Increasing financial opportunities for underbanked SMEs with Airwallex and Zetl’s new partnership

As of today, any customer who signs up to Zetl will now be able to receive their first HK$100,000 worth of FX free courtesy of Airwallex. As part of the deal between the two companies, Airwallex’s clients will also get USD 300 in credits which can offset the admin fee and/or interest incurred from usage of Zetl’s financing products.

"We're very pleased that we've partnered with one of Asia's leading startups," said Shan Han Co-founder and CEO of Zetl. "This is just another example of our commitment to innovation."

How to save time and money with cross-border payments

Arnold Chan, Head of SME at Airwallex, told Zetl that there has been a great need for simplifying the process of opening a business bank account as many banks still require in-person visits.

“Say, once an account has been set up, costs such as SWIFT fees and high FX rates will start eating into their margins. This is especially troublesome for businesses that operate cross-border. Some banks are also notoriously known for unnecessary due diligence checks on outgoing payments and this could potentially damage relationships between customers and their payees when payments delay.”

In today’s globalised world, consultancies, SaaS companies and other businesses that have overseas suppliers will benefit tremendously from Airwallex’s services.

“Setting up an Airwallex account takes just a few days for most businesses. Once set up, customers immediately get access to global accounts based in not just Hong Kong, but Australia, the UK, the US, EU, and Japan. Singapore and Malaysia will also be available in early 2022. They also get access to multi-currency Visa corporate cards, as well as a payment gateway to collect payments from credit cards and e-wallets.

To top this off, payments to over 60 countries are completely free of charge. We are a full-service financial platform that truly caters to SMEs’ needs.” said Chan.

A global banking services platform with a customer-centric approach

Airwallex’s mission is to enable companies to operate without borders. In the past, this has been challenging for businesses as countries have different payment fees and disbursement timeframes. Airwallex has disrupted the industry by challenging the status quo, and their customers are loving it. Airwallex has seen tremendous success since its launch in 2015 and recently raised an impressive US$100M in their Series E1 round, placing them at a US$5.5B valuation.

“We believe that the best way to build customer loyalty is to provide a solid product with a transparent and friendly pricing model. By working with a network of banking partners, we offer a solution that is much more comprehensive than what individual traditional banks can offer, at market-beating rates. No setup fees, no monthly or annual fees, and no minimum deposit required.” said Chan.

The new era of international banking requires time and education

Despite facilitating simpler cross-border transactions, sectors like trading are still resisting change from the fintech industry and have grown accustomed to legacy banking systems according to Chan. “With time and more education, we believe that these industries and companies will begin to embrace and start experiencing the much greater flexibility and convenience that fintech can offer.”

Investors, however, see a huge opportunity in the market which is evident from their recent capital raise. Airwallex’s global treasury and payments platform is one of a kind and now offers other services like card issuing and payment acceptance.

Building a brighter financial future for SMEs

Airwallex is not slowing down on its growth plans. Soon Airwallex customers will also be able to make offline purchases thanks to the launch of their physical cards. With many new products and services in the pipeline, SMEs will have more financial freedom.

“Airwallex has achieved record results in 2021 as customers continue to show tremendous demand for better solutions to operate their businesses. We will continue to scale its business across APAC and EMEA, as well as build momentum in the U.S.

With new product launches, new capital injection, and our market entry into Southeast Asia, we will be accelerating our global expansion plans to empower even more businesses to grow without borders.” Chan stated.

To conclude…

It's an exciting time to be in fintech, and Zetl is excited to be a part of it. If you're interested in learning more about our new partnership with Airwallex or how we can help your SME grow, email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, if you're ready to become a Airwallex customer, you can sign up here.