Airwallex was launched by its CEO Jack Zhang and four friends after paying exorbitant foreign exchange fees for online purchases. The company, founded in Melbourne and headquartered in Hong Kong, is a global payments platform that helps businesses manage and make international payments quickly, transparently and cost-efficiently, without the constraints of the traditional financial system. Today, Airwallex is a unicorn with more than 1,400 employees across 20 locations, supporting 100,000 businesses globally. Investors include bigwigs like Sequoia Capital and Tencent.
Before establishing Airwallex, Zhang worked in the banking industry and founded various businesses including an import-export company and a café; it was an attempt to buy supplies online for the latter that prompted the founding of Airwallex. Here, he shares his story.
Describe what you do.
Airwallex is global financial infrastructure that powers modern businesses to grow beyond borders. I set a vision for the company and lead its global expansion.
How does your work make a difference?
When you think about how businesses and people moved money before Airwallex, it was made up of a lot of wire or Swift transfers [whose infrastructure] was built in the 1970s. It’s slow, expensive and not very convenient. With Airwallex, we built a parallel infrastructure to connect to real-time payment networks around the world; with Airwallex, it is much faster and cheaper to move money globally. You can receive money in more than 65 countries and accept payments in more than 180 countries, leveraging our proprietary payment network.
Tell us about the genesis of Airwallex.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2024 من Tatler Hong Kong.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2024 من Tatler Hong Kong.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
THE LAST WORD
Every issue, we ask our cover star a round of quickfire questions that give us a little more insight into their personalities. This month: Gulf Kanawut lays it bare
WOMEN AT THE WICKET
Asia's women's cricket teams from outside the Indian subcontinent have been rapidly rising up through the ranks, creating opportunities, breaking barriers and changing the game as they go
TIME TURNER
A 2024 Turner Prize nominee, British Filipino artist Pio Abad talks to Tatler about carrying on family legacy, unearthing historical connections and why the Philippines is always at the core of his work
ROYAL RICHES
Ahead of the opening of Prince and the Peacock, Black Sheep Restaurants' latest establishment, Tatler joins the hospitality group on a culinary pilgrimage to India
MAKING HER POINT
Foil fencer Daphne Chan is happy to see the rising interest in her sport since Cheung Ka-long's historic win, and is headed to the Games with impressive wins behind her. But she's not allowing the pressure to get to her, and is most excited about who she might meet in Paris
IN IT TO WIN IT
Hong Kong freestyle swimmer Ian Ho, whose Instagram handle @Amphlb_ian playfully alludes to his aquatic prowess, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and won silver in the men's 50 metres freestyle at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. This month, he will represent Hong Kong at the Paris Olympics. He talks to Tatler about making Hong Kong proud, life as a student and professional athlete-and why relaxing is the way forward
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Two-time Olympic swimmer Camille Cheng thought Tokyo 2020 would be her last Games, but competing in Paris was too big a draw for the French Chinese athlete
INTRIGUE AND INTRICACIES
Parisian artist Ugo Gattoni takes us through his elaborately designed poster for the Olympics and Paralympics in his home city this month
Crafting a New Legacy
Nicholas Lieou, creative director of high jewellery at Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, is reimagining jewellery, as the brand celebrates its 95th anniversary
A Lasting Legacy
Tatler explores Cartier's latest Watches and Wonders novelties with the maison's image, style and heritage director, who explains how the luxury house continues to create designs that are relevant today, yet rooted in legacy