Airwallex, a leading global financial technology platform, has announced record performance in Singapore for fiscal year 2024. It is a significant milestone in its expansion in the region and worldwide. With a 153% revenue growth year on year and a significant rise in transaction volumes, Airwallex Singapore’s growth in 2024 indicates that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia desire additional digital financial solutions.

The firm's robust Q4 performance was the main driver of its success, and revenues surged 215% YoY while transaction volume grew 192%. In the full fiscal year, Singapore's transaction volume grew 159%, a testament to the city-state's strategic value as a fintech hub and digital innovation leader.

2024 was a new era of expansion for us in Singapore and regionally," said Lucy Liu, Airwallex President and Co-founder. "Our results show the strength of delivering businesses access to next-generation infrastructure that unlocks cross-border potential.".

Singapore as Hub of Choice

Airwallex chose Singapore as its primary headquarters, which has greatly contributed to its rapid expansion. In 2024, locally, the business employed 58% more personnel, with over 250 people in corporate, commercial, and product development staff. The PED team expanded broadly, with an increase of new hires by 98%, while the business reinforced its AI, data, and engineering capabilities.

To support this expansion, Airwallex expanded its office footprint in Guoco Tower, a reflection of its long-term strategy of leading innovation in Singapore and beyond.

SMEs are responsible for growth

Among the most important reasons for Airwallex Singapore's growth in 2024 has been its focus on helping SMEs scale and digitalize. Airwallex has partnered with an expanding list of innovative brands like Endowus, Love, Bonito, and Mighty Jaxx, while continuing to maintain relationships with long-standing partners like EU Holidays, Far East Flora, and Huber's Butchery.

Airwallex realized the issues that small and medium-sized businesses in Singapore are facing, so they sent a survey to 250 Singaporean small and medium-sized business leaders. They found common challenges such as increased costs, inadequate skilled workers, and cash flow issues, yet also revealed a strong appetite to grow despite them.

Key Survey Discoveries:

• 62% of SMEs mention increasing the cost of operations as a key issue

• 48% attribute difficulties in managing global and local cash flow

• 43% are impacted by inflation

• 40% struggle with regulatory complexity

• 46% view too few workers as a challenge to growth

In spite of all these challenges, SMEs remain optimistic. 76% intend to raise business expenditure in 2024, with 33% investing huge amounts in expansion. Expansion is still the top priority, with 40% of the survey respondents looking towards Southeast Asia, 37% towards East Asia, and 30% towards Central Asia.

Digital finance is expanding rapidly

The survey further pointed to an overwhelming shift to FinTech and digital platforms. Nearly 96% of the SMEs that were polled already have or plan to adopt digital finance platforms in order to streamline their operations. These platforms process transactions more efficiently, cost less, are more transparent, and offer more features than banking systems.

Surprisingly, 91% of people surveyed reported that they trust online financial platforms such as Airwallex to handle their finances—a striking reversal in sentiment that reflects the growing influence of online financial resources.

"SMEs power Singapore's economy, constituting 99% of businesses and almost half of the GDP," Airwallex's Southeast Asia Head, Ershad Ahamed, clarified. "Our research indicates that SMEs want to scale but are held back by very real constraints. We want to give them scalable, intuitive tools that make their finances easy."

Growing Overseas but Contributing Locally

Beyond Singapore, Airwallex is accelerating its global expansion. In January 2025, the business launched its New Zealand operations and acquired CTIN Pay, a licensed intermediary payment service provider in Vietnam. They are just some of a broader push to expand its Asia-Pacific footprint and help businesses navigate global markets.

Airwallex's numbers do the talking: the business now makes more than US$600 million in revenue every year and processes over US$130 billion in annualised transaction value. Its work has not fallen on deaf ears—Airwallex has just been named one of Fast Company's 2025 World's Most Innovative Companies, hailed for its reinvention of cross-border financial innovation.

Looking Ahead

As digital transformation accelerates in the majority of industries, Airwallex Singapore’s growth in 2024 emerges as a pioneer in new financial services. As more small and medium enterprises adopt digital models and expand into new markets, Airwallex is speeding up investment in AI, data, and user experience to deliver new solutions.

By combining local knowledge with global reach, Airwallex continues to close financial gaps for rapidly growing businesses. Its platform not only streamlines cumbersome cross-border payments but also enables businesses to move with more agility, transparency, and confidence.

Conclusion

Airwallex Singapore's growth in 2024 is not a story of numbers and headcount—it's a story of shifting business needs, evolving digital landscapes, and the business itself as a catalyst for empowering SMEs for the future. As Fintech gains ground and old systems lag behind, Airwallex is leading the charge into a new financial world, offering the tools modern companies need to thrive.