Airwallex delivers a $4.6 billion boost to the Australian economy with SMBs capturing most of the benefits

Airwallex delivers a $4.6 billion boost to the Australian economy with SMBs capturing most of the benefits

A typical SMB captures around $200,000 in annual economic benefits Airwallex customers support 29,000 Australian jobs. One in four dollars of economic benefit flows to regional, rural and remote Australia

SYDNEY, Australia - Melbourne-founded global financial platform Airwallex delivered an estimated $4.6 billion economic boost to the Australian economy in 2025, supporting 29,000 jobs according to economic modelling by Mandala Partners released today.

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) were among the biggest winners, capturing $2.1 billion in direct economic benefits, while more than $1.1 billion flowed to regional, rural and remote Australia.

Mandala Partners found the average SMB using Airwallex captures around $200,000 a year in economic benefits compared with businesses not using Airwallex, through a combination of productivity gains, lower financial costs and greater access to new markets.

Australian SMBs on the Airwallex platform save $13,400 a year on average through lower foreign exchange conversion costs, reduced bank fees and administrative efficiencies. They also reclaim 12.4 hours a week through automated financial administration, worth around $17,000 a year.

James Teodorini, Head of Australia and New Zealand at Airwallex, said Mandala Partners’ modelling had quantified what happens when businesses operate more efficiently and can compete globally.

"Australia's productivity challenge comes down to helping businesses do more with the time, people and capital they already have,” Mr Teodorini said.

"When businesses save money, reclaim hours of administrative work and reach new markets more easily, those individual gains add up. This modelling puts a number on it, $4.6 billion in economic benefits and 29,000 jobs supported across Australia.”

To put that figure in context, $4.6 billion is equivalent to around 2 per cent of the Australian technology sector's contribution to GDP in 2025.

Mandala Partners combined Airwallex data, a survey of Australian businesses and national economic data to estimate the direct and indirect economic benefits Airwallex supports.

Airwallex processed about $49 billion on an annualised basis, including around $38 billion for SMBs.

Amit Singh, Managing Partner at Mandala Partners, said the benefits of modern financial infrastructure went well beyond simply improving financial transactions.

"By freeing businesses from manual financial administration and making it easier to reach international markets, platforms such as Airwallex support productivity, business growth and employment across the wider economy,” Mr Singh said.

"Importantly, this impact is not confined to Australia's major cities. More than $1.1 billion, around one in every four dollars of economic benefit, flows to regional, rural and remote communities, "Mr Singh said.

Mr Teodorini said the benefits were particularly significant for small businesses.

“For a small business, 12 hours a week is enormous. That's effectively a day and a half that goes back into finding customers, developing products, managing staff or planning for growth,” he said.

“It’s no surprise that after onboarding with Airwallex, small and medium businesses report annual revenue growth of 13 per cent, four percentage points higher than their peers. When you give a small business more time and money to invest back into the business, you give them greater capacity to grow.”

Australian businesses going global

Airwallex data also shows the scale of export growth among its Australian SMB customers.

Export revenue from Australian SMB customers grew sixfold between 2021 and 2025, from $2.3 billion to $14 billion. Airwallex's earliest Australian SMB customers nearly tripled their export revenue over five years.

"Growing export revenue sixfold in five years shows what Australian businesses can do when the barriers to operating internationally are removed. We want more Australian businesses to build here, sell to the world, and bring that growth home,” Mr Teodorini said.

The Mandala research comes as Australia faces one of its weakest sustained periods of productivity growth in more than 30 years. The report identifies wider adoption of technology, AI and automation as one of the clearest opportunities to lift Australia’s productivity performance.

ENDS

About the research

The research was commissioned by Airwallex and prepared by Mandala Partners. Its economic model combines a bespoke survey of Airwallex and non-Airwallex Australian businesses, Airwallex platform data and Australian Bureau of Statistics data. The model estimates direct benefits through productivity improvements, new market growth and cost savings, as well as indirect economic activity supported through customer supply chains.

About Airwallex

Airwallex is an AI native financial operating system for modern businesses. We are building the future of global finance for a real-time, intelligent economy. We serve more than 675,000 businesses worldwide, either directly or through our platform customers. From startups to public enterprises, our customers use Airwallex to manage their financial operations, or to build and monetise their own financial products.

Founded in Melbourne in 2015, Airwallex holds 85+ licenses across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, forming one of the most comprehensive financial infrastructures in the world. This regulated backbone powers Airwallex products at global scale, including payment acceptance, billing, global accounts, corporate cards, and spend management. The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore with over 2,300 employees across 27 offices. Learn more at www.airwallex.com.