Airwallex
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Founded | January 1, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia |
| Founder | Jack Zhang, Max Li, Lucy Liu, Xijing Dai, Ki-Lok Wong |
| Headquarters | Singapore , Singapore |
Area served | Worldwide (130 countries) |
| Products | Cross-border payments, business accounts, expense management cards, payroll solutions, APIs |
Number of employees | 1,400 (2023) |
| Website | www |
Airwallex is a financial technology firm originally established in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia, now headquartered in Singapore. The company delivers a fintech platform that enables businesses to perform cross-border payments and access various financial services through its proprietary banking network and API integration. Its offerings encompass business accounts, expense management cards, payroll solutions, among other services.
Recognized as Australia's third technology unicorn, Airwallex achieved a valuation of US$5.5 billion by 2024. The platform handles an estimated $100 billion in annualized transaction volume, demonstrating its extensive operations across 130 countries.
Establishment and early development (2015–2018)
Airwallex was created in 2015 in Melbourne by five founders, including software engineer Jack Zhang and architect Max Li. Motivated by the high costs and delays in international payments experienced while running their coffee shop, Zhang—who had prior experience designing digital forex platforms for National Australia Bank (NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ)—sought to build a more efficient and affordable solution tailored for small to medium-sized enterprises. The founding team also consisted of Lucy Liu (president), Xijing Dai (CTO), and Ki-Lok Wong (principal architect), collectively investing $1 million at inception.
The platform debuted in a closed beta phase in 2015 with a focus on minimizing foreign exchange expenses. Airwallex established a proprietary network partnering with banks such as Standard Chartered, DBS Bank, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to enable local payment processing. In 2017, ANZ began supporting transactional services on the platform, while Airwallex technology powered Mastercard's Send platform and Tencent's WeRemit. The company relocated its headquarters to Hong Kong in 2018 and declined a $1 billion acquisition proposal from Stripe. That year also saw Airwallex complete an $80 million funding round—the second-largest ever for an Australian startup at that time.
Global growth phase (2019–2020)
In March 2019, Airwallex secured $100 million in funding from investors including DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Hillhouse Capital, which elevated its valuation to US$1 billion. This milestone made it the fastest Australian company to reach unicorn status and the third technology unicorn originating from the country. By February 2020, Airwallex transitioned its core focus from primarily facilitating forex transfers toward establishing itself as a "neobank" akin to Salesforce, with ambitions to become the "AWS of financial services." During this period, NAB resumed offering payroll and rental payment solutions to Airwallex despite having ceased transactional banking services for the company in 2018. In 2021, following an investigation, the Hong Kong High Court dismissed money laundering allegations concerning two former clients, resulting in the release of $18.2 million previously frozen by Hong Kong authorities.
Recent developments (2021–2024)
In May 2021, Airwallex secured a license in the Netherlands, granting entry into the European market. It commenced operations in the United States by August and obtained regulatory approval in Malaysia by September 2021. By November 2021, the company had raised an additional US$100 million, pushing its valuation to $5.5 billion and bringing total capital raised since 2015 to $802 million. Toward the end of 2021, Airwallex's workforce numbered approximately 1,000 employees distributed across 19 offices. The firm handled an annualized transaction volume of $20 billion in 2021, which surged to $50 billion the following year.
In 2021, Airwallex launched a Visa debit card in Hong Kong, with a subsequent rollout in the US during 2022. Early that year, it expanded its presence into Singapore. During October 2022, the company completed another $100 million funding round as part of Series E, maintaining a valuation close to $5.5 billion; CRN estimated its worth at $5.6 billion at that time.
By March 2023, Airwallex acquired Guangzhou Shangwutong Network Technology, enabling it to obtain a third-party payment license in China and become the second foreign entity after PayPal to receive this authorization. As of August 2023, its principal markets encompassed Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the UK, the US, the EU, and Hong Kong. The same year saw further expansion into Israel and Canada. In October 2023, Airwallex bolstered its Latin American footprint by acquiring Mexican payments company MexPago. With headquarters in Singapore, the firm operated from 20 locations and employed roughly 1,400 staff members.
In 2024, Airwallex reported reaching an annual revenue run rate of $500 million.
By March 2025, Airwallex declared its entry into the New Zealand market alongside plans to acquire Vietnamese payment intermediary CTIN Pay. The organization surpassed an annual revenue milestone of US$600 million and processed more than US$130 billion in yearly transaction volume.
Products and services
Airwallex delivers a comprehensive financial platform tailored for businesses that includes payments processing, treasury management, spend control, and embedded financial solutions. Utilizing its own banking network enables efficient handling of local transactions while employing machine learning within its SaaS offerings allows clients to transfer funds via local and cross-border clearing systems spanning approximately 130 countries. In addition to foreign exchange capabilities, Airwallex provides services such as online payment acceptance, business bank accounts, borderless cards, and a broad range of APIs.
By 2023, Airwallex’s infrastructure supported over 100,000 businesses worldwide with prominent customers including Navan, Qantas, SHEIN, HubSpot, GOAT, Saturday Club, and Brex. In Australia and New Zealand, notable clients include Culture Kings, Kogan, Freelancer.com, and Camilla. Israeli partners feature companies like PAPAYA Global and OurCrowd.