FinTech unicorn Airwallex is partnering with Visa to introduce a borderless card for businesses, the companies announced on Wednesday (Feb. 5).
The Airwallex Borderless Card is being debuted in Australia after being introduced at the innovation festival Pause Fest 2020 taking place in Melbourne Feb. 5-7. Later in 2020, the card will roll out in other locations, including the U.K. and Hong Kong.
The new card gives Airwallex customers the ability to pay suppliers in seconds while saving businesses time and money. The Visa partnership offers users secure, cross-border payments in multiple currencies while taking advantage of Airwallex’s competitive foreign exchange rates.
“Airwallex’s goal has always been to set up a global financial infrastructure that helps businesses to grow and scale. In the last few years, we have cemented a growing reputation as one of the world’s leading cross-border payments providers,” said Airwallex CEO and Co-Founder Jack Zhang.
He added that the company has evolved to service the needs of businesses today and the Visa collaboration “takes us to a new level” by giving corporates an “end-to-end financial services solution. We have evolved to become a business account that will support the financial needs of today’s modern business.”
The Airwallex Borderless Card is being introduced in two stages. Starting now, Australian Airwallex users can distribute virtual payment cards in multiple currencies to pay suppliers instantly.
The second stage will offer multi-currency corporate cards for business owners and their employees. This feature is expected to launch by the end of the first quarter of this year. The corporate cards will initially be introduced in physical form, with a virtual card, which will exist within digital wallets and an Airwallex corporate card app, launching later in the second quarter of 2020.
Airwallex customers will be able to instantly initiate individual corporate cards instantly, side-stepping paperwork, annual fees and bank queues.
“Today, cross-border B2B payments remain a cumbersome and costly affair, which can impact small businesses and corporates who are time-starved and need to keep a close eye on their cashflow. This is why we are excited to partner with Airwallex to help businesses make seamless, secure and convenient international payments, all linked to a Visa account,” said Chris Clark, regional president, Asia Pacific, Visa.
B2B transfers are expected to reach a $218 trillion valuation in the next three years alone. The industry has come to understand that B2B problems cannot be addressed with tools and technologies designed for consumers.
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