Fintech - AirWallex

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Australian fintech unicorn chooses London for their European HQ

Country: Australia

Airwallex is an Australian fintech who offer digital payment solutions for personal and business purposes worldwide. They were first established in 2015 in Melbourne by college friends Xijing Dai, Lucy Liu, Jack Zhang and Max Li and in 2017 opened their London office. Since their expansion they have achieved the highly sought after, unicorn status.

So why did Airwallex choose the UK?

“The UK is one of the world’s leading fintech hub, combining fantastic talent, a progressive regulatory environment and an established fintech ecosystem”.

The UK’s strong track record of fintechs and innovation creates a more receptive environment for new companies and technologies. James Butland, Airwallex’s VP of Global Banking said, “…the UK seemed like a natural home for us after launching in Australia and Hong Kong”.

Stages of success

Airwallex started off in the UK in 2017 as a small regional office, focussed on supporting their global business. During this time when they first set up the company, the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) helped introduce Airwallex to others in the fintech community and recommended relevant events to attend.

In 2017, Airwallex received its Series A funding from a number of global investors to build out the international operations of the company.

In 2018, Airwallex became licensed by the FCA as an Electronic Money Institution. This licence enabled them to build a product focussed around collecting funds for businesses, converting them at a transparent FX rate, and enabling businesses to payout locally all around the world. The UK- Aus Fintech Bridge has enabled their fast process with the UK regulator.

2019 saw the expansion of the team in the UK, following their licence approval, as they grew from 1-12 across marketing, operations, compliance, sales and partnerships. The team launched the business product locally and ran a number of events, including one with DIT.

“DIT have provided on the ground support to Airwallex, helping us setup locally, introducing us to peers and giving us access to their extensive network”.

In 2020, the team built on the success of 2019 with the launch of two new products, ‘Issuing’ and ‘Acquiring’. Issuing enables businesses to use virtual cards to pay globally in any currency, and the Acquiring product helps businesses accept card payments on their website to fuel their international growth.

“In spite of COVID19, our main client base is in the ecommerce industry, and the company saw strong growth in 2020. Airwallex raised US$200 million in our Series D funding in summer 2020 which will be used to grow the UK team even faster in 2021”.

How DIT has helped

DIT has been a “huge support” of Airwallex from when they first arrived in the UK until the present day.

Over the past three years, DIT has also invited Airwallex to numerous events in the UK (both physical and digital) to connect with other companies and build their local reputation and brand.

“It's such a valuable relationship and one that has helped make our business in the UK a success”.

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The UK Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT) helps connect international buyers with UK goods and services to meet their needs, supports overseas companies to locate and grow in the UK, drives both inward and outward investment, negotiates market access and trade deals, and champions free trade.