Airwallex, the Australian-based Tencent, Mastercard and Sequoia Capital backed cross border payments company, and Railsbank, the UK-based open-banking and regtech platform, today announced a strategic partnership enabling Airwallex customers to transact in and out of the UK & EU SEPA zones, and Railsbank customers to access the cross-border FX and payments capabilities of Airwallex.
Airwallex customers will be plugged, via Railsbank, into the UK Faster Payments and EU SEPA system to send and receive local payments, drastically reducing the cost of international payments whilst increasing speed and transparency. This enhances Airwallex’s payments capability by adding Europe to the existing service of more than 100 countries out of Australia, China, and Hong Kong.
Airwallex will become Railsbank’s exclusive foreign exchange partner, facilitating cross-border transactions for Railsbank clients with Airwallex’s proprietary payments and FX solution, built for low latency, high volume processing.
Airwallex’s VP of Europe Expansion, Michael Stachowiak said: “As Airwallex continues to expand, we have partnered with Railsbank to ensure we can meet the demand we see from European businesses sending payments to Asia and vice versa.”
“Our partnership with Railsbank means we can hook into domestic payment methods through one integration to offer our customers a fast and viable new access point to transact in and out of Europe, encouraging greater transactions and trade between a strengthening European economy and the tiger economies of the Far East.”
COO and co-founder of Railsbank, Clive Mitchell, said: “We’re excited to help Airwallex customers turbo-charge their business by massively reducing the time and complexity of opening bank accounts through our partner network, streamlining technical integration with banks, enhancing banking functionality with core Railsbank services; and enabling trusted compliance relationships.”
For European businesses, the partnership also opens exciting new trade opportunities with China, with the ability to support payments into the country. Airwallex helps businesses overcome this notoriously challenging regulatory barrier to a booming market.
UK Consul General in Melbourne Christopher Holtby said: “While the UK continues to promote trade and investment opportunities globally, it is very exciting to see the partnership between Airwallex and Railsbank come to fruition.”
“Partnerships between Australian and British companies have long been a welcome part of the UK’s economic identity, and a strong part of the country’s relationship with each other. This is a fantastic example of the innovation and benefits that can arise from a joint vision for the financial services market.”
The partnership plays a strategic role in Airwallex’s plans to expand into new regions. The startup recently raised a US$13 million Series A funding round from investors including Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital China and Mastercard, adding fuel to further grow its platform and help businesses automate and scale their international payment workflows.