Airwallex: Building Global Financial Infrastructure for Modern Businesses

Company Overview and Global Footprint

Airwallex is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with significant operational hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Amsterdam, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The company has built a truly global presence to support cross‑border commerce, payments, and financial operations for businesses operating internationally.

Airwallex operates through a combination of regulated entities, including EMI licenses in the UK and Europe, payment institution registrations in Asia‑Pacific, and bank‑partner models in other jurisdictions. This regulatory footprint allows Airwallex to provide compliant access to local and international payment rails while maintaining consistent product capabilities across regions.

Leadership Background: Jack Zhang

Jack Zhang is the Co‑Founder and CEO of Airwallex. Before founding the company in 2015, Jack Zhang was an entrepreneur and engineer with experience in building scalable technology businesses. He previously founded several startups in China and Australia, gaining firsthand exposure to the challenges of cross‑border payments, FX costs, and fragmented banking infrastructure.

Jack Zhang’s technical background and global business experience shaped Airwallex’s infrastructure‑first approach. As CEO, he leads product vision, global expansion, and strategic partnerships, with a strong emphasis on building proprietary financial rails rather than relying solely on legacy correspondent banking.

Products and Platform Strategy

Under Jack Zhang’s leadership, Airwallex has developed a full‑stack financial platform for global businesses. Core products include multi‑currency business accounts, local and international payments, FX and treasury services, card issuing, embedded finance APIs, and online acquiring.

Airwallex supports local payment methods, SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant in Europe, Faster Payments in the UK, ACH in the US, and domestic clearing systems across Asia‑Pacific. The platform is API‑first and cloud‑native, offering webhooks, dashboards, and sandbox environments that enable rapid integration for SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and enterprises.

Interview

1. Where is Airwallex headquartered and how is the company structured globally?

Answer: Airwallex is headquartered in Melbourne, with major offices across Asia‑Pacific, Europe, and North America. This structure allows us to operate close to local payment networks and regulators while delivering a unified global platform.

2. What is your role as Co‑Founder and CEO?

Answer: As CEO, I focus on long‑term product vision, building proprietary infrastructure, global expansion, and ensuring we maintain regulatory compliance as we scale.

3. What regulatory framework supports Airwallex?

Answer: Airwallex operates under EMI and payment institution licenses in multiple regions and works with licensed banking partners where required. Compliance, AML, and KYC are embedded across all products.

4. What are Airwallex’s core products today?

Answer: Core products include multi‑currency accounts, international and local payments, FX conversion, card issuing, online acquiring, and embedded finance APIs.

5. How does Airwallex support SEPA Instant and real‑time payments?

Answer: We provide SEPA Instant access in supported European markets, with intelligent routing between Instant and standard SEPA rails to ensure reliability.

6. What role does Open Banking play?

Answer: Open Banking enables instant funding, account verification, and improved conversion for European customers using bank‑to‑bank payments.

7. How fast can customers onboard?

Answer: Businesses can open accounts and begin transacting in days, supported by digital KYB and automated compliance workflows.

8. How does Airwallex manage risk and fraud?

Answer: We use real‑time transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, behavioral analytics, and internal risk engines to manage fraud and compliance.

9. Can you describe the technical architecture?

Answer: Airwallex is built on a cloud‑native, microservices architecture with real‑time APIs, webhooks, and high‑availability processing.

10. How is pricing structured?

Answer: Pricing is transparent and usage‑based, covering FX margins, transaction fees, and optional value‑added services.

11. Who are Airwallex’s target customers?

Answer: We serve global SMEs, high‑growth startups, marketplaces, SaaS platforms, and enterprises operating across borders.

12. How does Airwallex differ from Stripe?

Answer: Stripe is primarily an acquiring platform; Airwallex focuses on end‑to‑end financial infrastructure including accounts, FX, and treasury.

13. How does Airwallex compare with Adyen?

Answer: Adyen is strong in enterprise acquiring, while Airwallex offers broader treasury and multi‑currency account capabilities.

14. What about competition with Checkout.com?

Answer: Checkout.com is acquiring‑centric; Airwallex combines acquiring with global financial operations tooling.

15. How does Airwallex position against PayPal?

Answer: PayPal focuses on consumer wallets; Airwallex is built for businesses managing cross‑border complexity.

16. What recent developments are notable?

Answer: Airwallex has expanded into new European and North American markets and enhanced its card issuing and treasury products.

17. What is Airwallex’s financial profile?

Answer: Airwallex operates a high‑growth, recurring revenue model with strong unit economics driven by infrastructure efficiency.

18. What is on the roadmap for the next 12–24 months?

Answer: Expansion of real‑time payments, deeper Open Banking integration, and enhanced embedded finance capabilities.

19. How does Airwallex support developers?

Answer: Through comprehensive APIs, SDKs, documentation, sandbox environments, and dedicated technical support.

20. What is your long‑term vision?

Answer: The vision is for Airwallex to be the default global financial operating system for modern businesses.

Competitors

FAQ

Is Airwallex a bank?

No. Airwallex is a regulated payments and financial infrastructure provider working with licensed banks.

Does Airwallex support SEPA Instant?

Yes, Airwallex supports SEPA Instant in eligible European markets.

Who uses Airwallex?

Global businesses, SaaS platforms, and marketplaces managing cross‑border operations.

How secure is Airwallex?

Airwallex applies bank‑grade security, AML, and compliance controls.

What makes Airwallex different?

Airwallex combines payments, FX, and treasury into a single global platform.