Australian cross-border payments outfit Airwallex has raised $13 million in a Series A funding round which is expected to boost the firm’s international expansion.

Mastercard, Sequoia Capital China and Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings all participated in the round. Airwallex was the first Australian startup to join the Mastercard Start Path accelerator programme in September 2016.

Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, said: “The continued growth of international trade and the global economy rely on efficient cross-border transactions. Our mission is to eradicate the burden of international payments so that businesses can transact across borders with ease.

“Armed with a growing number of financial services licences and partnerships across numerous jurisdictions, we aim to make international payments as cheap and simple as domestic payments.”

Steven Ji, a partner at Sequoia, added: “Airwallex is Sequoia Capital China’s first startup investment in Australia. Foreign exchange transactions pose a real challenge for businesses that operate across borders, and Airwallex’s solution has seriously impressed us in its ability to close the gap and allow companies to financially access markets that may have previously been out of reach.”

Share Story: