May 2022 Summaries

Airwallex’s May release introduces Canadian dollar global accounts for collecting and paying funds in Canada, a NetSuite bank-feed integration for automatic transaction reconciliation, and Xero invoice payment links supporting payments in multiple currencies. The company also launched a Zapier integration that connects Airwallex Business Accounts with thousands of applications to automate workflows such as contact transfers, cardholder creation, spending alerts, and low-balance notifications. Singapore customers can now access Borderless Cards offering unlimited 1% cashback and multi-currency spending, while account grouping enables eligible users to view balances and transactions across multiple same-region business accounts in one dashboard. Additional updates improve expense management through PDF receipt previews, user expense lookup, and daily receipt reminders, add mobile card and expense notifications, support BPAY verification for Australian payouts, and introduce Google Pay for Online Payments. Planned releases include QuickBooks integration, New Zealand dollar collections, and NetSuite Bill Pay for Australian and Hong Kong customers.

Burn rate measures how quickly a business spends cash and is especially important for startups and investors assessing financial sustainability, fundraising needs, and growth plans. Gross burn rate is average monthly operating expenses without considering revenue, while net burn rate measures the monthly reduction in cash after revenue is accounted for and is used to calculate cash runway by dividing current cash reserves by net monthly burn. Companies should assess burn over periods such as a quarter or longer to smooth monthly fluctuations, balancing investment in growth with enough reserves to manage unexpected events and reach the next funding round; one cited recommendation is an 18-month runway. Improving net burn rate generally involves increasing revenue or reducing costs through lower cost of goods sold, stronger supplier and logistics negotiations, timely invoicing and payment collection, and more efficient financial and technology infrastructure.

Amazon’s Buy With Prime service aims to let merchants offer Prime-style checkout, payment processing, free shipping and returns through their own websites while using Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon network for inventory, packing, delivery, customer service and returns. Initially available to US-based Amazon FBA sellers before a broader rollout, the offering could strengthen Amazon’s e-commerce ecosystem and raise consumer expectations for fast, low-cost delivery, while competing indirectly with Shopify’s Shop Pay, Shopify Shipping and expanding logistics operations. Merchants may benefit from Amazon’s established fulfillment infrastructure, simplified checkout and access to Prime member benefits without selling directly on Amazon’s marketplace, allowing them to retain their branded storefronts and some customer relationships. However, businesses must weigh concerns about Amazon’s access to sales and customer data, reduced control over checkout, delivery and unboxing experiences, possible pressure toward lower-margin sales, and the inventory-management challenges of allocating stock to Amazon warehouses amid supply-chain disruptions.

Virtual payment cards are digital credit or debit cards with generated card numbers, verification codes, and expiry dates that can be used wherever major card networks are accepted. They allow businesses to set spending limits, select currencies, restrict merchant categories, and issue individual cards to employees, potentially reducing administrative delays and improving budget oversight. Virtual credit cards provide access to credit and may offer rewards, while virtual debit cards draw directly from a funded bank account; both can be quickly cancelled if compromised and reduce risks associated with carrying physical cards. Potential drawbacks include fees and interest on credit cards, foreign transaction charges, cybersecurity risks, limited funds for debit-card purchases, and complications with refunds after cards expire. Airwallex promotes its virtual multi-currency cards as a business option with online setup, no monthly or international transaction fees, while noting that users should consider their individual financial circumstances and review relevant disclosures.