Aussie FinTech Startup Airwallex Rolls Out Payments Services in Singapore

FinTech platform Airwallex is officially introducing payment services in Singapore after being granted a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and piloting a successful beta launch in November 2020.

Acquiring the license boosted the company’s operations in Southeast Asia. Airwallex intends to help businesses in Singapore expand across the ASEAN region and beyond, according to a press release on Thursday (Jan. 13)

Airwallex will now be offering businesses in Singapore a full suite of payments services that include digital payments, global account issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfers and multi-currency wallets.

See also: FinTech Airwallex Granted Payment License from Singapore’s Central Bank

In addition, the move also gives Airwallex’s global customers the ability to receive funds locally in Singapore dollars (SGD), making their businesses more accessible to the marketplace in the country. Other offerings — multi-currency company and employee cards, spend management and an API suite — will be progressively rolled out.

“Singapore has established itself as a major international hub for global technology and innovation, supported by a dynamic business community across startups, major financial service institutions and a growing talent pool,” Nazim Ali, CEO of Airwallex Singapore said.

“That said, many Singapore businesses — SMEs or larger enterprises — still face challenges with international payments, and are looking for better partners like Airwallex that help them tackle that cross-border payments complexity. Since we were founded, we have enabled the global growth of many businesses,” Ali added.

Read more: Airwallex Raises $200M for Global Expansion, Product Development

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Airwallex operates across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, with more than 1,000 employees in 19 locations worldwide, including Singapore. The Singapore office is anticipated to quadruple by the end of this year, according to the release.

Airwallex secured a money service business license in Malaysia in September 2021 and is planning to launch there in the coming months. The company recently raised $300 million in a Series E and E1 funding rounds at a valuation of $5.5 billion.