Airwallex enters Latin America with acquisition of payments company MexPago

Airwallex is expanding into Latin America with its latest acquisition of Mexico-based payment service provider MexPago.

Founded in 2014, MexPago enables its clients to receive payments and make payouts from a single platform and also has an Institution of Electronic Payment Funds (IFPE) licence. 

Building on the payments and financial platform’s growth strategy in the Americas, where it has seen revenue growth of more than 460 per cent YoY, the acquisition accelerates Airwallex’s mission to help businesses operate across borders.

“Airwallex’s ability to connect companies across borders is unparalleled,” MexPago CEO Luis Castillejos Ordaz said.

“The combination of MexPago’s payments capabilities in Mexico and Airwallex’s global financial infrastructure will unlock exciting opportunities for companies in Mexico to operate globally, and for companies around the world to operate in Mexico.”

Airwallex, founded in Melbourne in 2015, is headquartered in Singapore with 20 offices and more than 1,400 employees worldwide, with plans to hire more than 500 new staff over the next year.

Its San Francisco office operates as the strategic hub for growth in the region, and has seen the appointment of several new senior leaders to lead global strategy and expansion in the region.

Ravi Adusumilli, Airwallex’s executive general manager, Americas, said the acquisition is a “critical milestone” for Airwallex.

“It marks our entry into Latin America and our commitment to building truly global and proprietary financial infrastructure,” Adusumilli said.

“Our team's ability to drive more than 460 per cent revenue growth in the Americas region is a testament to the vast, unmet demand for end-to-end fintech solutions that allow organisations to operate at a global scale.” 

He added that the acquisition puts the company on a path to become “the number one payments and financial platform for modern businesses to go global”.