Airwallex move on OpenPay heats billing wars with Stripe

Airwallex buys OpenPay to challenge Stripe Billing with global multicurrency billing tools for SaaS and digital-first firms. Here’s why this deal matters for investors and founders.

 

I’m Aadi, an MBA in marketing and finance who studies how fintech strategy shapes global competition. Having tracked both payments and SaaS monetization models for years, I can tell you this deal is not just another acquisition headline. It’s a shot fired at Stripe’s most profitable moat: billing.

If you’re a founder scaling subscriptions, an investor betting on fintech stocks, or a manager figuring out how to price in 15 currencies at once, this story is directly about your future margins.

The Airwallex–OpenPay tie-up could shift how global SaaS and AI-driven businesses bill customers. Billing is no longer just back-office admin. It decides churn, cash flow, and customer lifetime value. And with the subscription economy expected to pass \$1 trillion by 2030, missing this angle could cost you.

1. Airwallex acquired San Francisco’s OpenPay to add recurring billing to its financial stack.
2. Launching Q4 2025, the service takes direct aim at Stripe Billing and Recurly.
3. Focus on SaaS and AI firms needing usage-based, multicurrency billing.
4. OpenPay brings AI retention tools, real-time analytics, and hybrid billing support.
5. Analysts call it a push to win enterprise clients and consolidate fintech.

Airwallex built its name in cross-border payments and FX. Solid but crowded. Stripe, Adyen, and PayPal already own that space. Where Stripe pulled ahead was Stripe Billing, a sticky product that locks in startups from the first invoice. Every recurring charge creates switching costs.

By adding OpenPay, Airwallex is saying, “we want in on that lock-in.” The new unit gives them recurring revenue infrastructure, subscription management, and AI-led churn prevention. For SaaS founders in Europe or Asia struggling with Stripe’s U.S.-centric pricing, this could be a welcome alternative.

OpenPay is not a simple invoicing tool. It runs smart payment routing, AI-driven retention, and supports hybrid usage-based billing. That matters because AI companies often charge per token, API call, or compute cycle. Traditional billing software was never built for that.

Imagine an AI startup in Bangalore selling to clients in Tokyo, London, and New York. They don’t just need a payment gateway. They need billing that recognizes consumption, handles local currencies, and predicts churn risk. That’s the hole Airwallex is trying to plug.

Analysts see this deal as part of fintech’s “full stack” race. Everyone wants to be the one-stop shop: accounts, payments, FX, billing, maybe even credit. Stripe built that image first, but Airwallex has global DNA from day one.

Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang was blunt, saying old billing systems are “locked in the past” and can’t handle multicurrency complexity. OpenPay’s CEO Lance Co Ting Keh framed it as building “a smarter recurring revenue management platform.” In plain English: they’re chasing Stripe, and they know it.

If you’re an investor, watch how this plays into Airwallex’s path toward IPO. Billing gives higher-margin revenue streams than FX. If you’re a founder, think about whether a global-first billing stack could cut your operational headaches. And if you’re a SaaS operator, ask yourself how much control you’re giving Stripe over your pricing future.

5 to Do’s and Don’ts to take away for Entrepreneurs:

1. Track how Airwallex positions itself against Stripe in enterprise deals. 
2. Consider the valuation upside of sticky billing revenue in fintechs. 
3. Don’t overlook churn reduction as a direct profit lever.
4. Don’t expect Airwallex to price like Stripe right away.
5. Don’t treat this as a small acquisition. It’s a market entry strategy.