Remittance

HK-Based Fintech Unicorn Airwallex Bags US$160M In a Record Fundraising Round

Airwallex today announced that it has closed its Series D fundraising round at US$160M, marking its biggest capital raise to date. The round includes majority participation from a group of new top-tier global strategic investors, including ANZi Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of ANZ Bank) and Salesforce Ventures (the global investment arm of Salesforce Inc).

Existing core investors Tencent, DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital and Horizons Ventures also returned for this latest fundraising round, bringing Airwallex’s total equity raise since it was founded in 2015 to US$360M.

Airwallex plans to use the new funds to continue its evolution from an international payments platform to a fully integrated end-to-end financial services provider by:

Accelerating worldwide growth through customer acquisition and licensing, particularly in Europe and the US, and new markets such as the Middle East. APAC, where the fintech was founded and home to the company’s headquarters, will continue to play a crucial role in the company’s growth plans.
Expanding its product line to include payment acceptance capabilities through a proprietary gateway solution as well as partner integration.
Exploring acquisitions in the payments space to fast-track offerings.

The new funding comes on the heels of a momentous year of growth for Airwallex. After a successful Series C round in March 2019, Airwallex’s global presence has expanded considerably, with new offices in Tokyo, Bangalore, and most recently a presence in Dubai.

Alongside the international expansion, Airwallex has also significantly enhanced its product capabilities, including the launch of Airwallex Borderless Cards in partnership with Visa and a highly-requested integration with accounting software Xero. Already available in Australia, these products are scheduled to open up to Hong Kong SMBs and enterprises in 2020.

The expansion of products available via Airwallex business accounts means SMBs now have access to a host of services that enable high-speed low-cost payments and collections worldwide, alongside instant AUD, USD, EUR and GBP global accounts.

In addition to supporting the growing SMB market, Airwallex has a suite of enterprise products to help larger businesses with more complex financial needs, such as mass international and domestic payouts. Its recently launched Issuing API will further enable enterprises to generate and issue payment cards to their networks, saving them time and money. These are scheduled to launch in Hong Kong in 2020.

Jack Zhang, CEO and Co-founder of Airwallex, said on the fundraising announcement,

Jack Zhang

“The global shift to digital is imminent. We envision a world in the not too distant future where all businesses will operate and conduct their affairs online – including banking – with the help of modern tools.”

“From the very beginning, our vision has been to build a global financial infrastructure – by developing the Airwallex platform with fast and agile technology, continually improving our product and investing in dedicated support teams. More than ever, we are well-positioned to support businesses, no matter their size as they adapt to today’s changes.”

“The commitment and confidence from both new and existing investors in this round is a strong validation of our successes and our strategic vision. With their support, we look forward to accelerating our growth and further empowering businesses across the globe.”

Featured image credit: Airwallex