Hold onto your hats, because the fintech world is about to get even more exciting! While giants like Ramp and Stripe have been hogging the spotlight, a Singapore-based underdog is quietly making a massive splash. Airwallex, the cross-border payments specialist, has just shattered the $1 billion annualized revenue mark, boasting a staggering 90% year-over-year growth rate. But here's where it gets controversial: can this relative newcomer truly challenge the established players in the U.S. market? Cofounder and CEO Jack Zhang thinks so. In a recent interview with Fortune, Zhang revealed Airwallex's ambitious expansion plans, diversifying beyond payments into business banking, spend management, and more. This pits them directly against not only Ramp and Stripe but also Mercury, Brex, Revolut, and other fintech heavyweights. "We're competing with too many people," Zhang quipped, highlighting the fierce battle for dominance in this booming sector.
Airwallex may not yet be a household name in the U.S., but its rapid ascent is undeniable. Founded in 2015, it took them nine years to reach $500 million in annualized revenue, but only one more year to double that figure. With impressive gross profit margins exceeding 60%, Airwallex is positioning itself as a serious contender. Valued at $6 billion in its latest funding round, it's still smaller than Ramp ($22.5 billion) and Stripe ($106 billion), but its momentum is undeniable.
And this is the part most people miss: Airwallex's success, according to Zhang, stems from its outsider perspective. "We're not part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem," he stated, suggesting that their global focus and independence give them a unique edge.
Originally founded in Melbourne, Airwallex strategically relocated to Singapore, a major Asian financial hub, in 2022. This global mindset is reflected in their product suite, which now extends far beyond cross-border payments. Business accounts, similar to Mercury's offerings, account for 34% of their revenue, while spend management contributes 20% and payments 30%. Airwallex also empowers other fintech companies through API integrations, enabling international expansions for players like Brex, Rippling, and Deel.
"Our real moat is the infrastructure we've built over the last decade," Zhang emphasized, highlighting their regulatory and financial services expertise.
As Airwallex sets its sights on North America, opening a U.S. headquarters in San Francisco last year, Zhang acknowledges they won't directly compete with Ramp for purely domestic U.S. customers. Instead, Airwallex targets companies seeking a global footprint, offering a comprehensive platform for issuing employee cards, opening bank accounts, and managing payments across multiple jurisdictions. This strategy seems to be paying off, with North America and Europe now contributing nearly 40% of their revenue, a significant jump from zero just a few years ago.
"If you're a U.S. company focused solely on Ohio, Ramp might be a better fit," Zhang explained. "But if you're aiming to sell globally, from Australia to the UK and beyond, and need a single platform for banking, payments, spend management, and treasury, that's where Airwallex excels."
Like many forward-thinking companies, Airwallex is heavily invested in AI, with Zhang developing a wallet product designed to revolutionize global agentic payments. He aims to scale the AI agents business to a "few hundred million" before considering an IPO.
Interestingly, Airwallex has also hired stablecoin developers, dipping its toes into the buzzy world of blockchain. However, Zhang remains skeptical about blockchain's ability to outperform existing solutions for global money movement. "Merchant adoption is still very low, and there's little happening on the B2B side," he noted. "I'm 99% skeptical, 1% probability."
Airwallex's story is a testament to the dynamism of the fintech industry. Can this global challenger truly dethrone the established giants? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: the battle for fintech supremacy just got a whole lot more interesting.
What do you think? Can Airwallex successfully challenge Ramp and Stripe in the U.S. market? Is blockchain the future of global payments, or are existing solutions still superior? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
