Airwallex obtains AFSL for expansion into retail investment offering

By Gloria Mathias

Airwallex, an Australian-founded financial platform, has been granted an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to offer businesses access to retail investment products.

This is an additional licence from the AFSL that Airwallex has held for its existing payments and foreign exchange business since 2016. The authorisation from the regulator formalises Airwallex’s move into investment products and signals the company’s evolution toward becoming an end-to-end financial services platform.

The announcement comes just eight months after Airwallex launched Airwallex Yield for wholesale customers. This service allows customers to earn attractive returns on their AUD and USD balances without opening a foreign bank account.

With this expansion, Airwallex Yield will be offered to the broader retail market with a lower minimum investment requirement of AUD$10K (or USD equivalent)

With Airwallex Yield, customers can invest in a product that invests through a fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management (J.P. Morgan), one of the world’s most trusted asset management firms. The J.P. Morgan underlying funds hold the highest rating from Standard & Poor’s at ‘AAAm’ grade, and equally high ratings from all leading rating agencies.

Airwallex SVP of Product Shannon Scott said the company was excited to expand Yield to help businesses capitalise on greater flexibility and returns, particularly during the current economic climate.

“We’re excited to expand upon Yield to position Airwallex as the modern alternative to banks for businesses of all sizes. This move into investment products underscores our role as a comprehensive financial services platform that can help businesses manage their finances more efficiently. It’s especially timely as Australian SMEs face economic challenges and rising costs. Yield empowers them with its flexibility, attractive rates of return and multi-currency capabilities – a solution business have been craving for years.”

George Boubouras, Managing Director, Research, Investments & Advisory at K2 Asset Management Ltd (an Airwallex partner and issuer of the Yield product) said, “The benefits of a blended single multi-currency cash account that offers exposure to multiple currencies in a single account can assist with lower transaction costs and shorter settlement times compared to traditional currency accounts that offer lower yields and are more burdensome.”