Why Airwallex Turned Down Stripe's Buyout and Now Challenges It Globally

Friends, a fintech update: Airwallex rejected Stripe's acquisition proposal and now competes with it directly.

I read Jack Zhang's story: in 2018 he was offered $1.2bn for the company — he refused and scaled the business. Today Airwallex reports $1.3bn revenue, 85% growth and ~$300bn in transaction volume.

Core strategy is the 'path of maximum resistance': securing local licences and building owned, regulated infrastructure to hold local balances and cut FX costs. The chief challenge is brand recognition and recruiting engineers in the US.

Why it matters: owners of payments infrastructure secure a durable competitive advantage.

Do you think this will be enough to narrow Stripe's lead?

#fintech #payments #startups #infrastructure