Australian FinTech Airwallex Seeks $3.5B Valuation

Australian FinTech Airwallex is seeking a $3.5 billion valuation in a new funding round to expand its footprint in the cross-border payments sector.

The company is looking at a valuation of between $3.5 billion and $4 billion, Tech in Asia reported Friday (Aug. 27), citing a Bloomberg report.

This comes after Airwallex raised $100 million in March in a Series D, which upped its valuation to $2.6 billion. In July, the company raised $200 million for Capital 49, its own venture capital fund, which it has used to invest in two other FinTechs, Tech in Asia reported. Airwallex achieved unicorn status two years ago following its $100 million Series C.

Airwallex’s services are geared toward small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and include cards and international collection. For larger clients, the company offers an embedded-payment application programming interface (API). Founded in 2015, Airwallex has 900 employees in 12 offices around the world.

Read more: Australia’s Airwallex Launches Its Cross Border Services In US

Friday’s news comes just two days after Airwallex announced it will operate under newly-approved licenses in the United States — the first North American country where it maintains a presence.

Airwallex also says it will set up one of its five engineering hubs in San Francisco, where the firm already has an office staffed by 30 employees. Its other engineering centers are in Melbourne; Shanghai, China; Sydney, Australia; and the Netherlands.

The expansion into the U.S. is occurring through a partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust, the company said

Co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang has said the genesis for the company comes from his days as the owner of a coffee shop in Melbourne.

“As small business owners, we quickly saw the pain points with global payments and the impact of high [foreign exchange (FX)] fees and banking costs when sourcing for supplies,” Zhang said. “We wanted to build out a better financial and payment solution for businesses operating across borders and ensure they are empowered to grow.”