Airwallex and BILL Partner to Enable Faster International Payments

Airwallex and BILL partnered to help BILL customers make faster international payments.

With this collaboration, BILL’s financial operations platform for small– to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will add the local transfer capabilities of Airwallex’s global payments and financial platform, the companies said in a Tuesday (April 30) press release.

“By adding Airwallex’s local transfer capabilities to our robust financial operations platform and flexible payments offerings, we will provide more choice, capability and faster speed for international payments,” BILL Chief Product Officer Irana Wasti said in the release.

This addition will enable BILL’s customers to benefit from faster payment speed and the option to deliver same-day or next-day payments in local currencies, according to the release.

The Airwallex tech stack will also let BILL customers schedule foreign exchange (FX) conversions and payouts with the timing desired by the end customer, so they can process and reconcile international bill payments at scale, the release said.

The partnership of Airwallex and BILL aims to meet the needs of SMBs that are increasingly interacting with employees, vendors, partners and customers around the world, per the release. With access to new cross-border payment options, these SMBs can pay faster, in a choice of currencies and without intermediary bank fees.

“There is a growing demand for agile and embedded global payment infrastructure built on local rails, unlocking speedier payments that arrive on time and as expected,” Ravi Adusumilli, executive general manager of Americas at Airwallex, said in the release. “We are excited to help BILL remove complexity for SMBs and their vendors so that they can make fast and efficient payments around the globe.”

PYMNTS Intelligence found that the rising tide of international trade and cross-border transactions means businesses must look abroad to maximize growth and access the greatest number of customers.

However, when using traditional cross-border payment methods like wire transfers, businesses have often encountered pain points like slow speeds, lack of transparency and high costs, according to PYMNTS Intelligence’s “The Treasury Management Playbook: Spotlight on Cross-Border Payments.”

The more a business looks abroad for new markets and customers, the more important seamless and efficient cross-border payments become, the report said.