Airwallex Processes 93% Outside SWIFT

This shows that Airwallex is not just reselling bank wires, it is acting like its own global money movement network. In practice, most transfers never need to touch the slow correspondent banking chain behind SWIFT. Airwallex can receive funds locally, match them against balances it already holds in another country, and pay out over local rails, which cuts fees, reduces delays, and gives it more control over the customer experience.

• The operating model is closer to netting than forwarding a wire. A platform like Brex or Rippling can collect money in one market, convert it inside Airwallex, then send a local payout in another market from Airwallex-held accounts. That is why the network gets better as volume and geography expand.
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• This is a real product and margin advantage against banks. Traditional banks depend far more on SWIFT and correspondent banks, which add handlers, fees, and settlement time. Airwallex still uses SWIFT for the remaining 7%, but keeping most flow on its own rails lets it undercut legacy B2B FX providers by 50% to 80% on fees.
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• It also helps explain why Airwallex looks different from Wise and Payoneer. Wise Business and Payoneer are strong at transfers and payouts, but Airwallex is increasingly bundling local accounts, card issuing, and embedded payments APIs, which turns the payments network into infrastructure that software platforms and larger global businesses can build on.
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The next step is turning this network advantage into a broader financial stack. As more payment volume, card spend, and platform flows run through Airwallex, its internal routing becomes denser, its unit costs fall, and more of the business shifts from low margin cross-border transfers toward higher margin software and issuing products.