Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest and developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the week.
This week, Airwallex saw its valuation soar past $6bn following a successful funding round, R3 is inviting traditional financial institutions to the Solana blockchain network, and Moneycorp is finding new ways to accelerate FX transactions with Temenos.
Airwallex valuation exceeds $6bn following funding round
Airwallex completed a $300m Series F funding round May 21 to raise its total valuation to $6.2bn in a bid to build a “new foundation for the global economy”.
The funding round saw new investment from Blackbird, Salesforce Ventures, Square Peg, and Visa Ventures, with Airwallex utilising the additional capital to expand its global infrastructure into new markets. This has so far seen a new office opening in Paris to complement its series of senior hires in London and Amsterdam.
Jack Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Airwallex, said: “Too many businesses are held back by legacy infrastructure that’s slow, costly, and fragmented. At Airwallex, we’re building a new foundation for the global economy – one that’s fast, seamless, and built for scale. This investment marks a major milestone in our journey to redefine global banking, and to empower businesses everywhere to grow without limits.”
In March 2025, Airwallex announced $720m in annual revenue for the 2024 financial year, an increase of 90% year-over-year. The company also grew its customer base by 50% and processed more than $130bn in global annualised payment volume last year too.
R3 & Solana to converge traditional and digital asset sectors
Recognising an increasing maturity from financial institutions to digital assets, R3 and the Solana Foundation have collaborated to help open access to the Solana blockchain network.
On May 22, R3 and the Solana Foundation will launch a Layer 1 blockchain network that seeks to bring TradFi and DeFi companies together to handle regulated traditional and digital assets to collaborate on how they can benefit capital markets.
David E. Rutter, Founder and CEO of R3, commented: “After years of laying the groundwork, R3 is ready to bring our experience and our network of regulated financial institutions towards a new public future with one of the best and most trusted public ecosystems – Solana. This is more than a milestone; it’s a strategic realignment for the entire industry.”
Moneycorp integrates Temenos’ SaaS to bolster FX payments
Temenos announced UK-based Moneycorp will adopt its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to bolster its FX payments and core banking infrastructure.
Announced on May 20, Moneycorp said its aiming to focus on business growth while providing advanced wallet and payment capabilities to its clients to enable scale and growth. The FX company operates across Europe, Asia, North and South America, facilitating payments and FX transactions for financial institutions, handling $95bn in trading volume in 2023.
Mark Yamin-Ali, Managing Director of Europe at Temenos, stated: “We’re proud to partner with Moneycorp, a UK success story and world leading cross-border payments provider. This strategic transformation will see Temenos underpin Moneycorp’s core banking and payments ecosystem across its global operation.
payabl. taps ClearBank to grow UK payment operations
European fintech payabl. partnered with embedded banking firm ClearBank on May 20 to expand its payment services across the UK.
payabl. has now gained access to UK payment rails, such as BACS and CHAPS, to enable real-time transactions in GBP for its clients and customers in the country. payabl. is also set to offer Confirmation of Payee (CoP) to provide an added layer of security for transactions.
Kristaps Zips, UK CEO of payabl., said: “At payabl., we believe strong partnerships drive the best innovations and benefits for customers. Our collaboration with ClearBank embodies this, integrating their services into our platform to enhance choice and security for UK customers. We look forward to expanding this partnership further to help businesses better serve their customers with fast, flexible, and secure payments.”
Click to Pay available on CC Bank with MeaWallet backing
Digital payments provider MeaWallet has supported Bulgaria’s Central Cooperative Bank (CC Bank) to roll out the Click to Pay payment solution to its customers on May 21.
This feature allows customers to integrate their debit or credit cards to the Click to Pay digital wallet function directly from their CC Bank account. By tapping ‘Add to Click to Pay’, users can view their cards from within the CC Bank online banking app.
Click to Pay is a secure digital payment method that supports contactless payments and is compatible to support a range of cards from different issuers and banks from within a singular location.
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