Startups > Airwallex

Airwallex

Airwallex helps global B2B companies eliminate banking friction with unified payments and treasury infrastructure.

Series G $1.58B total Founded 2015 Singapore, Central Region 2167 employees

Airwallex is a unified financial platform that consolidates global payments, spend management, digital banking, and FX into a single API-driven infrastructure for B2B companies. The platform processes $265B+ annually across 150,000+ customers and has saved them over $1.3B in fees. It enables businesses to generate local account numbers in 60+ countries, accept 160+ payment methods, and manage multi-currency operations with 95% of transactions settling within hours or same-day. Airwallex positions itself as the 'AWS of financial services'—replacing fragmented legacy banking with modern, developer-first financial infrastructure.

Problem solved

International businesses lose time and money to fragmented banking systems, high FX markups (2.5-3.5% at traditional banks), slow cross-border payments, and managing multiple currency accounts.

Target customer

Series B-E B2B SaaS companies, marketplaces, digital platforms, and SMEs with international operations and multi-currency needs. Particularly strong with Brex, Rippling, Deel, Navan, and Canva.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase Twitter / X

Founders

Jack Zhang

CEO & Co-Founder

Software engineer with 10+ years in FX trading and investment banking; founded property development company Hohen; Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from University of Melbourne.

Jacob (Xijing) Dai

CTO & Co-Founder

University of Melbourne alumnus; launched four previous startups before co-founding Airwallex.

Max Li

Head of Design & Co-Founder

Architect who invested in coffee shop business with Jack Zhang in Melbourne.

Lucy Liu

President & Co-Founder

Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2017; manages ongoing business operations.

Ki-lok Wong

Principal Architect & Co-Founder

Key infrastructure architect.

Funding history

Seed $3M July 2016 Led by Gobi Partners · Angels

Series A Unknown May 2017 Led by Tencent, Sequoia Capital · Unknown

Series D $254M March 2020 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series E $200M 2021 Led by Lone Pine Capital, G Squared · Vetamer Capital, DST Global, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital China

Series E-2 $100M October 2022 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series F $300M May 2025 Led by Square Peg, DST Global · Lone Pine Capital, Blackbird, Airtree, Salesforce Ventures, Australian pension funds

Series G $330M December 2025 Led by Addition · T. Rowe Price, Activant, Lingotto, Robinhood Ventures, TIAA Ventures

Total raised: $1.58B

Industries

Financial Services Finance Payments FinTech

Pricing

Freemium model: Business accounts, corporate cards, and expense management are free. Transaction-level fees apply: 0.5% FX markup on major currencies (competitive vs. banks at 2.5-3.5%, slightly higher than Wise), free local transfers to 120+ countries, 1.30% + £0.20 for UK ecommerce. Tiered subscription structure with free Explore plan at £10k monthly deposit or balance threshold.

Notable customers

Brex, Rippling, Deel, TikTok, Canva, BILL, Bird, Navan, Qantas, ZipHQ, 150,000+ total businesses

Integrations

Stripe, PayPal, HubSpot, Salesforce Ventures partnership, Google Cloud, AWS, Cloudflare, Zendesk, Contentful

Tech stack

Emotion (Development) Lodash (JavaScript libraries) core-js (JavaScript libraries) React (JavaScript frameworks) Next.js (Web servers) Zendesk (Documentation) Contentful (CMS) Quantcast Measure (Analytics) Linkedin Insight Tag (Analytics) Inspectlet (Analytics) Google Analytics (Analytics) Google Ads Conversion Tracking (Analytics) Facebook Pixel (Analytics) Zipkin Sentry (Issue trackers) Cloudflare Bot Management (Security) Node.js (Programming languages) Google Workspace (Email) Google Cloud (IaaS) Cloudflare (CDN) HubSpot (Marketing automation) MailChimp (Marketing automation) Microsoft Advertising (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Amazon Web Services (PaaS)

Website

airwallex.com/

Competitors

Wise

Stronger in personal/freelancer cross-border transfers with lower FX markup (0.33-0.6%); Airwallex offers broader B2B spend management and business banking suite.

Stripe

Primarily payments processor; Airwallex provides integrated payments, spend management, multi-currency accounts, and treasury—broader financial infrastructure play.

