Airwallex to Acquire Mexico Payments Company MexPago

Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for businesses, has announced a deal to acquire MexPago, a Mexico-based payment service provider.

This acquisition marks Airwallex’s entry into the Latin American market, unlocking opportunities for businesses in Mexico to operate globally and for international companies to establish a presence in Mexico, according to a Thursday (Oct. 19) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

MexPago, which holds an Institution of Electronic Payment Funds (IFPE) license, brings valuable payments capabilities to the table. By combining MexPago’s expertise with Airwallex’s global financial infrastructure, the two companies aim to empower businesses to grow and operate across borders, according to the release.

MexPago CEO Luis Castillejos Ordaz expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership.

“The combination of MexPago’s payments capabilities in Mexico and Airwallex’s global financial infrastructure will unlock exciting opportunities for companies in Mexico to operate globally, and for companies around the world to operate in Mexico,” Ordaz said in a statement. “I look forward to working closely with Airwallex to obtain the necessary approvals and to ensure a smooth transition of ownership.”

Ravi Adusumilli, executive general manager, Americas at Airwallex, highlighted the significance of the deal for the company.

“This is a critical milestone for Airwallex,” Adusumilli said. “It marks our entry into Latin America and our commitment to building truly global and proprietary financial infrastructure.”

Founded in Melbourne in 2015 and headquartered in Singapore, Airwallex has expanded its global presence with 20 offices worldwide. With 1,400 employees, the company said in the release that it plans to hire over 500 new team members in the coming year.

Airwallex’s entry into the Latin American market comes at a time when eCommerce demand is growing, and businesses have to handle cross-border payments.

As Pranav Sood, EMEA executive GM at payments firm Airwallex, told PYMNTS in a September interview that times are changing, and international merchants are wrestling with outdated payments infrastructure and solutions that no longer meet their needs, placing new cost pressures on them amid a shift in focus toward cutting costs.

“You can’t afford a situation where your product is hamstrung by one of your infrastructure providers or your only infrastructure provider,” Sood said.

“You’ve got to find a payment provider that meets you where you are and [gives] you the level of flexibility that you need from a technical perspective so that you can do things like customizing your checkout to reflect the amount of development resource and sophistication that you have,” he added.