Observed Signal · Jul 1, 2026 · Podcast Interview · Source: Manager Magazin · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Payments / Fintech Market: Airwallex: Payments Will Become Invisible, Says Tom Sellin
Airwallex, the Australian fintech, is accelerating its European expansion and positioning itself as the financial infrastructure for an emerging era of AI-driven, agentic commerce. In a Finance Forward podcast interview, Tom Sellin — Head of Growth DACH at Airwallex — said that payments will become "completely invisible" within the next three years as AI agents handle checkout on users' behalf. Airwallex, founded in Melbourne in 2015 by Jack Zhang and last valued at about $12 billion, has reserved more than $1 billion for expansion across Europe, the Middle East and Africa through 2030 and plans to invest €31 million in Germany. The company aims to compete with established payment providers such as Wise, Stripe and Adyen.
Airwallex's multi‑billion expansion plan for EMEA, a stated $12B valuation, and its view that AI agents will automate checkout have direct implications for the commerce/transaction layer and payment infrastructure used by merchants and platforms.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Airwallex was founded in 2015 in Melbourne by Jack Zhang.
- Airwallex was last valued at approximately $12 billion (as stated in the article).
- Airwallex has reserved more than $1 billion for expansion in Europe, the Middle East and Africa through 2030 and plans to invest €31 million in Germany.
- Tom Sellin is Head of Growth DACH at Airwallex and said payments could become "completely invisible" within three years due to AI agents automating checkout.
- Airwallex positions itself against established payment companies such as Wise, Stripe and Adyen.
Connected Companies & Entities
8 Entities mappedBlock
Payments, commerce and consumer finance platform group.
“Tom Sellin previously worked at Jack Dorsey's payment service Block....”
Adyen
Unified enterprise payments and money movement infrastructure platform.
“Airwallex competes directly with established payment champions like Wise, Stripe or Adyen....”
Wise
Cross-border payments and multi-currency account platform for consumers and businesses.
“Airwallex competes directly with established payment champions like Wise, Stripe or Adyen....”
Stripe
Financial infrastructure platform for payments, billing, fraud, and commerce operations.
“Airwallex competes directly with established payment champions like Wise, Stripe or Adyen....”
Airwallex
Global payments and financial operations platform for businesses.
“The Australian fintech Airwallex is pushing into Europe with a multi-billion budget....”
PayPal
Digital payments network spanning wallet, merchant tools and commerce media.
“Tom Sellin previously worked at the US payment service PayPal....”
Klarna
Buy-now-pay-later, merchant payments and retail media platform.
“Customer flows such as signing in with PayPal or Klarna may soon be handled automatically by AI agents....”
manager magazin
German business publisher with subscriptions, newsletters and advertising inventory.
“This story was published by manager magazin and appears in the Finance Forward podcast series....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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