Airwallex Gives Travel Companies More Time for Customers by Automating Global Payments and Finance Tasks

Image Credit: airwallex.com

Airwallex Gives Travel Companies More Time for Customers by Automating Global Payments and Finance Tasks as travel businesses increasingly turn to financial technology to reduce administrative pressure and improve customer-focused operations. The reason behind this transformation is the growing complexity of international payments, multiple currencies and supplier transactions that require significant finance resources. According to Ethan Kirkwood from Airwallex’s Business Development team, automation, AI and integrated financial solutions are helping travel companies simplify global payments, manage expenses and streamline treasury operations. By automating finance tasks such as invoice processing, vendor management and reconciliation, Airwallex Gives Travel Companies More Time for Customers while allowing teams to focus on strategic growth and personalised experiences. The platform aims to reduce manual workloads and support businesses expanding into international markets, helping travel companies spend less time managing payments and more time improving traveller experiences.

Why Travel Companies Lose Money: The Hidden Financial Challenges Behind Global Tourism Operations

Travel companies operate in one of the world’s most complex industries, managing international payments, multiple currencies, suppliers, customer refunds and constantly changing travel demands. While the industry creates significant economic value, many travel businesses struggle with financial inefficiencies caused by high payment costs, currency conversion losses, manual administration, supplier complexity and delayed transactions. Financial technology companies such as Airwallex are addressing these challenges by helping travel businesses simplify global payments, automate financial processes and reduce administrative workloads. Based on insights from Ethan Kirkwood from Airwallex’s Business Development team, travel companies often face difficulties managing multiple banking platforms, international transactions and complex supplier payments.

How Is Airwallex Helping Travel Companies Manage Complex Global Payments?

Travel companies often operate across multiple countries, currencies and supplier networks, creating complicated financial processes. Airwallex is helping businesses simplify these operations through an end-to-end finance platform that manages payments, expenses and treasury functions.

“Airwallex is a global end-to-end finance platform,” Ethan Kirkwood explained.

The platform supports businesses with:

Kirkwood explained that travel companies can use the platform to accept money globally and make payments internationally without relying on multiple disconnected systems.

“Basically facilitates how you accept money globally, how you pay out globally and everything in between,” he said.

The solution is designed to help travel companies reduce financial obstacles while operating across international markets.

How Does Airwallex Reduce Currency Conversion Problems for Travel Businesses?

Cross-border payments can create additional costs when companies repeatedly exchange currencies. Kirkwood highlighted this challenge as a major issue for international travel businesses.

He explained the example of a UK-based travel company operating excursions in Asia with customers paying in US dollars.

Businesses can receive USD payments, store them in a USD wallet and pay suppliers in the same currency.

“If they were to accept USD, you can take your USD from your customers, hold it in our USD wallet, and then pay out in USD,” Kirkwood explained.

This approach helps avoid what he described as the “double conversion trap”.

“This stops what we call the double conversion of having to sell back into GBP and then back out to USD to pay your suppliers,” he said.

By reducing unnecessary currency movements, travel companies can improve payment efficiency and potentially reduce transaction costs.

How Are AI and Automation Changing Travel Finance Operations?

Airwallex is investing in AI and automation to reduce manual financial tasks for businesses.

Kirkwood explained that the company raised $330 million in its latest funding round to support improvements in AI, automation, spending management and treasury solutions.

“We’ve raised 330 million in our last round to pump into AI and automation for that whole spending expense and treasury side of it,” he said.

The technology aims to reduce repetitive finance activities such as:

• invoice processing,
• vendor management,
• reconciliation,
• payment tracking.

According to Kirkwood, automation allows finance teams to spend less time on administration and more time on strategic priorities.

“It’s just freeing up a lot of time for finance,” he explained.

For travel companies managing multiple suppliers and transactions, automation can become an important tool for improving operational efficiency.

Why Do Bespoke Travel Companies Need Better Financial Automation?

Luxury and customised travel businesses often manage highly detailed travel arrangements involving multiple suppliers, invoices and payment schedules.

Kirkwood explained that bespoke travel packages can involve many financial components.

“A lot of the time spent with these bespoke travels is there’s many different components to each package holiday,” he said.

For high-value travel experiences, companies may need to coordinate:

• accommodation payments,
• activity providers,
• transport suppliers,
• international vendors.

Automation can simplify these processes by helping businesses manage invoices and supplier information more efficiently.

“The automation of setting up new vendors and just scanning invoices in and having that automatically kind of reconciled is just saving finance a load of time,” Kirkwood explained.

This allows companies to focus more on creating personalised travel experiences rather than managing administrative tasks.

How Can Faster Payments Help Travel Companies Expand Globally?

Efficient financial systems can support travel companies looking to enter new markets.

Kirkwood explained that reducing administrative workloads allows businesses to focus on expansion opportunities.

“If they want to open new markets in Thailand, Mexico etc. they can put their focus more onto those,” he said.

Faster financial operations can support companies when they:

• enter new destinations,
• work with international suppliers,
• manage local payments,
• expand customer networks.

For travel businesses, international growth requires reliable financial infrastructure.

By simplifying payment processes, companies can dedicate more resources towards strategic development and customer growth.

How Does Airwallex Improve International Business Travel Payments?

Airwallex also supports companies involved in business travel and international operations by helping them move funds more efficiently.

Kirkwood explained that businesses can use local payment rails instead of waiting several days for traditional international transfers.

“You’re not waiting on the three to five days for your funds to land via Swift,” he said.

He added:

“It lands there same day.”

Faster payments can help businesses maintain smoother relationships with suppliers and partners.

For travel companies managing global operations, speed and reliability are essential because delayed payments can affect bookings, services and customer experiences.

What Feedback Is Airwallex Receiving From Travel Companies?

At the travel industry trade show, Kirkwood said many companies were discussing challenges related to managing multiple financial platforms.

“There’s lots of people who are struggling with payments in certain areas and finding it quite complex to manage many different banking platforms and fintech platforms,” he explained.

Businesses are increasingly looking for solutions that combine different financial processes into one system.

According to Kirkwood, the ability to consolidate payment operations can simplify financial management for travel companies.

Conclusion

Airwallex Gives Travel Companies More Time for Customers by Automating Global Payments and Finance Tasks as technology reshapes how travel businesses manage complex financial operations. The reason behind this shift is the increasing need for faster, simpler and more efficient global payment systems across the travel industry. Through Automating Global Payments and Finance Tasks, Airwallex helps companies reduce administrative workloads, manage international transactions and improve financial efficiency. According to Ethan Kirkwood, automation can remove repetitive processes, including invoice management and payment reconciliation, giving finance teams more time to focus on strategic priorities. As travel companies continue expanding across borders, solutions that simplify financial operations can help businesses improve productivity while strengthening customer experiences. By reducing payment complexity, Airwallex supports travel companies in creating more time for innovation, growth and personalised services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Airwallex offer travel companies?

Airwallex provides global payment solutions, expense management and treasury tools through an integrated finance platform.

How does Airwallex help reduce payment complexity?

It helps businesses manage multiple currencies, international payments and financial operations through one platform.

How is AI improving travel finance?

AI and automation reduce manual tasks such as invoice processing and reconciliation.

Why are global payments challenging for travel companies?

Travel companies often manage multiple currencies, suppliers and international transactions.

How can automation help travel businesses?

Automation reduces administrative workloads, allowing companies to focus on customers and expansion.