Airwallex Raises $13M In VC Funding Led By Tencent

Airwallex, the Australian cross-border payment company, has raised $13 million in venture funding.

According to a report, Airwallex raised $13 million in a Series A round of funding that was led by Tencent, the Chinese internet company, and included Mastercard and Sequoia Capital. The report stated Airwallex is a service that is aimed at businesses, with the company’s platform able to support thousands of transactions per second. What’s more, Airwallex claims it offers businesses a cheaper alternative to the existing payment networks in the market.

Airwallex said in the report that it plans to use the proceeds from the round of fundraising to boost the release of its suite of APIs and to bankroll expansion internationally, with a particular eye on Europe.

“The continued growth of international trade and the global economy rely on efficient cross-border transactions. Our mission is to eradicate the burden of international payments so that businesses can transact across borders with ease. Armed with a growing number of financial services licenses and partnerships across numerous jurisdictions, we aim to make international payments as cheap and simple as domestic payments,” Jack Zhang, chief executive of Airwallex, said in the report.

Airwallex’s payment platform is powered by a FX and payment engine and provides customers with a transparent pricing model aimed at avoiding margin inflation and reducing market risk, noted the report.

When Airwallex announced its first round of funding in June, the company said at the time the money will be used to grow its development teams in both Melbourne and China, while also fueling research and development efforts within its cross-border payments platform. It also confirmed the funds will help to advance the technology stack of its payments platform, as well as deliver newer features, such as a multi-currency digital wallet and eCommerce APIs.