Stripe vs Airwallex
- TechCrunch reports Stripe and Airwallex are now competing head‑to‑head after Airwallex declined Stripe’s $1.2 billion acquisition offer. (techcrunch.com) - Airwallex turned down the $1.2B offer and is pursuing global expansion instead of a sale. (techcrunch.com) - The tussle illustrates how control over rails, geography, and product scope shapes platform economics and vendor choices. (techcrunch.com)
Stripe and Airwallex are now chasing the same global business customers after Airwallex rejected Stripe’s $1.2 billion takeover approach years ago. (techcrunch.com) TechCrunch reported on April 17 that Stripe made the offer in 2018, when Airwallex had about $2 million in annualized revenue. Airwallex Chief Executive Jack Zhang said he initially agreed, then changed his mind after returning to Melbourne. (techcrunch.com) Airwallex now says it has more than $1.3 billion in annualized revenue, is growing 85% year over year, and is processing nearly $300 billion in annualized transaction volume. Stripe said in February that businesses on its platform generated $1.9 trillion in total payment volume in 2025. (techcrunch.com) (stripe.com) The fight is moving from “payments” into a broader stack of money tools that businesses use to sell, hold funds, pay suppliers, issue cards, and manage subscriptions. Stripe lists payments, billing, tax, issuing, and financial accounts across its product suite, while Airwallex sells global accounts, payments, billing, spend management, and treasury tools on one platform. (stripe.com) (airwallex.com 1) (airwallex.com 2) Geography is part of the contest. Stripe says its core payments product is supported in dozens of markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, while Airwallex says it holds 80 licenses and permits and can help customers operate in more than 200 countries and regions. (stripe.com) (airwallex.com) Airwallex has been spending heavily to close the gap. In May 2025 it raised $300 million at a $6.2 billion valuation, then in December 2025 it raised another $330 million at an $8 billion valuation and named San Francisco a dual global headquarters. (airwallex.com 1) (airwallex.com 2) Stripe is still much larger by private-market value. Stripe said on February 24 that a tender offer priced the company at $159 billion, up from $91.5 billion a year earlier, and said it remained profitable while buying back employee shares. (stripe.com) (techcrunch.com) Airwallex is also moving beyond its original cross-border payments niche. The company says more than 200,000 businesses use its platform, and its spend product includes payouts to 150-plus countries and card issuing in 40 markets. (airwallex.com 1) (airwallex.com 2) That leaves merchants and software platforms choosing between two different models: Stripe’s larger, developer-heavy network and Airwallex’s pitch around local rails, foreign exchange, and multi-entity global operations. The company that controls more of that stack gets more ways to make money from the same customer. (stripe.com) (airwallex.com)
