Latest news with #Airwallex
Business News Wales
6 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Flintshire-Based Business Wins Start Up for Good Award in Wales
Flintshire-based start-up Young Entrepreneur Start Ups has been named as the Start Up for Good winner at the 2025 Wales StartUp Awards. Founded in 2024, Young Entrepreneur Start Ups is on a mission to equip teenagers—especially those failed by or outside traditional education—with the tools, confidence, and mindset to build a life of freedom through entrepreneurship. The programme is designed to be inclusive, neurodivergent-friendly, and trauma-informed, offering both practical business skills and deep personal growth. The company offers full scholarships to disadvantaged teens and is already transforming lives across the UK and beyond. Michelle Foulia, co-founder of Young Entrepreneur StartUps, said: 'Winning the Start Up for Good Award is deeply personal for me. As a teen who grew up in care and walked out at 16 with no qualifications and undiagnosed ADHD, I know how hard it is to navigate a world that doesn't see your potential. This award is for every young person who feels unseen or left behind. It's proof that with the right support, and resources, they can shape their own future. Our next step is to grow our reach, expand our scholarship programme, and continue building a global movement that empowers teens to become confident, purpose-driven, world changing entrepreneurs—no matter their background or path in life.' Supported by a wide range of partners, including Airwallex, Big Ideas Wales, Bodlondeb, Business Wales, Cardiff Life, Coffi Lab, Join Talent, M-Sparc, Mentera, Town Square, and V-Rum, the UK StartUp Awards were established to highlight the success of start-ups across ten UK nations and regions and to celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs in all sectors of the economy. According to Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, creator of the UK StartUp Awards, a surge in start-up ambition reflects a new generation of entrepreneurs who are not only identifying opportunities but are also building innovative, resilient businesses that are shaping the future of the regional economy. He said: 'Entrepreneurs across Wales are reshaping the economic landscape, turning bold ideas into thriving ventures and ambition into meaningful impact. That's why we created the StartUp Awards, to celebrate the individuals who are building something from nothing and making a real difference in their communities. Across the country, from coastal towns to city centres, Welsh entrepreneurs are developing everything from cutting-edge digital solutions to sustainable food brands and green energy businesses that are all grounded in a deep sense of place, purpose, and national pride.' 'I'm delighted that Young Entrepreneur Start Ups has won their category at the awards and I'm looking forward to having them join the 'best of the best' from Wales competing at the UK final later this year.' All regional winners in their category will now progress to the UK StartUp Awards final, taking place at Ideas Fest on September 11 – dubbed the 'Glastonbury for Entrepreneurs' – along with the winners from nine other nations and regions.
Finextra
18-06-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Airwallex receives asset management licence in Hong Kong
Airwallex, a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, today announced the highly anticipated full launch of Airwallex Yield in Hong Kong. 0 As the first global payments group to receive a licence from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) to provide asset management services, Airwallex is empowering businesses to earn competitive returns up to 3.97%1 on their multi-currency balances - with no minimum lock-up period required. 'We're excited to announce the full launch of Airwallex Yield to businesses in Hong Kong,' said Arnold Chan, General Manager, Asia-Pacific, Airwallex. 'We've seen growing demand from businesses looking for more effective ways to maximise the value of their capital. In today's dynamic market environment, businesses are actively seeking ways to make their capital work harder. Airwallex Yield gives them a seamless and flexible way to earn returns on their balances, all from within the Airwallex platform. We're not just looking to help businesses make the most of their surplus balances - we also want to encourage them to bring new funds to Airwallex because of the value Yield provides.' By integrating Yield into the Airwallex platform, businesses can now streamline their financial operations by managing their working capital and surplus funds in one place. This strengthens Airwallex's end-to-end business account value proposition - from payments and treasury to investment - enabling companies to operate more efficiently while earning returns on idle funds. Airwallex Yield, a low risk-rated discretionary portfolio management service, aims to generate returns from exposure to highly-rated money market instruments provided by some of the world's leading investment firms. In Hong Kong, Airwallex has initially partnered with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, leveraging their expertise in managing investments in money market instruments. 'We have been supporting Airwallex in Australia since 2023 and we are delighted to expand that to Hong Kong. This will extend our multi-currency liquidity management capability to Airwallex's innovative platform, enhancing their financial capabilities,' said Kheng Leong Cheah, Head of Global Liquidity Sales, Asia Pacific, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Key benefits of Airwallex Yield include: Opportunity to generate returns from leading money market instruments: Yield's strategy is to focus on high quality, short-duration investments. Earn on multiple currencies: Grow your multi-currency balances without the need to open multiple bank accounts. No lock-up periods: Businesses can move funds between their cash balance and Yield account anytime to meet their needs. This flexibility means businesses can consolidate more of their working capital within Airwallex and benefit from the ease of accessing high-liquidity returns directly from their business account. Airwallex Yield has been in beta for the past few months, offered to select Hong Kong businesses to optimise the experience ahead of this broader rollout. It currently has over US$85 million2 in funds under management. With today's full launch, all eligible Hong Kong businesses can now sign up for an Airwallex Yield account. Airwallex Yield is offered through Airwallex Capital Hong Kong Limited, which is licensed by the SFC (CE Number: BUL570) to carry out regulated activities including asset management. The launch builds on Airwallex's commitment to expanding its financial services offerings across the region. Businesses interested in signing up can visit to learn more. 1 3.97% is for USD as on 16 June 2025 2 As of 17 June 2025
