Tencent-backed fintech start-up Airwallex’s first-quarter revenue gets a boost from revival in travel
- Border reopening has allowed Hong Kong-based SMEs to expand their international operations, Airwallex general manager Arnold Chan says
- Airwallex’s platform covers over 150 nations and handles US$50 billion worth of transactions a year
Airwallex, the fintech unicorn backed by Tencent Holdings and tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures, reported a strong growth in cross-border payments in the first quarter as the reopening of the border revived travel.
The payments company posted a 167 per cent year-on-year increase in transaction volumes in Hong Kong in the first three months of the year, according to Arnold Chan, the general manager for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Revenue grew 207 per cent on the back of a 142 per cent increase in new customers.
Chan said the data showed business activity in Hong Kong has bounced back from three years of pandemic-related restrictions that had brought cross-border travel to a standstill.
“The reopening of the border earlier this year has allowed many executives to travel again,” Chan said at a media briefing on Wednesday. This in turn has led many small and medium-sized enterprises from Hong Kong to expand their businesses internationally, thus fuelling the surge in payment volumes, he added.
To help these SMEs expand their international businesses further, Airwallex on Wednesday introduced a new loyalty programme called “Go Global”, offering cash rebates for clients who use its virtual card to pay for their overseas business travel, Chan said.
Customers can also book hotels, buy travel insurance and other services at discounted prices from a number of partner firms, including online travel booking platforms Agoda and Klook and insurer Generali.