In sentiment that will resonate with all fintechs, the CEO of Airwallex has said that the global shift to digital is imminent. 

Jack Zhang, CEO and Co-founder of Airwallex, was speaking at the time of the company’s Series D closing. It raised US$160m, marking its biggest raise to date. 

Zhang said: “We envision a world in the not-too-distant future where all businesses will operate and conduct their affairs online – including banking – with the help of modern tools.

“From the very beginning, our vision has been to lead the transformation of global financial infrastructure. We have stayed true to our vision by building the Airwallex platform with fast and agile technology, continually improving our product and investing in dedicated support teams. More than ever, we are well-positioned to support businesses no matter their size as they adapt to today’s changes.”

Quite a few people obviously agree with him, as the round included majority participation from a group of new top-tier global strategic investors, including ANZi Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of ANZ Bank) and Salesforce Ventures (the global investment arm of Salesforce). 

Existing core investors DST Global, Tencent, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital and Horizons Ventures also participated, bringing Airwallex’s total equity raise since it was founded in 2015 to US$360m.

The new money will accelerate worldwide growth in Europe, the US and new markets, expand its product line to include payment acceptance solutions and explore acquisitions to fast track Airwallex’s offerings.

It was back in March 2019 when Airwallex closed its Series C round, allowing the company to rapidly expand, with new offices in Tokyo, Bangalore and Dubai. 

Airwallex also launched Airwallex Borderless Cards in partnership with Visa and completed an integration with Xero.