Down Round Airwallex + Payments
Jan 28, 2026
A deep dive into a fast-growing payments firm, its origin story, global products and how it simplified cross-border FX. They unpack the land grab from banks, the tension between low-friction onboarding and anti-money-laundering controls. The conversation covers regulatory probes, frozen accounts, data residency claims and why payments infrastructure is uniquely hard.
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From FX Tool To Banking Stack
- Airwallex began as a cross-border payments platform that simplified FX and multi-currency wallets for SMEs.
- It then expanded into banking-like services, custody, and spend management, becoming a Stripe-like competitor.
Friction Fuels Risk
- Frictionless onboarding and low-cost rails make fintechs attractive but increase money‑laundering risk.
- Regulators penalise failures heavily, showing the trade-off between growth and compliance.
Prepare For Account Freezes
- Expect automated KYC systems to flag accounts and freeze funds while investigations occur.
- Prepare documentary backups and accept delays as part of using neobank-style services.