Airwallex's Flight: Redefining Cross-Border Payments Amid Crypto's Challenge

Airwallex, a Melbourne-based firm, has emerged as a key player in the cross-border payments space, offering businesses a faster and cheaper alternative to traditional methods. By maintaining pools of money in various countries, Airwallex facilitates transactions between merchants and suppliers by arranging payments in local currencies, thus bypassing the inefficiencies of wire transfers and currency conversions. While cryptocurrencies like stablecoins and XRP have been touted as potential disruptors in this field, Airwallex's founder and CEO, Jack Zhang, believes their limited liquidity compared to fiat currencies makes widespread adoption unlikely. Moreover, Zhang points to the evolution of real-time payment networks in various countries, such as India's UPI and Brazil's PIX, as evidence that the traditional financial system is also improving, offering faster and cheaper alternatives to legacy systems like SWIFT. As a result, while blockchain technology continues to develop, the traditional financial industry is also advancing, ensuring stiff competition in the cross-border payments landscape.