Airwallex adds AUD $4.6 billion to Australia economy

Airwallex contributed AUD $4.6 billion to the Australian economy in 2025, according to economic modelling by Mandala Partners.

The modelling found Airwallex customers supported 29,000 jobs across Australia, with small and medium-sized businesses accounting for AUD $2.1 billion in direct economic benefits. More than AUD $1.1 billion of the total flowed to regional, rural and remote parts of the country.

A typical small or medium-sized business using the platform captures about AUD $200,000 a year in economic benefits compared with businesses not using it, the figures showed. Those gains were attributed to lower foreign exchange conversion costs, reduced bank fees, less administrative work and better access to overseas markets.

Mandala estimated that Australian small and medium-sized businesses on the platform save AUD $13,400 a year on average through lower financial costs and administrative efficiencies. They also recover 12.4 hours a week through automated financial administration, valued at about AUD $17,000 a year.

The report said the AUD $4.6 billion figure was equivalent to about 2 per cent of the Australian technology sector's contribution to GDP in 2025. Mandala combined Airwallex data, a survey of Australian businesses and national economic data to estimate both direct and indirect effects.

According to the research, Airwallex processed about AUD $49 billion on an annualised basis, including around AUD $38 billion for small and medium-sized businesses. The indirect portion of the estimate covered economic activity linked to customer supply chains as well as direct gains.

Productivity focus

The findings come as Australia faces a prolonged period of weak productivity growth. The research argued that broader use of technology, artificial intelligence and automation offers one of the clearest paths to improving performance.

James Teodorini, Head of Australia and New Zealand at Airwallex, linked the findings to that national debate. "Australia's productivity challenge comes down to helping businesses do more with the time, people and capital they already have," 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: AUD $4.6 billion in economic benefits and 29,000 jobs supported across Australia," he said.

Mandala said the impact was not limited to major metropolitan areas, with more than one in every four dollars of economic benefit identified in the modelling estimated to go to regional, rural and remote communities.

Amit Singh, Managing Partner at Mandala Partners, said the effect of newer financial systems stretched beyond payment mechanics. "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," Singh said.

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

Export growth

The research also highlighted a sharp rise in export revenue among Australian small and medium-sized businesses using the platform. Airwallex data showed export revenue from those customers rose from AUD $2.3 billion in 2021 to AUD $14 billion in 2025.

That represents a sixfold increase over the period. Airwallex also said its earliest Australian small and medium-sized business customers nearly tripled their export revenue over five years.

Teodorini said the gains were especially meaningful for smaller companies with limited staff and resources. "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-sized 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," he said.

He also pointed to the export figures as evidence of what happens when barriers to international trade are reduced. "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," he said.