Australia watchdog orders audit of Airwallex on suspected compliance miss

[SYDNEY] Australia’s financial crime watchdog said on Thursday (Jan 22) that it had ordered an audit of payment platform Airwallex, for suspected anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance failures.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) said that it is concerned that Airwallex’s transaction monitoring programme has not been attuned to the full range of risks it faces, given that the fintech facilitates the transfer of funds to multiple jurisdictions.

The Australia-founded fintech has also not defined who its customers are and what reporting may be required, it added.

Austrac chief executive officer Brendan Thomas said: “Our concerns also extend to how well Airwallex identifies and reports on suspicious matters, and the effective oversight of these important obligations.”

The payment platform, which is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore and is backed by investors including Tencent, DST Global, and Hillhouse, pointed out that it will be co-operating fully with Austrac’s external auditor review.

An external and independent auditor in 2025 had validated Airwallex’s programme in Australia, following an Austrac audit of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing programme in 2024, the company added.

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Airwallex said on Wednesday that it had acquired South Korea’s Paynuri, securing local payments licences and a foreign-exchange business registration that will allow it to operate directly in the country as it expands in Asia. REUTERS