Sky News
16-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News
As tech fortunes crash, Airwallex raises $300m at $6.2bn valuation
In an era where the valuations of financial technology (fintech) startups have plummeted and funding rounds have dried up, one Australian-born payments giant has bucked the trend. Airwallex, founded in Melbourne and with 25 offices around the world, recently received an investment of $300m (£222m) at a $6.2bn (£4.6bn) valuation. It stands in stark contrast to the sector's broader struggles, and signals something significant about both the company's trajectory and the future of cross-border banking. While many fintechs face valuation corrections and struggle to secure capital, Airwallex's milestone achievement raises an intriguing question: what makes this particular business so resilient in such challenging times? The problem that started it all The Airwallex story begins not in a Silicon Valley garage, but with a deceptively simple business challenge. Chief executive Jack Zhang and his fellow co-founders initially set out to test a global retail concept, but what might have appeared to be a café in Melbourne was actually a sophisticated experiment in cross-border commerce. The experience exposed the painful reality of international payments: excessive fees, opaque processes, and systems that seemed designed to frustrate rather than facilitate global business. This wasn't just academic frustration. The founders were living the very problem they would later solve, experiencing firsthand how traditional banking infrastructure penalises businesses that dare to operate across borders. That personal pain point would become the foundation for something much larger. Building the financial infrastructure of the future Rather than simply creating another payments processor, Airwallex recognised the need for comprehensive financial infrastructure. The company systematically built a suite of products that addresses the full spectrum of global financial challenges, from payments, foreign exchange, and transfers to expense management and embedded finance. The results speak for themselves. Today, Airwallex serves over 150,000 companies across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America. Their client roster reads like a who's who of forward-thinking businesses: McLaren Racing relies on Airwallex for cross-border financial operations support, while travel startup Flash Pack and automotive marketplace Carwow have integrated the platform into their products. And car-sharing platform Bolt recently partnered with Airwallex to build a new global payments system for its drivers. Defying market gravity What's remarkable about Airwallex's latest fundraise isn't just the $6.2bn (£4.6bn) valuation - it's achieving this milestone against the backdrop of a brutal fintech winter. While competitors face down rounds and struggling unit economics, Airwallex has demonstrated the kind of disciplined growth that investors desperately seek. The numbers tell a compelling story: $720m (£533m) in annualised revenue, gross profit growing at over 250% CAGR in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), and more than $130bn (£96.3bn) in global annualised payments volume. Perhaps most tellingly, the company achieved cash flow positivity in 2023, a milestone that separates genuine businesses from growth-at-any-cost experiments. This financial discipline has attracted backing from top-tier investors including Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Visa Ventures and Lone Pine Capital. Their continued confidence suggests something significant: Airwallex isn't just surviving market volatility, it's positioned to thrive through it. The bigger vision: reimagining global banking But Series F funding rounds are about more than validating past performance; they're about enabling future ambitions. For Airwallex, that future centres on a fundamental reimagining of how global banking should work. The traditional banking system, as founder Jack Zhang and his team see it, is fundamentally broken. Built for a different era, legacy institutions often function as necessary obstacles rather than growth partners. In a volatile global economy where businesses face rising costs, regulatory complexity, and geopolitical uncertainty, this outdated infrastructure becomes a genuine barrier to success. Airwallex's vision for the future of global banking rests on two core principles: adaptability and partnership. Rather than forcing businesses to navigate rigid systems, the platform adapts to changing circumstances. Instead of extracting fees from transactions, it invests in customer growth and partners with these businesses rather than a transactional relationship. This isn't just philosophical positioning; it's reflected in the company's "out and up" expansion strategy. Airwallex simultaneously expands to new geographies while building additional applications on its platform. Today's product suite spans global accounts, online payments, foreign exchange, bill pay, expense management, and a range of API and embedded finance capabilities. US-based fintech Brex is already leveraging Airwallex's suite of solutions - including local currency collections for its global corporate card and global employee expense reimbursements. The capabilities of tomorrow will likely include innovations we haven't yet imagined. What this means for global commerce The Airwallex story is ultimately about more than one company's success. It's about the emergence of financial infrastructure that matches the reality of modern business - inherently global, digitally native, and built for speed rather than bureaucracy. For finance leaders and entrepreneurs watching from the UK, this represents both validation and opportunity. Validation that cross-border financial challenges can be solved elegantly and profitably, and the opportunity to partner with infrastructure that's been battle tested by some of the world's most demanding businesses. In a market where fintech promises often exceed delivery, Airwallex's combination of proven fundamentals and ambitious vision stands out. Their Series F funding round success isn't just about one company's fundraising achievement - it's a signal that the future of global banking is being built today, and it looks very different from what came before. As businesses increasingly operate without geographic constraints, the question isn't whether traditional banking will be disrupted. It's a question of whether forward-thinking companies will partner with the platforms that define what comes next, and whether those platforms can defy even the most volatile market conditions.
