March 26, 2019
Airwallex, a Hong Kong-based cross-border payments firm for marketplaces, online sellers and SMEs, has raised $100 million in Series C funds led by DST Global, a move that values the company at more than $1 billion, according to a company release.
Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital China, Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, Gobi Partners, Horizons Ventures and Square Peg Capital also participated in the round. Airwallex has raised more than $200 million to date.
The firm, founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015, plans to use the funding for product development and expansion in major international markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Southeast Asia.
Airwallex plans to triple the size of its U.S. operations, where it currently operates out of a San Francisco-based office, according to a spokesperson.
"We started Airwallex because we knew there was a better way to make global payments," Jack Zhang, founder and CEO of the company, said in the announcement. "Airwallex is proud to free businesses from many of the traditional barriers that have made international transactions so difficult."
The company said it works with a client base of leading internet firms, including JD.com, Tencent and Ctrip, as well as financial services companies such as Mastercard. The platform allows businesses to create international financial accounts in local currencies and send and receive funds through local clearinghouses in more than 130 different countries.
"The growing e-commerce industry needs a technology-focused payments network that is reliable, cost effective and provides data transparency," Tom Stafford, managing partner of DST Global, said in the announcement.
Topics: Mobile Payments, Money Transfer / P2P, Region: Americas, Region: APAC, Region: EMEA, Technology Providers
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