Revolut

Consumer-focused neobank with business offering; Airwallex purpose-built for B2B with deeper API infrastructure and platform integrations.

Payoneer

Legacy freelancer/marketplace payment platform; Airwallex has modern stack, better FX rates, and deeper enterprise integrations.

Ebury

SME-focused FX and payments; Airwallex broader spend management and platform APIs.

Why this matters: Airwallex crossed $1B annualized revenue in October 2025 (90% YoY growth) and reached $8B valuation in its Series G, positioning it as a leading 'AWS of financial services' for B2B. The platform's unified approach—combining payments, banking, FX, and spend management—directly competes with legacy banking and partially with Stripe/Wise, capturing a structurally massive TAM of international corporate finance.

Best for: Global B2B companies and platforms managing international operations, multi-currency transactions, or high employee spend that need unified payments, FX, banking, and expense management without traditional banking friction and markup.

Use cases

Multi-currency payroll and contractor payments

Companies like Deel and Rippling use Airwallex to pay global teams in their local currencies with competitive FX rates (0.5% vs. 2.5-3.5% at traditional banks). Eliminates the need for multiple banking relationships and manual FX conversions.

International marketplace operations

Platforms process payments from buyers in 160+ payment methods, instantly convert to seller currencies, and distribute via local payment rails to 150+ countries. 68% of transactions settle instantly; 95% within hours—critical for vendor trust and working capital velocity.

B2B SaaS expense and spend management

Enterprise teams issue corporate cards, track expenses in real-time with AI-powered categorization, and reconcile invoices across currencies. Free spend management tools reduce finance overhead while multi-currency accounts enable instant local payments to vendors.

Cross-border B2B payments and invoicing

Companies send invoices globally and receive payments in 150+ countries via local account numbers in 60+ countries. Free local transfers and instant settlement eliminate banking delays and reduce FX costs vs. SWIFT or traditional wire transfers.

Alternatives

Wise Best for individuals and freelancers needing low-cost cross-border transfers; Airwallex better for B2B with spend management and multi-user corporate accounts.

Stripe Best for payment processing and checkout; Airwallex offers integrated payments plus banking, treasury, and spend management.

Plaid Best for account connectivity and data aggregation; Airwallex is a full transaction and spend platform.

Revolut Business Stronger in European market and consumer crossover; Airwallex has deeper B2B platform integrations and broader global coverage.

FAQ

What does Airwallex do? +

Airwallex is a unified financial platform for B2B companies that combines global payments, multi-currency business accounts, FX conversion, spend management, and corporate cards into a single API-driven infrastructure. It processes $265B+ annually, enables businesses to generate local account numbers in 60+ countries, and processes transactions to 150+ countries with 95% settling within hours or same-day.

How much does Airwallex cost? +

Airwallex uses a freemium model: business accounts, corporate cards, and expense management are free. Transaction fees include 0.5% FX markup on major currencies, free local transfers to 120+ countries, and 1.30% + £0.20 for UK ecommerce. The Explore plan is free with £10k monthly deposit or balance threshold.

What are alternatives to Airwallex? +

Wise (low-cost cross-border transfers), Stripe (payments processing), Revolut Business (multi-currency accounts), Plaid (account connectivity), and Ebury (SME FX and payments). Wise has lower FX rates but weaker B2B spend management; Stripe excels at payments but lacks banking and treasury.

Who uses Airwallex? +

Airwallex serves 150,000+ B2B customers including Brex, Rippling, Deel, TikTok, Canva, Navan, and Qantas. Its user base includes Series B-E SaaS companies, marketplaces, digital platforms, and SMEs with international operations and multi-currency needs.

How does Airwallex compare to Wise? +

Wise has lower FX markups (0.33-0.6% vs. Airwallex's 0.5%) and is stronger for individuals and freelancers. Airwallex is purpose-built for B2B with integrated spend management, corporate cards, multi-user accounts, and platform APIs—Wise focuses primarily on cross-border transfers.

Is Airwallex FDIC insured or regulated? +

Airwallex holds money transmitter licenses and FCA registration; specific insurance details not disclosed in available research. Company operates in 60+ countries with local account services.