National Business Review
13-06-2025
- Business
- National Business Review
Featured Newcomer: Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu says her father has been her main inspiration in business, and that she learned about perseverance and integrity from him. Exclusive FREE offer for uni students studying at a New Zealand university (valued at $499). Exclusive FREE offer for uni students studying at a New Zealand university (valued at $499). Want to read more? It's easy. Choose your subscription As a co-founder of cross border payments unicorn Airwallex, Lucy Yueting Liu's on-paper net worth jumped in mid-May when the company announced a fresh Series F capital raise, See all profiles, rankings and feature articles on The NBR List 2025 home page.
The Age
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
The 40-year-old Australian billionaire who once worked in a petrol station
Side hustles Zhang spent his early years in China's Shandong Province before he was sent to Melbourne to attend Westbourne Grammar School, where he lived with an Australian host family. When he was 16, his father lost his job at a regional bank back home, leaving Zhang to provide for himself. He picked up a series of gigs — lugging lemon boxes at a factory, washing dishes at a local restaurant and as a petrol-station cashier. After finishing school, he enrolled at the University of Melbourne to study computer science. That relentless work ethic and always-on mentality of his school years stuck with him. 'I always had a side hustle,' Zhang said. By the time Zhang started Airwallex with his co-founders — Lucy Liu, Xijing Dai and Max Li — he'd already amassed a roughly $US10 million fortune working full-time in various engineering roles while also pursuing side ventures like the real estate development group he started, Hohen International. While working as a solutions architect for the foreign exchange team at National Australia Bank, Zhang started Tukk & Co., a coffee shop in Melbourne, with his college friend Max Li. That eventually led them to found Airwallex. A constant headache for the duo was that their payments to coffee bean vendors in Brazil and Indonesia were repeatedly blocked. After some investigation, they concluded another person with similar name to Li was on the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control's blacklist, resulting in problems with cross-border payments that were being routed through the US. Zhang went down a rabbit hole and concluded the system of sending payments through a conga line of banks to reach the intended destination added unnecessary cost and over-complicated compliance. 'I'm a solutions architect,' Zhang said of his thoughts at the time. 'I can build a better system to essentially give retail customers the interbank rate, give them full transparency and make sure they don't need to pay a whole bunch of spread.' 'Always on' Loading In order to make that vision a reality, Airwallex holds licences around the world permitting it to open bank-like accounts in more than 70 countries and enables international transfers to 200-plus countries using local infrastructure in roughly 120 of those. The company is Singapore-based, but with members of the executive team spread around the globe. Zhang primarily splits his time between London and New York, while also trying to remain available for his global employee base. The latter is becoming increasingly hard. The firm now has more than 1800 employees in 26 offices around the world. 'He's always on, perhaps sometimes to a fault, and also very generous with his time,' said Paul Bassat, Melbourne-based co-founder and partner at Square Peg. 'If people ask Jack for his time, his default answer is 'yes.' It's a lot of demands on his time and you can't solve that problem by just working harder.' The Australian Financial Review reported last year that intense workplace culture had led to high staff turnover. The same year, Zhang shared in a blog post that the company had under-invested in the people and talent team, but had expanded those operations to support employees. Zhang himself doesn't show any signs of slowing down. After the most recent fundraise, his goal is to build Airwallex into a complete operating system for global businesses by increasing its investment in technologies like artificial intelligence. One place where Zhang's viewpoint diverges from Stripe's Collison brothers is on stablecoin and cryptocurrencies. Last year, Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge for $US1.1 billion. Zhang has taken a more cautious approach, opting to wait for additional regulatory clarity before investing heavily in the technology. In June, Zhang dusted up a spirited debate on X after expressing doubts about use cases. 'I still don't see a single use case yet on how crypto is helping anything in the last 15 years,' Zhang wrote. Loading While Zhang has lofty ambitions, he faces steep competition from Stripe and other fintechs like Nium, another global cross-border payments firm that was valued at $US1.4 billion last year. Zhang says the demand for banking and payments platforms designed to accommodate international operations is on the rise. 'Tech-native businesses are more likely to be global from day one,' Zhang said. 'Any mum and dad selling on Amazon or Shopify is a global business.'
