The acquisition provides Airwallex with key regulatory approvals, including a Payment Gateway licence, a Prepaid Electronic Payment Instrument licence and a Foreign Exchange Business registration. These permissions remove the need for third-party intermediaries and enable the company to offer services locally under its own regulatory standing. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This milestone allows us to operate directly in South Korea without the traditional reliance on third-party intermediaries,” Lucy Liu, Airwallex’s co-founder and president, said.
Airwallex plans to roll out its global business accounts and payments acquiring services in South Korea in 2026, with additional offerings such as spend-management tools to follow later in the year. The company also intends to build a local team of around 20 employees by the end of 2026, hiring across sales, compliance, client management and product support.
Arnold Chan, general manager for Asia-Pacific at Airwallex, described the acquisition as a turning point in the company’s regional strategy. He pointed to South Korea’s rapidly growing ecommerce, creative and entertainment sectors as key opportunities for Korean companies seeking to expand internationally.
The move comes shortly after Airwallex completed a funding round in December that valued the company at $8 billion, roughly 30% higher than its previous valuation. The fintech reported reaching $1.2 billion in annualised revenue and $266 billion in annualised transaction volume as of December.
Asked about a potential public listing, Liu said Airwallex remains focused on strengthening its global network and scaling its AI-driven financial products rather than pursuing an immediate IPO. She added that the company continues to assess its long-term capital strategy while expanding across its 26 offices and serving more than 200,000 businesses worldwide.
Airwallex is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore and counts Tencent, DST Global and Hillhouse among its backers. Its latest funding round also attracted new investors including Addition, T. Rowe Price, Activant, Lingotto, Robinhood Ventures and TIAA Ventures.