourselves: how can we design this solution in a way that’s as generic as possible, so it doesn’t just benefit one customer but creates added value for others too? I think that’s the true definition of paying attention — listening to what customers want, keeping an eye on market developments, and turning that into practical solutions. That’s how we can really make a difference for our customers.”
When we ask Jelle about his vision for the future, he’s particularly curious about the role artificial intelligence (AI) can play within Buckaroo’s services.
“I believe AI can make our services even more scalable and efficient,” he says enthusiastically. “The possibilities are endless — from smarter fraud detection to helping our customers operate in a safer and more responsible way. That doesn’t just save time; it also shortens waiting periods for our customers. In the end, it improves the quality of our service and frees up time for other important work.”
As a closing thought, we ask Jelle about his personal wish for Buckaroo’s future. “That everyone continues to enjoy working here — and can keep doing so. With the growth we’ve achieved in the past year, I hope we can continue on that path. But what’s truly important to me is that the Buckaroo feeling remains: working together as one organisation, where collegiality and enjoyment are at the heart of everything we do. That’s something we all have to protect together.”
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