Qantas, Airwallex partnership escalates battle for Australia's business savings
The fintech giant has partnered with the flying kangaroo to launch a high-yield product allowing instant access to business funds, challenging Australia's major banks.
Airwallex has partnered with Qantas to launch a high-yield treasury product that directly targets “idle” business cash, escalating a battle with Australia’s entrenched “big four” banks.
The product, called Yield, allows businesses within the Qantas Business Rewards program to earn returns on their Australian and US dollar account balances by exposing them to “low-risk”, “highly rated money-market instruments” from JP Morgan Asset Management.
Critically, the funds remain “at call,” meaning businesses can instantly withdraw them, bypassing the illiquidity constraints of traditional term deposits. Airwallex, which is worth about $10bn, launched the product in 2023 and has since expanded it to small and medium-sized businesses.
Huw Griffiths, Airwallex’s head of enterprise for ANZ, emphasised the disruptive nature of the Qantas offering. He said Airwallex was positioning itself as a streamlined alternative to legacy banking systems.
“Australia is fraught with legacy banking infrastructure, a lot of these slow processes,” Mr Griffiths said.
“One of the things we do really well is we actually bypass SWIFT completely. This theme of replacing legacy banking infrastructure is really at the heart of what Airwallex does.
The offering is a significant financial tool for the 625,000 businesses in the Qantas Business Rewards program, particularly as they navigate rising operational costs.
Mr Griffiths said Australian businesses have historically “struggled to kind of get returns with at call funds.”
He said that the Yield product offers a substantial advantage over existing banking options, with returns that generally follow the official cash rate in the relevant country. Furthermore, Mr Griffiths said that Airwallex’s pre-existing Qantas Business Money product offers foreign exchange rates that are up to 50 per cent better than major Australian banks.
“With Australian interest rates beginning to ease and returns on traditional deposits shrinking, businesses are increasingly looking for more competitive ways to optimise idle funds.
“Yield offers Qantas Business Money users access to the kind of high-return USD investment opportunities that were previously only available to large corporations, all within the trusted Qantas Business Money environment.”
More than $350m in business funds has flowed through the product since its wholesale launch in November 2023. Mr Griffiths said the product’s appeal has broadened amid the current economic environment. “There’s a cost of living crunch at the moment, which is also spilling into SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)” he said.
“Given that you can pull it out whenever, has that broadened the product’s appeal? Yeah, definitely.”
Through the Qantas Loyalty-Airwallex partnership, Qantas Business Money users will accrue one Qantas Point for every $1 converted.
The partnership represents a maturity in Australia’s embedded finance landscape, where financial instruments are integrated directly into non-bank platforms. Mr Griffiths said the company is focused on continuing to refine its existing products and expanding its global coverage, including recent expansions into territories like the Philippines, to service business customers looking to consolidate their financial operations.
Qantas Loyalty chief executive Andrew Glance said the Yield offering will help business owners “make their money work harder and unlock even more value when trading overseas”.
“The rapid growth of Airwallex and the demand for their products clearly demonstrates how much Australian businesses are looking for smarter ways to manage their finances. Coupled with the enduring popularity of the Qantas Business Rewards program and earning Qantas Points, the new Yield product will be a real drawcard for business owners,” Mr Glance said.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout