Airwallex Raises $80M To Expand Its Cross-Border Payment Tech

Airwallex, the international payments company, announced Tuesday (July 3) that it raised $80 million via a round of fundraising.

In a press release, the company said that with the Series B funding round, it has raised a total of $102 million. The Series B round included existing Series A investors Tencent and Sequoia Capital China, which were joined by fellow China’s Hillhouse Capital, Sir Ka-Shing Li’s Horizons Ventures from Hong Kong, Indonesia’s Central Capital Ventura (BCA) and Australia’s Square Peg.

Airwallex said that, with the funding, the company is aiming to speed up the production of its cross-border payment technology. The funding, said the company, means “significant global expansion” and marks a clear step forward for the company.

COO and Co-Founder Lucy Liu said in the press release, “Airwallex has identified that businesses in all corners of the world are experiencing similar challenges as the pace and connectivity of a digitalized global economy continues to gain momentum. By offering full end-to-end solutions (not just in FX and payments), we’re changing the way our clients thrive in the global arena.”

According to the company, the funding will enable Airwallex to solidify connections between Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe and North America. It has already completed successful connections in China. Airwallex said it will extend to North America and Canada, and that a “notable” portion of the funds will go to encourage financial inclusion for SMBs in the Hong Kong market where it is applying for a Virtual Banking license. The funding will also support growth in the U.K. where the company sees growth opportunities despite the Brexit.

Sequoia Capital China Founding and Managing Partner Neil Shen said in the press release, “As the pace and connectivity of the digitalized global economy continues to rapidly accelerate, the need to focus on foreign exchange and payments has become critically important for large corporates and [SMBs]. We believe that Airwallex’s continuous improvement in providing seamless solutions for this problem is eliminating the obstacle, effectively giving their clients a clear advantage in a hyper-competitive global market.”