OurCrowd, one of the largest securities crowdfunding platforms in the world, has signed up Airwallex to streamline the investing process. The Airwallex service was actually integrated several months back, with more than a third of OurCrowd’s funding going through Airwallex, typically completed in under 24 hours.
Airwallex is a Fintech that provides solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. Currently, the company works with more than 100,000 businesses. Airwallex will allow investors to pay with their own currency from anywhere with a “single click of a button.” Previously, investors needed to convert into dollars and then wire the funds. As OurCrowd reports, investors from just about every country in the world (195) currency conversion can be a significant hurdle.
OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved said that the globalization of the startup ecosystem means tech that supports different currencies a key characteristic when investing online.
“Now, you can be sitting in Israel and invest in a Silicon Valley startup, pay in Shekels with a single click, and it is totally transparent,” says Medved.
Pranav Sood, EGM, EMEA at Airwallex stated:
“With embedded finance, modern businesses of all sizes can bring global connectivity to customers by offering their own local payment solutions and minimizing FX pain points. Our embedded finance partnership is a perfect example of how we support and enable our customers’ end users to grow, while also giving OurCrowd the tools to expand and deepen their services. From streamlining payment processes for investors and startups to minimizing FX costs, embedded finance is simplifying the way businesses operate across borders.”
Airwallex’s products, including Global Accounts, Payouts and LockFX, allows accredited investors to participate in startup deals with minimal friction. OurCrowd will receive funds and convert into dollars at a “transparency rate” improving the speed of the transaction.
Phase two of the Airwallex integration is expected to focus on expanding OurCrowd’s payment options so investors can invest using the best local payment options and currencies available via local rails.
Micky Sapir, OurCrowd’s VP of Product, said, Airwallex has made a significant improvement for their user experience.
Airwallex was founded in Australia and is currently valued at $5.6 billion. Airwallex’s revenue is said to have doubled year over year and the company has processed more than US$50 billion in annualized transaction volume for its global portfolio of customers.