Airwallex launches global in-person payments, taking on Stripe, Square and Adyen
Airwallex has launched a point-of-sale product that lets businesses accept in-person payments across multiple countries from a single platform, extending the $8 billion fintech's payments infrastructure from the browser to the physical countertop.
The new POS offering unifies in-store and online payments in one system, with consolidated reporting and direct integrations into back-office tools. Merchants operating across borders can run every location on the same payment rails and reconcile centrally, without having to onboard separate local acquirers or vendors in each market.
Airwallex POS Payments is live in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore, with the US and Australia next on the roadmap. The system integrates with existing point-of-sale, order management, ERP and platform systems through APIs and SDKs, and includes SoftPOS support so platforms can embed in-person acceptance directly into their apps without shipping dedicated hardware.
Taking on Stripe, Square and Adyen
The launch puts Airwallex head-to-head with Square and Adyen in in-person payments, and sharpens its rivalry with Stripe across the broader payments stack. Founded in 2015, Airwallex has spent a decade building its own payment rails and now holds close to 90 regulatory licenses across roughly 50 markets, with direct connections to local payment networks in more than 120 countries and settlement in over 90 currencies.
The company processes around $100 billion in annual volume, generates approximately $1.3 billion in annualised revenue (growing around 85% year on year), and serves more than 46,000 US businesses at an $8 billion valuation.
Local licences as the differentiator
CEO and co-founder Jack Zhang argues that the multi-market pain point is exactly what Airwallex is built to solve. "When a business expands into a new market, they typically have to onboard a new local acquirer, navigate fragmented compliance, and manage yet another set of vendor relationships," he said.
A key differentiator, Zhang said, is Airwallex's ability to hold funds within a local market rather than immediately repatriating them, thanks to its own banking licences. He pointed to the company's Japan licence, which took seven years to secure, as an example. "Stripe and Square can process payments in Japan, but when you actually process the payment, you need to immediately pay out to the merchant's bank account. You can't hold the funds," he said.
On the competitive opportunity, Zhang was blunt: "There's just not been a real competition to Stripe in the last 15 years, which is quite amazing considering how big the market is."
About Airwallex
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Australia, Airwallex is a global payments and financial infrastructure platform. The company offers business accounts, cards, transfers, payment acceptance and embedded finance products to businesses operating across borders, with a proprietary network of licences and direct integrations spanning more than 120 countries.
