Cross border payments company Airwallex, announced that its Singapore entity has been granted a Major Payment Institution License by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2021 today.
With this license, Airwallex is permitted to provide a suite of payment services including account issuance, domestic money transfer, cross-border money transfer, merchant acquisition and e-money issuance.
Airwallex said that it will progressively introduce a suite of product and service offerings that will enable businesses in Singapore to operate and grow across the ASEAN region and globally.
This includes a modern global business account, multi-currency wallet, company and employee cards, spend management, online payments, international collection & transfer and other value-add solutions for Small and Medium-sized businesses, as well as an API for larger enterprise businesses that require embedded payments and financial services.
In September, the company also announced its entry in Southeast Asia after securing a money service business (MSB) license in Malaysia, followed by news of a US$200 million Series E fundraising round, raising its valuation to US$4 billion as it continues to focus on its regional and global expansion.
Founded in 2015, Airwallex has nearly doubled its headcount in 2021 to over 1,000 employees today across 19 locations globally, including Singapore.
Jack Zhang, CEO and Co-founder of Airwallex said,
“ Receiving this approval reflects our robust policies, compliance framework and risk management systems we have put in place. We will continue to work closely with regulators and partners to ensure we facilitate a safe, effective and transparent way to manage their cross-border financial transaction needs. We look forward to launching our services in Singapore next year and enabling businesses in Singapore to operate globally without borders.”
