Airwallex continues Canadian expansion with Float partnership

Airwallex has partnered with Toronto-based corporate card and expense management technology startup Float.

The Australian-founded, Singapore-headquartered FinTech firm Airwallex is powering Float’s new bill pay product, which was launched in June. The partnership, which Airwallex announced yesterday, marks another step in Airwallex’s efforts to grow its presence in Canada.

Airwallex launched its global payments services in Canada last year.

Airwallex, which already catered to some Canadian businesses, officially launched its global payments services in Canada in April 2023 to support local companies looking to grow abroad as well as international businesses operating in Canada.

This April, Airwallex expanded its offerings in Canada with the rollout of its borderless cards, which allow Canadian companies to transact in multiple currencies with zero transaction fees.

Airwallex executive general manager of Americas, Ravi Adusumilli, told BetaKit that Airwallex’s expansion into Canada “has been a key contributor” to the company’s growth across the Americas, where he said it is seeing 400-percent year-over-year revenue growth.

For its part, Float offers a business finance platform aimed at helping customers manage all of their spending in one place, from corporate card expenses to personal reimbursements and bill payments, catering largely to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) left underserved by banks and legacy solutions.

Through its bill pay offering, Float aims to simplify the bill payment process and reduce the time and money that Canadian companies spend on it. According to Airwallex, the product enables fast, cost-effective bill payments for both domestic and overseas transactions, and introduces payouts, including bank transfers, EFT, wire, and ACH, to Float’s platform.

“By tapping into Airwallex’s global financial infrastructure, Float was able to rapidly launch a product that can power both domestic and international payments for its Canadian customers,” said Adusumilli, including paying suppliers overseas and managing employee expenses for international travel.

Airwallex, which is valued at $5.6 billion USD, aims to power cross-border business banking around the world. Airwallex founder and CEO Jack Zhang told the Australian Financial Review in January that the company is preparing to become “[initial public offering]-ready” within the next two years.

RELATED: Float launches bill payments and personal expense reimbursement products

Adusumilli said several features of the Canadian market gave the company confidence there would be strong demand for its tech, including the country’s large cross-border trade flows, active startup ecosystem, e-commerce community, and quality FinTech talent. 

“The Canadian banking system, dominated by the Big 5, is particularly ripe for disruption. Airwallex is purpose-built for the globally connected economy,” Adusumilli said. “We want to address the unmet needs of Canadian businesses and FinTechs and foster greater economic growth.”

Today, Airwallex serves about 30 customers across Canada, from SMBs to established enterprises, he claimed. “We’re helping these businesses to collect, hold and pay out funds around the world, and to build their own financial products by embedding our global infrastructure,” Adusumilli said.

Airwallex currently has two full-time employees based in Toronto and aims to grow its Canadian workforce to more than 10 by the end of 2025. “We are bullish about the Canadian market—thanks to our initial commercial growth and the quality of tech talent we see,” Adusumilli said.

UPDATE (07/26/24): This story has been updated to include new commentary and information shared by Airwallex’s Ravi Adusumilli.

Feature image courtesy Airwallex.