Australian cross-border payments FinTech startup Airwallex has closed a A$17 meg (approx. US$13 million) Series H5N1 to fuel its international expansion.
In 1 of the biggest Series H5N1 rounds inwards Aussie history, Melbourne-based FinTech startup Airwallex has raised USD $13 meg inwards a funding circular that saw participation from payments giant Mastercard, Chinese cyberspace giant Tencent as well as Beijing-based venture working capital alphabetic lineament theatre Sequoia Capital China. Airwallex enables small- as well as medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to brand cross-border transactions at mid-market interbank telephone substitution rates that are effectively cheaper than traditional wire transfers. The platform uses large information analytics, quantitative models as well as a ‘sophisticated unusual telephone substitution as well as payment engine’ to avoid volatility as well as inflated margins inwards unusual telephone substitution markets. Similar to UK-based international payments startup TransferWise, with 1 notable divergence – Airwallex targets businesses piece TransferWise caters to everyday consumers.
Airwallex claims to back upwardly thousands of transactions per minute to deliver payments to to a greater extent than than 100 countries at cost-effective prices.
“Our mission is to eradicate the burden of international payments then that businesses tin transact across borders with ease,” stated Airwallex CEO as well as co-founder Jack Zhang.
He added:
Armed with a growing release of fiscal services licenses as well as partnerships across numerous jurisdictions, nosotros aim to brand international payments equally inexpensive as well as uncomplicated equally domestic payments.
Headquartered inwards Melbourne, Airwallex likewise has offices inwards Shanghai as well as Hong Kong with a novel London utilization as well as a planned utilization inwards Singapore. The coin raised volition survive used to force its international expansion inwards the Asia-Pacific portion as well as Europe.
New investor Tencent is, equally Airwallex rapidly points out, the quaternary largest cyberspace fellowship inwards the globe afterward Amazon, Google as well as Facebook. Tencent is likewise the operator as well as developer behind WeChat, the dominant messaging app inwards Red People's Republic of China with nearly 800 meg daily users. WeChat Pay, a payment service that is integrated with the messaging app, is 1 of the world’s largest mobile payment services with challenger Alipay. It’s investment as well as partnership with Airwallex will reportedly see the Aussie startup aid Tencent lower the costs incurred with WeChat Pay’s international payments. While few details are known virtually Mastercard’s reasons for investing inwards Airwalllex, the funding circular marks Sequoia China’s start investment inwards Australia.
Steven Ji, a partner at the Beijing-based VC theatre stated:
Foreign telephone substitution transactions set a existent challenge for businesses that operate across borders, as well as Airwallex’s solution has seriously impressed us inwards its mightiness to closed the gap as well as allow companies to financially access markets that may bring previously been out of reach.
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